There are two places boxer Boyd Melson feels at home: in a boxing ring and on Staten Island. Now, he's hoping to use his skills in the ring to deliver a blow to the Island's heroin problem. Borough Reporter Amanda Farinacci filed the following report.
Boyd Melson loves to fight. The 35-year-old Army Reserve Captain is known as the "Rainmaker." He says there is nothing complicated about why he has a stellar boxing record of 15 wins, including four knockouts, one loss and one tie.
"It's my brain, my vision, and my legs," Melson said.
Melson began boxing as a cadet at West Point. He was an alternate for the 2008 US Olympic Boxing Team, and he won a gold medal at the 48th World Military Boxing Championships.
When he turned pro in 2010, he decided to donate his winnings to a charity he founded with his girlfriend at the time - Team Fight to Walk - which was dedicated to help cure spinal cord injuries. He raised more than $350,000.
Melson is now taking time out from his work as a fitness trainer and motivational speaker to fight for a new cause - easing Staten Island's heroin crisis.
"I figured when I was boxing, I always had a platform," Melson said.
Growing up in Brooklyn, Melson spent a lot of time on Staten Island, visiting his large extended family.
Heroin and prescription drug overdoses have reached epidemic proportions on the Island, with 74 deaths so far this year.
It is a cause Melson can relate to. Members of his family are fighting addiction to alcohol.
"I used to say, if you love me, you'll stop. And I never understood it had nothing to do with me," Melson said.
Next month's fight will be Melson's last, and he'll be fighting injured. He's got old pains in his shoulders, and some new ones in his knees.
Still he says, nothing will keep him out of the ring.
"I'm gonna fight," Melson said. "Tendonitis on the left; I'm getting cortisone shots, trying to get through this, but I'm gonna fight. I have to do this. I need to help."
Melson says he will earn about $6,000 for the fight, and the money will go to a not-for-profit called Big Vision, that helps young adults battling addiction.