 Josh Niedbalski and his dad, re-enactor Mark Niedbalski, look over a rifle Twenty years ago, Mark Beasley was being hailed as the next big thing in the ring. Newspaper clippings of the late 1980’s and early 90’s hailed the Clayton County power-hitting welterweight as a legitimate Olympic and World Boxing Organization title contender.
Beasley had the resume to go with the hype. He captured 11 Golden Gloves titles, won the vast majority of 360 amateur fights (99 by knockout) and appeared on ABC’s Wide World of Sports.
“I started boxing at the age of 5,” Beasley explained.
“By the time I was 13, I had won the Silver Gloves National Title.”
Beasley’s eyes glimmer as he tells stories of his heyday in the ring. His family’s new Fayetteville home still has some boxes in need of unpacking, but notebooks filled with newspaper clippings and a framed shadowbox of glimmering medals are already on display.
“The medals didn’t mean much to me at the time,” Beasley stated, motioning toward the frame on his wall.
“Luckily I had a few of these put up in a presentation like that, otherwise I probably would have gotten rid of most of them.”
Beasley, who began boxing in the same youth program as his friend Evander Holyfield, turned pro shortly after taking the bronze medal in the
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1992 U.S. Olympic Trials.
With an $85,000 contract in hand, he set his sights on the WBO welterweight belt. However, unbeknownst to Beasley at the time, the clock was ticking rapidly on his 15 minutes of fame.
“I had early round K.O.’s in my first five pro-fights,” Beasley said.
“They were getting me ready to challenge for the title, but I never got that far.”
A string of elbow injuries derailed Beasley’s once promising pro-career before it really ever got off the ground.
The best sports surgeons in Georgia couldn’t fully repair a badly damaged right elbow that had been hyper-extended repeatedly in the ring.
“I had banged a hard bag my whole life,” Beasley explained.
“I went years and years with that messed up arm and never got it taken care of until it was pretty much too late.”
Forced into an early retirement, Beasley drifted away from the sport that once dominated every waking minute of his life. At times it was rough transition.
“I was angry inside,” Beasley remembers.
“There were people who looked up to me like Vernon Forrest out there doing great things. Vernon was an amazing boxer and he and I were very close, but there were others too.
“I’d read about people I had beat who were earning a living, even excelling in the professional ranks. That was tough for me to swallow and it pushed me away from the sport.”
Now, an older and wiser Beasley is ready to get back to his roots. He has no plans to re-enter the ring in middle age, but he does have aspirations to stand near the corner, coaching young boxers like his son Dylan.
“I had such a temper when I was young,” Beasley explained.
“Boxing gave me an outlet and tought me how to control my temper. If you get angry and flustered in the ring, you’re going to get beat. Boxing turned me into a gentleman. The sport is life changing and I’m finally ready to share it with others.”
The resentment over the way his boxing career ended is so clearly gone today that one has trouble believing Beasley when he talks about the rocky stretches of his lifelong love affair with the sport.
“I’ve been putting off opening a gym for a while, but now I’m ready,” Beasley said.
“I want to train some fighters, look at some venues and go from there.”
Beasley encourages those interested in boxing and training to call him at 404-992-7171.
“Everything happens for a reason,” Beasley concluded.
“I look around me at my wonderful wife, my children and my life and I am truly thankful for everything that’s happened. I’m ready for what’s next.”
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