NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Langston Stevenson is built like no other boxer in the sport.
On Friday, the Nashville man will make his debut as a professional fighter.
"You have to have great balance and that's what is amazing about Langston, in a sport where legs are so critical, he's able to overcome having a prosthetic leg," said Randall Venson, Stevenson's coach at International Boxing Academy of Nashville. "When I first saw him he was sparring with a professional fighter and I was just amazed that he could do what he did, but I was also amazed at the toughness, the toughness to take the punches, to ride with the punches."
Stevenson took up boxing just a few months after a bad car crash resulted in him losing part of his leg.
"I was actually coming from a Jiu-Jitsu tournament," Stevenson said about the night of his crash in April of 2015. "I just happened to fall asleep behind the wheel... I crashed into a pole five minutes from my house."
At first in the hospital, it looked like Stevenson's left leg could be saved, but then doctors delivered the news.
"Eventually the doctors came to me and said 'hey man, your leg just won't hold up.' So, I made the decision to go ahead and get it taken off," Stevenson said.
The amputee will make his pro boxing debut in West Tennessee at Agricenter International. Memphis Friday Night Boxing will be produced by One One Six Boxing Promotions & Mike Cook Boxing.
"It means I haven't given up on a dream. It means that no matter what anybody goes through, not just amputees, just anybody in life we can push through it," Stevenson said.
If you want to watch him fight, but can't make it to Memphis follow this link.
