‘Boxing has always been my life’: Musheer Foree headlines Brick West’s amateur boxing card on Saturday

Musheer Foree’s story has been one of perseverance.

Growing up in Compton, California, Foree – Spokane Boxing’s male team captain – saw up close the effects of gang violence.

It’s what finally led him to Spokane.

Foree’s sister was a victim of that gang violence.

“What got me to my limit was losing my sister,” said Foree, among several local amateur fighters who will climb into the ring Saturday for the second Brick West Boxing event.

“Losing my sister really was one of the reasons that drew me out here,” he said.

In 2020, two months after she was shot and killed, Foree – “Mushu” to his friends – moved to Spokane with his brother. Their parents supported the move, he said.

“Coming to Spokane was my only option, and I took it,” said Foree, 25. “My sister was older. She was like the glue, the puzzle piece in my family. (She) and I had many talks in the past (of) me moving to Spokane.”

Once Foree got here, it didn’t take long before he began piecing together a new puzzle. After hearing good things about Rick Welliver’s Spokane Boxing, Foree decided to check out the downtown gym.

“The minute I came into (Welliver’s) gym, it was actually what I was expecting: hardwood floors, old school,” Foree said. “It fit my style (and) I got better.”

Proximity to the gym a plus, Foree joined Spokane Boxing and started giving everything he had to the gym. Welliver took note of Foree’s consistency and soon became impressed with the hard work the new student put in.

“He’s a kid with talent that actually has work ethic,” Welliver said.

Despite being 3-3 as an amateur, Welliver said that Foree has never been easily beaten. Now that Foree has found “the sweet spot,” Welliver said, his upcoming fight at the Brick West Boxing card should be a display of good boxing.

“He’s finally learned how to relax and actually fight,” Welliver said. “He’s the kind of guy that if you throw a punch at him, instead of the punch missing you by 3 inches, he’s gonna make you miss by 4 feet.”

After his previous male captain became a coach, Welliver needed someone to fill the role. Seeing Foree as a “true leader,” Welliver had the young boxer step in to fill the opening.

“(Foree) is the glue of our team,” Welliver said. “If he doesn’t have a coach in the gym, he becomes a coach. Everyone respects him. Everybody loves him.”

Foree, who began boxing when he realized that team sports weren’t his thing, is not one to let his team slack during warm-ups. He constantly encourages his teammates to do better and keep pushing through their exhaustion.

“Boxing has always been my life,” Foree said. “I’ve always tried to look for the best gyms. Look for the best work ethic.

“Everything I’ve been through is part of my learning process. I’m just looking forward to what’s at the finish line.”

Perseverance is something that Foree and Welliver know well.

Last month, during a trip to Milwaukee, Welliver suffered a heart attack and was sent to the hospital where doctors found an artery that had been blocked since childhood. They put in stents and sent the boxing coach home.

Despite his heart attack, Welliver had no intention of postponing his boxing card.

“The show must go on, regardless,” Welliver said.

Welliver will lean on his assistant coaches to help stage Saturday’s event. The first Brick West Boxing card was such a boost for the fighters, Welliver said, he couldn’t dare cancel.

“(Last year) there wasn’t a dull moment (in the fights). Most kids (fighting) got to feel special,” Welliver said. “They got to feel like they were included. They got to feel like they were part of something.”

There are 15 bouts scheduled for the second iteration of the Brick West Boxing card. The fights will be held at Brick West Brewing on Saturday, starting at 3 p.m. Doors open at 2.