Go to a boxing gym these days and what you will find might surprise you.
Boxing isn’t just for athletes trying to make millions in a boxing ring anymore. You'll actually find white collar people in the gym hitting the heavy bag, and even sparring.
Some gyms have white collar fight clubs where people train like boxers and then fight in front of a small crowd. Former heavyweight contender Lou Savarese, who once fought Mike Tyson, owns a gym in Houston and says the economy has helped fuel some of this.
“It got bigger during the down turn during the oil and gas,” Savarese told KTRH. “A lot of guys came and said this was the only time they got to relax, by punching stuff, joking about it.”
Savarese has clients who are hand surgeons. He has oil executives in their 60's putting on the gloves. Sergio Gonzalez at the Slava Boxing Gym in Houston says boxing is a good way to get rid of stress.
“It’s a very healthy way. You burn it off and then you end up at the heavy bag, it’s a very healthy way to do it,” Gonzalez said.
His gym, and others offer classes to anyone that wants to learn how to box; some specifically for white collar people.