Issue link: http://www.wacmagazine.com/i/946983
MONTH / MONTH 2018 39 ree years ago, Richard Vansiclen won a national boxing title and cemented his place in college sports history. At the time, he was 21. Since then, he has fought in the U.S. Olympic trials, set his sights on graduate school, and started his professional career 5-0. All the while, his fighting style has refined, getting sharper and more efficient with each bout. "I was a brawler," Richard recalls of his early college boxing days. "I would stand in front of you. I had heavy hands. I took a lot of punishment. Now I'm clean. I don't get hit very much. And I'm explosive. I can end the fight like that. If my le hand lands and it's the right punch … the fight's over." Richard began boxing as a sophomore at the University of Washington, attended the national tournament three times, and won it all as a senior. But in 2016, he went 0-2 at the Olympic trials—his first experience without headgear—and promptly hung up his amateur status. "We had a lot of support from the WAC with the Olympic trials," he says. "It was a life opportunity." But the way the trials went down le a bad taste. Richard, who now leads Beat Box classes weekly at the WAC and is also a Club member, shakes his head when he recalls one of the Olympic trial bouts. "We won that fight," he says. "I hate thinking about that. If everything would have been different, I would have been in Rio." Richard's college coach, Christopher Mendez, also a WAC member, was sitting in his corner at the trials. "Yeah, it was close," he says. "It was disappointing." Richard's primary coach is now Ricardo Acuna, who, with Mendez, was instrumental in developing the UW team. "He has gone above and beyond to make sure that I am technically sound and ready for my fights," Richard says. "We spend a lot of hours one-on-one, working to get better." As a pro fighter, Richard recently signed a one-year spon- sorship agreement with the WAC and will wear Club gear to his u Richard Vansiclen at The Main Event 2018 with Washington boxing coach Christopher Mendez and WAC Senior Vice President Wayne Milner. By Darrick Meneken B A R B A R A K I N N E Y J O H N B A N G