Traverse City, Training Ground for Boxing's Elite?

You’ve heard “foodie town” and a great place to retire, but might Traverse City someday be a destination for elite athletes in training? Bill Bustance hopes so. Bustance owns Trigger Boxing on Woodmere, which is serving as training HQ for two boxers preparing for upcoming world championship bouts.

The fights will air on HBO in June. Adonis Stevenson is contending for the light heavyweight title against Chad Dawson in Montreal on June 8. He is currently the WBC Continental Americas super middleweight title holder, holds a professional record of 19-1, and goes by the nickname of “Superman.” Johnathan Banks, a Detroit native and former Michigan State linebacker, is gearing up for a June 22 heavyweight title fight in New York against Seth Mitchell.

Stevenson is already in town, training with Detroit-based Kronk Gym’s Derrick Colemon; Banks will arrive with trainer Javan “Sugar” Hill after preparing Wladimir Klitschko, Ukraine’s 1996 Olympic gold medalist, for his May 4 title fight in Germany.

The roots of the relationship between Traverse City’s Trigger Boxing and Detroit’s Kronk date back to the early 1980s, when Bustance was still competing and professional boxing matches were held at the Glacier Dome on Barlow Street. Emanuel Steward, Kronk’s founder, came to Traverse City in 1981 to train Tommy Hearns at the Glacier Dome and at Sugar Loaf Resort. Steward brought along his nephew, Hill.

“Sugar was just a kid then. I remember giving him quarters to play Pac-Man,” Bustance recalls with a laugh.

When Steward passed away last year, Hill—a retired police officer who managed the amateur boxing program at Kronk—became the head trainer. Along with his uncle, he has trained more than 30 world champions.

After Steward’s first training camp here in 1981, he returned several more times for amateur boxing, though not as often as he wanted. Hill, too, has been here several times.

So what’s the draw to Traverse City?

“I chose Traverse City because it is the most beautiful and quiet place in Michigan to focus on a world-championship fight,” says Hill.

“Traverse City has a really tranquil outdoors area without a lot of distractions,” echoes Bustance, adding that the steep climb at Wayne Hill, the beaches, and Mt. Holiday provide the ideal settings for a challenging running circuit. “Plus, there’s the added benefit of having a state-of-the-art facility at Trigger to train in.”