![]() 3 heavyweight ranking with THE RING, George says Zhang (26-1-1, 21 knockouts) is still as hungry as he was when he first moved to New Jersey a decade ago from China to begin his professional career. While this sort of flash snowstorm would encourage some to opt for an easier day on the treadmill, Zhang had no issues making the 20-minute drive from his home in Bloomfield to get in his work with head trainer Shaun George.Įven after two star-making stoppages of Joe Joyce last year, which earned him the WBO interim heavyweight title and the no. Approaching the warehouse where True Warriors Boxing Club is based, large footprints that obviously belong to a man well over 6-foot tall dotted the path towards the door, which leads to the second floor gym. 13, pushing back the start of their training an hour, to 1 p.m. Several inches of snow fell in New Jersey earlier that morning, Feb. It isn’t hard to tell that Zhilei Zhang has beaten this writer to the gym today. It’s been a long road, but I’m here.PATERSON, N.J. “I’m not the most gifted hockey player, so I try to do a little bit extra on top of everything else, to try and give myself, maybe not an advantage, but just to keep up. “I’m just hoping that something like this will give me a little bit of an edge in the end,” he said. There are those in his profession who seem to take their jobs and paychecks for granted, but Thornton is one player who fully appreciates every day as a Bruin. Thornton labored in the minor leagues for eight years before really making it the NHL. It’s great, because the kids can see where all his hard work has gotten him.” We’re dead tired at the end of a workout, but he still keeps going, he gives me everything I ask from him. “It’s good for them to see a professional athlete like him here, moving around and working so hard. “When he’s here, all the kids are watching him,” said the trainer. For any of them, said McInerney, it’s pretty cool to have a pro athlete training alongside of them. Members working out at The Ring come in all ages, genders, shapes and skill levels. I’ve learned how to throw a proper punch.” I know that at the end of a few rounds of sparring with him now, I don’t get nearly as tired as I did before. “I don’t know if it will translate to having a better punch out on the ice. He knows that I throw left-handed and right-handed, so he makes me do both here. Just the technical aspect of boxing, Tommy has been unbelievable. “Tommy is really good at teaching form - having your feet in the right place and throwing with the whole body, instead of throwing the big haymakers the way I was taught to do it my whole life. “As far the boxing aspect, I think it is coming around a little better,” said Thornton, who led the B’s with 17 bouts last season. Thornton has never been particularly fond of talking about his role in fighting, but he said he has learned valuable lessons here. I think he’ll throw with a lot more power that way.” We spar a lot in the ring, and it’s just speed, speed, speed, turning over his hands. We get him to do a lot of mitt work - throwing lefty and righty. What I try to do is have him throw 10 more punches, faster and harder, because speed equals power. “He was throwing a lot with his shoulder, big punches. You’ve got to have good balance wherever you are. “People say, ’He’s on the ice it’s a lot different.’ Well, no, not really. ![]() I teach him how to throw punches the correct way, so he doesn’t burn out so fast. “So what I do is touch up all his skills, his form. “He knows how to fight already,” McInerney said. ![]() And while his primary aim at The Ring is the highly rigorous workouts, he is also learning skills that will make him a better on-ice fighter. He has, of course, another on-ice role: As an enforcer - a very strong, very tough guy who has had 152 NHL fights, by the count of. Thornton was a valuable contributor on the Bruins’ fine fourth line last season, with 6-5-11 totals. I mean, I know it won’t hurt me in that regard (with hockey fights), but the reason I signed up was more the conditioning than anything. “Fighting isn’t the main reason I’m here. Coming in here is a lot more fun than anything else I could do. It used to be I’d go for a run or whatever to get a sweat. “It’s a long day, but hopefully it will pay off halfway through the season,“ Thornton said as he taped his hands for a sparring session with McInerney. Thornton has been a regular at the gym this offseason, working with veteran trainer Tommy McInerney in an effort to improve both his conditioning and punching ability. Next stop: The Ring Boxing Club on Commonwealth Avenue in Allston near Boston University. By late afternoon, he’s already had two tough workouts - skating in Wilmington, lifting weights at a gym in Charlestown - and his training is far from finished. It is an all-too-rare lovely summer day, but Bruins winger Shawn Thornton hasn’t exactly spent it on the beach or golf course.
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