Cross and Mangrum are Ready for Fight Week
Utah Trainer Making Pro Debut after Taking Fighter to the Jr. Olympics
South of the Wasatch Front it does not get much better than Factum Gym for boxing, kickboxing and MMA. In fact, recently Factum was awarded by USA Boxing/Utah the Best Gym for 2024 award. Shon Cross is the trainer at Factum and has a team of around 30 fighters. Like many trainers, Shon works with everyone from the people looking to train to get in shape to professionals. Next week is going to be a busier week than usual for the trainer as he will be in the corner of his young amateur fighter, Izzy Mangrum, at the Jr. Olympics. Then on Saturday June 22, Shon will be following his destiny to make his pro boxing debut.
During the week, Izzy Mangrum looks to continue her early success fighting in the Jr. Olympics after just 5 amateur fights. Izzy is an ambitious young lady who has plans to turn pro in the future. She has big dreams of being an undisputed world champion as most young boxers do. According to Cross, Izzy and her brother (Joshua who won a bout last week) both show up and work hard to hone their craft. Joshua and Izzy (Pictured below with Shon after Joshua’s fight last weekend) showed up early for training when Fight Chatter visited Factum.
Then on Saturday, June 22, Shon will travel up north to Ogden’s Golden Spike Arena to make his pro debut. Shon will be taking on Erik Lopez (0-1) of Dillon, MT on the All Heart Boxing card. Given Shon’s success working in the corner, many would feel like the 33-year-old would bypass continuing to compete, nevertheless, Shon is fulfilling the dream of fighting professionally.
This past Thursday, Shon took time out of his busy schedule to sit down and do an interview with Fight Chatter (embedded below). After the interview as Izzy and Joshua came in Cross requested that Izzy get interviewed in advance of the Jr. Olympics and I was happy to interview her as well (link below, interview was posted as a short because Youtube has length requirements that were not met). Shon gave her some pointers and then put her in front of the camera for her first interview as a fighter. You can support Shon by purchasing a ticket for next Satuday’s event in Ogden (contact Shon directly), sponsoring him or his team (inquire at scboxingutah@gmail.com) or train with him at Factum (8383 S 700 W, Sandy, UT). You can follow Shon on his social media links below.
Follow @shoncrossboxing on Instagram