Penn State College of Communications comMedia

Student boxer punching his way to the top

By Sara Rinkunas

PSU College of Communications

The sun is rising over State College, Pa., on a Friday morning and most students are still sleeping. Yet, Katongo Mulegna, a junior criminal law student at Penn State, is on a treadmill at the YMCA instead of curled up in his bed. Katongo, or K, as his friends like to call him, is on the Penn State boxing team and has high hopes of one day making it as a professional boxer in the U.S.

K's father was an avid fan of boxing legend Muhammad Ali and watching Ali videos with his father was one of his favorite pastimes when he was younger. It was there he learned about the art of boxing and he fell in love with it.

When K was in junior high school he was bullied a lot by other kids at school and decided enough was enough. He began introducing boxing into his life by working out and viewing professionals. Later, when K was eighteen he dove into the sport by joining a boxing team.

Being a driven individual, K decided to make boxing his life. After enrolling in Penn State he joined the Penn State Boxing team and strayed away from the typical college lifestyle. Instead of alcohol and parties K opted for gloves and punching bag. A typical day in K's life consists of an early morning workout, healthy meals, and training at Titan Fitness club. K believes that giving up what most students his age view as fun will help him grow into a better man.

Instead of relaxing on the weekends, K travels outside State College to spar with other amateur boxers. Getting a feel for different boxing styles and being recognized as a leader in his sport are his main goals as he tries to move up the ladder in boxing. Since getting started on his own is difficult, he hopes to meet a potential manager at one of his sparring sessions who will help jump-start his career.

Aside from being an A student at Penn State, K teaches new teammates the art of boxing. He believes that the sport is more mental than it is physical and getting the two to work together will lead to success. In the next few years K hopes to work every day toward being a professional boxer and is waiting on his big break. Later on down the road, he says, he wants to own his own gym where he can teach other kids the sport that helped him grow into the intellectual and driven man he is today.