Boxing's heavyweight division has been dominated by Ukrainian Vladimir Klitschko for the better part of 10 years now.
Just before his latest title defense in New York City, Klitschko decided to train at the Lucky Street Gym in Hollywood, Florida. That happens to be the same place where another up and coming heavyweight is spending his days preparing his assault on the sport.
Trevor Bryan is an Albany, New York, transplant living in South Florida for over four years now, a move he made while looking for ideal training conditions.
The beaches make it easy to get his swimming in and the humidity makes it easy to keep the gym at a toasty 100 degrees.
"If you can't get in shape in here, you can't get in shape anywhere," shouted Bryan as he was getting ready to jump rope in the ring.
Bryan's dedication to boxing did not come naturally.
"I was young and arrogant back in the day. I didn't make any sense. I would say, 'Nah, I don't want to do boxing. I'll fight in the streets.'"
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He later realized just how much he enjoyed it after a few serious workouts, "I had played basketball, football, baseball, soccer, and I had never been that tired. I lived around the corner and I physically couldn't walk home. From then on, I was in the gym every day."
He's now known as "The Dream" and is an undefeated 15-0 in the 226-pound division.
On Aug. 28, he'll face his toughest challenge yet in only his second Las Vegas fight. 35-year-old veteran Derric Rossy will be waiting, with his 30-9 record along with 14 knockouts.
Still, if there is one thing Trevor doesn't lack, it's motivation and confidence.
"We've seen a couple of his fights and yes, he's a decent fighter. He calls himself a gatekeeper, but we don't need to worry about that. We only need to worry about what The Dream is going to do," said Bryan while going on to list the members of his team including head trainer Stacy McKinley.
"After I win this fight, they're going to say that Trevor Bryan needs to be mentioned every time we speak of heavyweights. I want to be an international figure, the people's champ, the true people's champ."
