Detroit-raised Benjamin Phillips turned his life around, beating drug addiction with the power of his fists and feet as a professional boxer and kickboxer.
38-year-old Phillips fighting out of Stars and Strikes MMA in Westland holds multiple championship titles in kickboxing and is undefeated as a pro boxer(2-0).
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Before he could achieve that, Phillips had to rediscover himself after becoming addicted to drugs and serving time in jail.
“In my younger years, I was addicted to heroin from being put on painkillers after some surgeries," said Phillips. “I went in and out of jails, institutions for about 10 years and was really struggling to get off the drugs and make a life for myself.”
In the midst of overcoming a spiraling cycle of addition, Phillips fell back on what was engrained within him from a young age, martial arts. Phillips met Stars and Strikes MMA gym owner James Beneteau and became a fighter.
“Prior to that, I was martial artist since 13-years-old,” said Phillips. “I competed in Taekwondo, was a state champion, national champion and trained a little bit of kickboxing and jiu-jitsu. I came to this gym and I met James about six years ago. At that point I had been two years clean off all mind and mood altering substances. I told him I wanted to be a fighter, have some real sanctioned fights, and he’s been in my corner for the last 12 fights we’ve had."
Combat sports are among the most physically and mentally demanding sports to compete in but Phillips saw it as an opportunity to overcome a challenging situation and become a better man.
“I think of it as one of the most pure forms of competition that exists today,” said Phillips. “You’re a man trying to overcome another human in front of a crowd. Maybe it’s televised, it’s a lot of pressure, the lights are on you. It’s very difficult, right? And I think that in doing difficult things it forges better men. It makes you more honest, it makes you more capable, more disciplined. And I’ve been on this mission of recovery the last eight years and this is one of the biggest things. Being a member of Stars and Strikes, being a pro fighter, that’s helped me in my journey."
Trainer Beneteau says committing to combat sports like Phillips did can change a person’s life for the better.
"I’ve seen martial arts change people’s lives for the better nearly every day," said Beneteau. “It’s one of the constant things that I’ve seen when it comes to training martial arts, boxing, wrestling. If somebody applies themselves to it, it’ll change their life.”
“When he(Phillips) came in I could tell by one, his stoicism but two, his discipline right off the bat told me that there was potential for him to be serious.”
Phillips also credits his faith as a reason for his recovery and commitment to combat sports.
“I started attending a church in Westland,” said Phillips. “It’s a church run by a guy, the pastor’s also in recovery. He’s got a 16 years clean story, very similar to mine. I went there, I felt right at home and they started teaching me about Jesus Christ. And I started having experiences that changed my life for the better over there. I got baptized about a month ago and this is another thing that really helps me."
Phillips has a deeper background in kickboxing rather than boxing. He fought in 10 professional kickboxing fights, winning welterweight and middleweight championships but recently decided to try something new. The risk paid off as he won his second professional boxing bout by TKO at Motor City Casino on Dec. 28.
"Boxing is very different," said Phillips. “You’re very limited. You’ve got two weapons and I can’t knee or kick you. And it was a struggle to learn and adapt, but I’ve grown to like it a lot. I think we did a good job in there. We ended up scoring two knockdowns in the first. He didn’t answer the bell for the second. So technically it was a TKO, but I’m very happy with that.”
“It went like we expected,” said Beneteau. “Ben has trained extremely hard to get ready for that fight and then we had an opponent switch just a few days out. And when that opponent switched, we didn’t know if he was going to be southpaw or orthodox, left or right handed. That’s a factor. I’m sure most people know that. So we game planned for both sides as quickly as we could, just for the short period of time we had to get for that. Ben stayed in shape from his last fight to this fight and we just put in a steady, constant fight camp between class training, personal sessions and sparring sessions.”
Phillips plans to compete in a professional MMA(Mixed Martial Arts) bout next, which will make him a pro in three combat sports. He says he’s going to spend a lot of time training jiu-jitsu ahead of the fight to create a balanced skill set as well as further challenge himself.
“I’ll be spending a lot of time on the ground,” said Phillips. “I have trained jiu-jitsu here on and off for a while. I’m not belted. I’ve never tested for a belt but I do enjoy it. I just I really love striking. It’s my main love but I’m excited man. I like being a student again and being humble and learning and that’s what’s cool about this place."
Phillips hopes to inspire others with his story of recovery and resurgence through combat sports.
“I hope it can give some people who are still struggling some hope,” said Phillips.