Revisiting Young's boxing career

James Brant Young made perhaps one of the greatest plays in Malta High School history on Saturday, March 16, 1985, but before and after his game-saving three-point play in that state basketball championship, Young was formidable in the boxing ring.

Born in Havre and raised in Malta, Young is the son of Gary and Donna Young of Wagner. During his boxing career, he had around 160 fights and 12 losses, according to his memory. His career included All-Navy and All-Forces Championship titles in 1991. Since then he has had 28 surgical procedures.

"I have been very fortunate in my life and very successful at a lot of things but none of it came without a price," Young said. "When you are young, you don't think about things like that."

He said that he has been through a lot of pain, but there is not a thing that he would change as far as his sports career is concerned.

Young, who won five Montana youth boxing state titles, started boxing at the age of nine, and a weight of 55 pounds. That first year he began his reign as state champion in 1975. He would win a title again in 1976 at 60 pounds, and then in 1977 at 65 pounds. He was third at state in 1978 but won the Rocky Mountain Junior Golden Gloves that year. The Rocky Mountain Junior Golden Gloves includes boxers from Montana, Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming. He also won state in 1979 and 1980. He was third at regionals in 1980.

Being a freshman in 1981, Young put his boxing career on hold and focused his attention on basketball. He was known for having a hard work ethic while on the basketball team, to a point that other teammates would tell him to tone it down. He even had an incident that involved the paramedics.

"I had to call the EMT one time because he had run so hard in practice that he collapsed," former Malta basketball Head Coach Mike Woodman said.

Young was the team's sixth man during their championship season and his hustle kept Malta in the game. With no three-point shot in 1985, the Mustangs found themselves down 78-75 in the first overtime period with 10 seconds left. Teammate Clark Darrah took a desperation shot, a deep two-point field goal that missed. With only a couple of seconds left, Young, a 5'9" point guard, found himself with a rebound and put up a shot over Browning's JR Manson, who stood at 6'5" with one second left. The shot was good and he was fouled. Young then made a free throw to send the game into its second overtime period. Malta eventually defeated Browning 95-90 in triple overtime.

Young graduated from Malta in 1985 and then joined the Navy, where he trained and worked out on an aircraft carrier. He was stationed at NAS Whidbey Island in Oak Harbor, Wash.

"They had one smoker (boxing event) but I didn't get to fight in it," Young said. "I had some wisdom teeth pulled and they wouldn't let me partake in it."

He said that he had approached members of the Boxing team out of his base and most of them had never boxed, so he felt that it was better that he helped coach the team.

He did eventually re-enter the ring in an event in Spokane and defeated a Canadian boxer for his first action back into boxing. Young said that he did not lose a match until after he broke his back on the flight deck of the USS Independence in May of 1990. He had the pain but wasn't diagnosed until 1992.

"I was training and trying to push through everything," Young said. "No brain, no pain."

The pain drove Young to sickness whenever he tried training and sparring. It was around that time that he began training to make the U.S. Olympic team and he couldn't pick up his knees to run. Prior to the accident, Young ran 10 miles every day, three of which were with his team. Despite his injury, he still competed and won the All-Navy Welterweight Championship at 147 pounds, which qualified him for the Armed Forces Championship.

During the Armed Forces Welterweight Championship match at Kelly Air Force Base against Air Force Champion Randolph Callendar (a fighter out of Kelly AFB), Young said that Callendar connected a few punches and he could not see.

"Everything was black and I couldn't see anything," Young said. "You just keep your hands up and move so that they don't know that you can't see anything until everything goes red and then you can see again."

In the first round, Young attacked with jabs while Callendar counterpunched his way into points. The second round Young kept attacking, landing dozens of punches winning the second round according to announcers of the event.

"He had been the Air Force Champion for like five years so I knew I had to keep the pressure on him and wear him out," Young said.

At the end of the second round against Callendar, Young came to his corner and he explained to his coach that he couldn't open his mouth up. Young believed that his jaw was broken, but his corner told him that he was winning and only needed to last one more round.

"He put my mouthpiece in, pushed my jaw up, and said bite down and it won't hurt so bad," Young said. "That was the first time that my coach saw Calendar getting beat and he wasn't going to stop the match for anything."

Young won the third round by continually throwing and connecting punches to stagger Callendar. In winning the bout, Young believes that he became the first All Armed Forces Champion out of NAS Whidbey Island.

In winning his weight class at 147, Young qualified for a chance to make the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, but his team found out that he had broken his nose during the All-Navy Championships in January of 1991 prior to his bout with Callendar in February. His team found out about the nose when he was getting treated for a shoulder injury. It was around this time that he found that he had broken his back in 1990.

"I didn't find out my back was broke until 1992 when my left leg went numb and dead on me," Young said. "I couldn't move it or feel anything."

Young had a Rhinoseptoplasty procedure done in 1992, and finally had back surgeries in 1993 and 1994. Throughout his sports career, Young has had 28 surgeries.

Young lost the last match of his career to the Northwest Regional Golden Gloves Champion in 1991, in an event that would have qualified for the National Golden Gloves Championship in Miami, Fla. He was also supposed to represent the United States in the World Military Championships and Panam Games, prior to his career-ending injuries. Though his Olympic dream was not realized, Young is thankful for his experience.

"There are a lot of athletes that end up hurt and do not make it to the Olympics or something like the Armed Forces Championships," Young said. "I am very fortunate to have made it as far as I did before things fell apart."

Now, at age 53, Young currently lives in Billings, Mont. with his wife Aliah Young and a one-year-old Shih-Tzu named Mila and works as a Pharmacist. Young's six children; JC, Isabella, Antonio, Amira, Montana, and Mylee are all grown.

For footage on Young's All Armed Forces match with Callendar, search: 1991 Armed Forces Boxing Championships Finals. His fight begins at the 46:42 mark.