Boxer seeks national title

Grabow is a three-time state champ

By Casey Krautkramer

Stratford High School senior Sawyer Grabow helped the Tigers wrestling team qualify for the state tournament in March. Now he’s competing in his favorite sport of boxing while attempting to win a Golden Gloves National Championship during the week of May 8-13 at Harrah’s Philadelphia Casino & Racetrack in Chester, Pa.

Grabow won his third straight Wisconsin Golden Gloves state championship last weekend at the Middleton Marriot Hotel near Madison. He won his first fight by unanimous decision on Friday and his finals fight by split decision on Saturday to capture the 147-pound weight class state championship.

He said the difference between unanimous and split decisions is a boxer wins an unanimous decision when all three of the judges determine a boxer has won the fight, compared to a split decision when one of the three judges says the boxer lost the fight.

Grabow said his boxing matches are scored on the number of punches he lands on his opponent, which whether he is controlling the pace of the fight and the ring and on the effectiveness the punches he lands onto his opponent.

He started boxing when he was nine or 10 years old.

“I think I’ve stuck with boxing this long because boxing teaches you life lessons outside of the ring like how to be humble and confident,” Grabow said. “I also like to see how far I’ve come in the sport and the name I’ve made for myself.”

Grabow practices boxing at the Gust Gym on the second floor of the former Marshfield Armory which is now the Oak Avenue Community Center. His father, Dan Grabow, is the new head boxing coach at Gust Gym.

Gust Gym is named in honor of its founder, the late Florian “Flossy” Gust, who started Gust Gym in 1957. Flossy Gust, who made his living as a farmer and butcher, began boxing in 1937 when he was just 19 years old. Gust died in 2004 at the age of 85, before Sawyer Grabow was even born.

“I’ve heard Flossy was a good man and a better boxing coach,” Sawyer Grabow said. “I’ve heard Flossy was strict on the guys and he was very knowledgeable about the sport.”

Sawyer Grabow participated in football and wrestling during his freshman year at Stratford High School, but then he decided to focus on boxing his next two years in school. He returned to wrestling this season. He had a good time wrestling for Stratford this past season and he described the similarities in how he boxes and wrestles against opponents.

“People would always say that it looks like I’m about to punch the kid while wrestling because I’ll get into my boxing stance, but I think that I have more of a pressure style in both sports because I like to push the opponent back and control the mat or ring,” Grabow said.

Sawyer Grabow has tried (MMA) mixed martial arts with his friend, Gabe Pugh from Marshfield, at his gym Ronin Fitness in Eau Claire. Mixed martial arts is where athletes use different combat sports techniques to compete inside a cage.

“I like doing MMA but definitely not as much as boxing, but you never know what can happen,” Grabow said.

He leaves on Sunday, May 7, to box in the Golden Gloves National Championship. He turned 18 years old on February 13, meaning he was finally old enough to qualify for the national championship. Boxers between the ages of 18 and 40 who won state championships throughout the country will be competing in their weight classes in the national championship. Sawyer Grabow understands what he needs to do to give himself a shot at winning a national title.

“I’m gonna have to get my cardio better so I can punch the entire time during the three rounds that are three minutes each,” he said. “I need to work on my head movement more and throw punches off my head movement.”

Grabow graduates from Stratford High School on Friday, May 26. After graduation, he might work for his stepbrother, Hunter Rust, at the business he owns called Trail Source in Rosemount, Minn., which builds boardwalks and biking and hiking trails for national parks in the Midwest. He might also choose to work at his father’s business, Non-Typical Floor Designs, which does epoxy floors, countertops and garage floors.

“I can also see what I can do with boxing because if you win nationals, then sponsors start looking to sign you to become a professional boxer, so I’ll just go with the flow and see what happens,” Grabow said.