Roanoke boxer is fighting for redemption
In his 30-plus years of coaching young boxers, Maynard Quesenberry has never witnessed such raw talent. Steven Zaiden hits so hard that Quesenberry has to be careful when choosing sparring partners for him.
At 5-foot-5 and 123 pounds, Zaiden has what Quesenberry calls a Napoleon complex. "He's the kind of guy that'll smile and grin, tell you he loves you, and then he'll try to kill you," Quesenberry said.
Zaiden, 22, comes by his explosiveness honestly. Abandoned by his father, he had an upbringing that makes Mike Tyson's early thug life look like an episode of "Sesame Street."
In his teens, Zaiden would disappear for months, sometimes years, from Roanoke's Gator Boxing Club gym that Quesenberry helps run. He was in and out of favor with his mom and teachers, in and out of gang trouble in his native Colombia, in and out of jail.
"For a while my life was like the movie 'Scarface,' " he said.
Last year, when he finally returned to the gym, Quesenberry asked the lithe, bantamweight boxer: "How long you going to be here this time?"
"I'm back for good," Zaiden said.
Quesenberry, 60, didn't believe it. Like the sport itself, the boxer had been in decline, his fight-or-flight instincts replaced by apathy, despair and a propensity for selling -- and smoking -- weed.
But this time Zaiden had a family depending on him and a goal: the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
And, finally, for the first time in his life, he had a father figure behind him.
Photos by Stephanie Klein-Davis | The Roanoke Times
Maynard Quesenberry (left) coaches Steven Zaiden at Roanoke's Gator Boxing Club gym. "I've seen three or four people in my life who can punch like he does," Quesenberry said. Quesenberry says the energy comes from a troubled past.
Steven Zaiden rests after a workout at the Gator Boxing Club gym. "Steve's determined, he's patient and he's explosive when he lets those hands fly," said his coach, Maynard Quesenberry. "He's cleaned himself up from his troubled past. Before boxing, he had no avenue of escape."
Steven Zaiden is baptized at Valley Word Ministries by Pastor Eddie Crabtree (left) and Karl Stewart. He helped make a promotional video for the church, "Fight the Good Fight." Zaiden said he wants to inspire others who have gone down the wrong path. "I'm fighting hard now to get my life back," he said.
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