'Boxing saved my life': Calgary boxer Kimani Crawford on the right path in and out of the ring

Four years ago, Kimani Crawford’s life was headed in the wrong direction and he knew he had to do something about it or things would end badly, so he decided to climb into the ring.

The 31 year old says boxing saved his life.

“When I was a young adult I got into some trouble,” he said.

“I was partying and hanging around with the wrong people. I made a lot of mistakes and I was lost. It took me a while to find myself and through boxing, I was able to do that.”

Crawford started competing two and a half years ago as an amateur. In April of this year, he made his professional debut, knocking out Yaroslav Nekov on April 27.

A couple of weeks back, Crawford decided to try his hand at bare-knuckle boxing. In his debut, he beat Don Mohammed of the United States by unanimous decision.

Crawford says he’s actually been bare-knuckle fighting for a long time.

“To be honest, that’s where I started was bare-knuckle boxing,” he said.

“I got into a lot of fights and, not proud of it but you know, I figured I might just go back to my roots and try it out again and it was an awesome pro debut. I got fight of the night and really impressed the right people.”

McGregor taking notice

Crawford’s fight caught the eye of the notorious one, Connor McGregor. He posted, “get up out of it. Bare Knuckle Canada tonight.”

“It just shows that I’ve got what it takes to hit that big stage and leave a lasting impression,” said Crawford.

“That’s what I’m shooting for and you guys are going to see a lot more of me.”

Crawford boxes out of the Olympus boxing club in northeast Calgary. He now goes by Kimani “The King” Crawford.

Angelo Habib is the owner of Olympus boxing and he says Crawford has a bright future in the sport.

“He can take it as far as he wants,” said Habib.

“It’s just a matter of putting the time and effort in. I think he’s a very driven individual and the more he focuses on it, the more he can excel and get to the higher levels of boxing and bare knuckle.”

“I want to keep fighting and see how far it goes,” said Crawford.

“The sky is the limit so you never know. I just want to not give up. You know once you take up the battle don’t stop and if you fall down, get back up.”

Crawford is also a coach at Olympus and hopes his story can inspire others.

He’ll climb back into the ring this weekend with the gloves on as he takes on Olivier Tshitumbi in “Clash of Calgary II” at the Chinese Cultural Centre.