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Pine Bluff boxer fighting for a future at Golden Gloves tournament

Quincy Means is one of three Arkansans hoping to make big moves at the Golden Gloves tournament in Omaha.

When you see him in the ring, his skills are easy to see. Quincy Means moves with similar speed and agility that many greats in the boxing world possess.

"Quincy is one of those fighters that come around once in a lifetime," said Albert Brewer, coach of the Gloves Not Guns program in Pine Bluff.

Although Means loves boxing, his biggest fight has never been in the ring.

"I did a whole lot of stuff and, you know, I had to pay for it, but God gave me the way to come back and be strong and have patience," Means said.

When he was 18, Means was arrested on burglary charges. Now, he's 24 years old and determined to turn his career and life around. But the Pine Bluff native isn't just doing it for himself.

"I'm doing this for [my kids] too," Means explained, "because they deserve everything. I had everything in life I wanted and I want to give it to them too."

Means said his mother used to give up her whole check for him to attend national boxing tournaments.

In May, Means will be one of three Arkansas boxers to qualify for the 2018 Golden Gloves tournament in Omaha, Nebraska. But his old equipment and the journey to Omaha are making the trip difficult financially.

"Quincy fought in the mid-south Golden Gloves and a strap on his shoes had come off," Brewer said. "[A woman] said, 'How much does a pair of shoes cost?' And I said about 30 or 40 dollars."

That woman is Wanda Bateman, a Pine Bluff native who decided to help out the young man achieve his dreams.

Brewer said when he saw that amount on the check he had to call another coach to make sure it was correct.

"I look at it and almost cried," the coach admitted.

That amount? $500.

"It gives us hope and if we can win one over, we can win more," Bateman told us. "He has children and I can see them growing up and doing this."

"I'm really thankful I am from Arkansas," Means said. "Because how you gonna tell something if you never been through nothing."

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