Jeremiah Derby, a multidimensional UNC athlete and artist, loves to wear down his opponents when he steps into the boxing ring. He loves to tire them out, picking his shots and beating them in later rounds. He loves to be the most well-conditioned fighter in the bout.
In a normal year, Derby would be sparring with the Carolina Boxing club. But since North Carolina's COVID-19 restrictions prevented boxing competitions in the state, he headed south to face real competition from Aug. 28 to 30.
Typically in the WBC Green Belt Challenge, the matches consist of three two-minute rounds. But with only two rings available because of a missing doctor and over 300 matches to get through, the tournament organizers were forced to cut the length of each round to one minute.
Shaving 60 seconds off each round may not seem like a long time. But Derby's father and coach, David Derby, said it’s the boxing equivalent of expecting to run a mile, but being thrown into the 100-meter sprint.
Not an easy transition to make.
Still, that didn't stop Derby from bringing home the championship belt from Punta Gorda, Florida, two weeks ago.
“I would tell anybody that if they're going to fight my son, to pack a lunch,” David said. “You better be in shape, 'cause he's going to be in shape. So, them giving one-minute rounds made it anybody's game. Anyone that trained half-ass can go (for a minute). So, it really bummed me out and I was really concerned about it.”
With the shortened rounds, Jeremiah had to change up his strategy. His opponents came at him harder and faster than they would have in a normal bout, forcing him to adapt.
“Those guys were really pressing me hard,” Jeremiah said. “They were coming forward so hard that some of the punches weren’t really that clean, they were kind of jammed up because we were so close. So I would back up, cut that angle and get some space so I could throw my combos, and they could be clean enough that everybody would see them. That was really the focus.”
