{"id":337621,"date":"2025-08-12T05:19:11","date_gmt":"2025-08-12T05:19:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/337621\/"},"modified":"2025-08-12T05:19:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-12T05:19:11","slug":"make-every-moment-count-boxer-to-represent-fsm-guam-in-new-york-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/337621\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Make every moment count\u2019: Boxer to represent FSM, Guam in New York | News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jake Albert, 26, an amateur boxer born on Guam, has started a GoFundMe campaign<\/a> for $3,000 to represent the Federated States of Micronesia in an amateur boxing match in New York.<\/p>\n

The match is scheduled for Sept. 20 and is hosted by the historical Gleason\u2019s Gym in Brooklyn as part of their Amateur Boxing Gleason\u2019s Gym Club Show.<\/p>\n

Born and raised in Guam, the Chuukese boxer is training out of Guam Muay Thai in Mangilao and has fought in seven exhibition matches, holding a 5-1-1 unofficial record.<\/p>\n

Albert\u2019s matches have so far not counted toward his amateur record due to Guam not having an amateur boxing association. This makes his upcoming New York match his first official match and \u201cinternational debut,\u201d representing the FSM.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m excited about it, but at the same time, I really have to push myself, because this fight is my first amateur fight that\u2019s going to count towards my win or lose or tie, [but] I\u2019m in it to win it for my first official fight,\u201d Albert said.<\/p>\n

Albert has been training for the last three years under Kru (Coach) Kevin Ekyotin, who he credits for helping him understand and develop his style of boxing.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s not much of a boxing coach, but he tries his best to adapt to my boxing styles,\u201d Albert said. \u201cHe\u2019s been looking out for me. That\u2019s what I love about him and the people in that gym. They\u2019re welcoming and know different fighting styles, which I\u2019m grateful for.\u201d<\/p>\n

Albert\u2019s previous matches were \u201cgreat experiences\u201d and helped him learn about how to use and defend against different fighting styles.<\/p>\n

He expects his composure and preparation will be his most important skills once he learns who his opponent is in the next few days.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve learned how to time everyone\u2019s counters for the past years, learning everyone\u2019s different fighting styles, and it just builds up my experience and knowledge,\u201d Albert said. \u201c[In New York], I am expecting someone that has more experience than the previous guys that I\u2019ve fought for the past few years. I just have to stay calm, composed, and try not to overreact or gas out. I have to study my opponent in the first and second rounds, and from the third round, hopefully, it just goes nice and smooth.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the past few months, Albert\u2019s relatives have been encouraging him and sharing their support for his big debut.<\/p>\n

\u201cI train four or five times a week, I have my rest days twice or once a week just to recover again, but it means a lot to me, and to be representing FSM,\u201d Albert said. \u201cThat was one of my short goals to do, and hopefully I can do the same at the Pacific Games or the Micro Games, and one of my big goals is to go to the Olympics.\u201d<\/p>\n

Albert believes he is mentally ready but still has a long way to go physically.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m still working on my conditioning,\u201d Albert said. \u201cI just started training [recently], due to late notice. They reached out for me last week on a Saturday, then I started training on a Monday to pick up my cardio as much as I can before the fight.\u201d<\/p>\n

The deadline for Albert\u2019s campaign is Sept. 11, the day he plans to fly out from Guam to New York.<\/p>\n

The money will cover his roundtrip flight as well as transportation, food, training, and area housing expenses; however, Albert is prepared to pay some expenses out of pocket should the campaign fall short.<\/p>\n

The Foneni Achocho Sensu Athletic Club is also hosting on Aug. 24 a fundraiser to help finance Albert\u2019s trip. The event is a 1-mile relay race in Tiyan at 5 a.m.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis opportunity means a lot to me, not just as a personal milestone in my boxing career, but as a chance to put FSM on the map in the world of competitive boxing,\u201d Albert said on his GoFundMe page. \u201cI\u2019m determined to make every moment count inside and outside the ring. This journey is the result of years of hard work, discipline, and dedication to the sport. While the spotlight of New York brings pressure, I carry with me the spirit of Guam and FSM, and I\u2019m ready to show the heart and grit that defines who we are.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jake Albert, 26, an amateur boxer born on Guam, has started a GoFundMe campaign for $3,000 to represent…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":337622,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4108],"tags":[1935,3462,12,79,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-337621","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-boxing","8":"tag-boxing","9":"tag-local","10":"tag-news","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115014111265664006","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337621","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=337621"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337621\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/337622"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=337621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=337621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=337621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}