I'm not a boxer. I've never boxed before. I never thought I would step in the ring, especially at age 46. My typical workouts involve golf, pickleball, skiing, hiking, and watching youth sports. But I'm also someone who watched cancer take my mother-in-law, and then watched my wife face the same threat head-on — carrying the BRCA1 mutation, and choosing to undergo prophylactic surgery rather than wait and wonder. I'm also the father of two daughters.

That's why I'm in this ring.

Every round I train is for future generations. Every pound I cut is for my wife, and for her courage in fighting a battle before it ever had the chance to start. And, for my daughters, who may have to make the same decision many years from now. I'm stepping through these ropes because I can't change what happened to our family in the past — but I can at least try to help future generations.