NASHVILLE, Tenn. — 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 trainer 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 in April 2015 that resulted in him losing part of his left leg.
"I was actually coming from a Jiu-Jitsu tournament," Stevenson said. "I just happened to fall asleep behind the wheel...I crashed into a pole five minutes from my house."
After arriving at the hospital, it initially 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.
Stevenson will make his pro boxing debut in West Tennessee at Agricenter International on Friday. The event, 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.
Click here for more information about the fight.
This story was originally published by Hannah McDonald on Scripps station WTVF in Nashville.
