Pontiac’s two-time national champion boxer Kentrell Rouser has earned an invite to train at the Colorado Springs Olympic and Paralympic Training Center.
The state of Michigan has a long history of producing high-level boxing talent, and 22-year-old Kentrell Rouser is positioning himself as the next standout on that list.
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The Pontiac native recently captured his second amateur national championship and has now been invited by USA Boxing to train at the Colorado Springs Olympic and Paralympic Training Center.
“It means a lot, man,” Rouser said. “Especially being in the area where I’m at right now, you know, not taking a lot of time until I go pro. So, you know, winning that national championship and getting invited out to the Olympic Training Center, that’s something that’s good for my career.”
Rouser splits his time training in both Pontiac and Detroit. His primary trainer is his father, Kenyell Rouser, who has been in his corner since day one and helped guide his journey in the sport from a very young age.
“My father, he put me and my brother in this since day one,” Rouser said. “My father, Kenya Rouser, man, it’s no words that I can express how much that means to me to be able to have that in my corner. I’ve been boxing since I was a kid, since I was about five years old. I remember my father starting me and my brother going on runs when I was about five, six.”
When he’s not in Pontiac, Rouser trains at Detroit’s SuperBad Boxing Gym, owned by former world champion Tony Harrison and home to several top-level fighters.
“I feel like it’s a lot of work down here, you know, especially in Michigan,” Rouser said. “I feel like this is where the best work is at, where the best fighters is at in Michigan. So I’ll be able to mix in and be able to get that experience. And not just amateurs — pros as well. I’ll be able to get that experience before turning pro.”
Training alongside Harrison gives Rouser a firsthand look at what it takes to reach boxing’s highest level.
“Tony, a former world champion like you said, he knows how it feels to be at the top — the actual top top,” Rouser added. “So, you know, I can be able to get pointers, get tips on what and what not to do.”
Rouser’s next major opportunity comes in Colorado, where he’ll spend a month at the Olympic and Paralympic Training Center working with some of the nation’s best boxers. The camp will serve as a key step as he eyes both international competition and his eventual professional debut.
“Really, I’m just taking it one step at a time,” he said. “I’m going to go out to the Olympic Training Center — they got us out there for a month in Colorado Springs. I know after that is the Golden Gloves. So I’m just focused on the camp right now: go out there, be sharp, be strong, have a clear mind, feel good. Each day, I just come into the gym and try to get better, whether it’s me going to the 2028 Olympics or me turning pro."
Whether his path leads to the 2028 Olympics or a quick jump into the professional ranks, Rouser is honing his skills in the gym, building on his USA International Boxing Championship and preparing for Olympic-level training in Colorado Springs.