Page 32 - South Mississippi Living - January, 2016

PEOPLE fight club
ROUND TWO
Local MMA champ retires to concentrate on teaching
story by Mark Spain photos courtesy of Alan Belcher
In the small town of Ravenden, Ark., an 8-year-old boy was watching his favorite TV show, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. He was fascinated by the way the cartoon figures jumped around and spun their weapons. This was when his interest in martial arts started to pique. His name was Alan Belcher.
Belcher started his training when a Tae Kwon Do school opened near his home. It was a 30-minute trip but, his mother Bobbie made sure that he never missed a practice. He excelled with a passion that he had never felt before and at age 14 was able to fight his first amateur bout. A little
anxious, he weighed in at 170 pounds, never showing his opponent any signs of insecurity. His opponent, Orville Boozer, was a seasoned 28-year-old, twice Belcher’s age.
Fearlessly, Belcher jumped into the ring and to the demise of Boozer, lost to the youngest fighter he had ever fought. This win was Belcher’s inspiration to continue his training in many different styles of martial arts. He followed the circuit around the country with the veracity of a tiger.
He was greatly influenced by his dad, John Belcher, a river boat captain, who started quite a few businesses where his son was involved. “My dad told me to never be afraid to
32 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • January 2016
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