NEW ORLEANS -- 21-year-old Sean Hemphill is one of 20 male amateur boxers on the USA National Team, the only Louisiana representative.
"Every day I wake up and thank God for this opportunity and every day I dedicate myself to my craft and to become better and better each day and with that in mind, I can do anything," Sean Hemphill explains.
The sport is in his blood. His father was a two-time World Kick Boxing Champion and later won 5 MMA titles. After Hurricane Katrina, Sean turned to the ring.
"I just wanted to find something to turn my life around and help me focus and become something great in life. Thought about it and said 'my dad was a boxer, think it's in me' and gave it a shot. I started competing at 15 and I realized I could actually be something with this one day."
With his dad by his side, he's doing just that. Steven Hemphill coaches and trains his son. Steven earned the nickname Spider early in his career. Sean goes by 'Silk the Champ' because he's smooth like silk and Spiders produce silk.
"He just lets me do my thing. When I'm slipping - he's dad and coach at the same time and lets me know I need to get back on my A game. That's just how we operate together. I love it, it's amazing."
"I love spending so much time with him and he understands why I think why I think. I may not always be right, but he at least understands why I think the way I think. And I can pass on a lot of my beliefs on to him and he can see it hands-on," Steven Hemphill said.
Sean, who's a light heavyweight at 178 pounds, is still an amateur so he not only trains at New Orleans Boxing Club, he also works as the gym manager and a personal trainer. Boxing is his life, but it's not exactly what you see in the movies - no raw eggs at 3 a.m.
"It's not quite like that, but I do wake up with it on my mind. I brush my teeth and next thing you know I'm putting my mouthpiece in. So definitely like a Rocky lifestyle, gotta do my push ups, sit ups, eat my Wheaties, you know what I mean?"
Sean leaves for Colorado Springs Saturday to train at the USA Olympic Center for 3 weeks. Then it's off to Bulgaria for the oldest amateur tournament in the world. But the main event is the Men's World Championships in Germany late August.
"One of greatest countries in the world and proud to be a part of it," he said. "So every day I step in the ring I'm going to give 100% and give everybody my best and hope everybody be proud of me."