OPINION:
Dan Quinn fell in love with boxing the same way many people fell in love with boxing — watching the greatest three-round fight in history, the legendary 1985 brawl between Marvin Hagler and Tommy Hearns.
“For me, the first fight that really got me into the sport was Hagler-Hearns,” the 54-year-old Washington Commanders coach said. “Videotaped it, watched it again and again. I studied Hagler’s fights.
“I came up in the 1980s when it was Hagler and Hearns and (Sugar Ray) Leonard and (Roberto) Duran,” he said. “The Four Kings, I loved that documentary,” referring to the film about those four middle-weight fighters who dominated the sport that decade.
Boxing has since become a lifelong passion for Quinn, who isn’t just a spectator — he straps on the gloves regularly for sparring workouts. And he’s made boxing workouts part of his coaching methodology throughout his NFL career, including at Miami, Seattle, Atlanta and now Washington.
Quinn works out with former local boxing star Jimmy Lange, who once held the WBC Continental Americas super welterweight title and who filled local arenas with a devoted fan base from 1998 to 2015.
“He’s got a nice little punch on him,” says Lange of the Commanders coach. Lange, 49, who is an instructor at the TAG Muay Thai Gym in Sterling.
The two men wear plenty of protective gear in their sessions. “We work the body pads and the hand pads,” Lange said. “I throw punches at him and let him defend them. He gets a hell of a workout with it.”
Quinn grew up in New Jersey and would go to see Golden Glove fights. He and his friends in college got together to watch Mike Tyson fights. “You and your buddies get $100 together and a couple of kegs to watch a Tyson pay-per-view fight and the next thing you know he would knock somebody out in 30 seconds,” he said.
He’s still a live boxing fan.
“I went to Atlantic City, Madison Square Garden,” Quinn said. “I saw (Miguel) Cotto (former champion in four weight classes, from light welterweight to middleweight) fight there twice. Nothing like the environment at a fight. I’ve been to shows in Fresno, Miami, and looking forward to seeing some here.”
He would have loved to see Lange in his prime. The former Alexandria fighter who was a contestant on the NBC reality show, “The Contender” used to fight in arenas such as Michael’s Eighth Avenue in Glen Burnie, Maryland, ABC Auditorium in Annandale, Virginia, and Eagle Bank Arena on the George Mason University campus.
Several years after retiring, Lange connected with Washington football, brought in by defensive line coach Jim Tomsula, who was the defensive line coach from 2017 to 2019.
“They were looking for someone to help with hand speed and footwork,” Lange said. “I worked with the defensive line. Jonathan Allen, Deron Payne, other guys. “The lateral movement, the leverage, delivering the punch properly with the right weight shift. Positioning to deliver the blows and then move. Anticipate the move after the shot and then execute it.”
The sessions stopped when COVID hit.
But when Quinn came to Washington looking to start his boxing workouts here, he connected with Lange because of his past association with the team. Quinn said he is considering bringing back the workouts for the linemen.
“There is a correlation for the big guys, offensive line and defensive line,” Quinn said. “It’s hands, but it is also your feet. If offensive linemen get their feet crossed, that’s not good. Having balance, moving forward, moving back, moving laterally, like a pass protection movement. The punching is good but wideouts and defensive backs and tight ends, they get to catch and throw all offseason — they get to do a lot of seven on sevens. For the big guys, that is a good alternative for them. It’s conditioning, it’s footwork, timing. There is a lot of timing that goes into punching somebody as an offensive lineman. Where’s the space? Where am I at? How to work in that space is a big deal. So I really believe in that.
He is impressed by Lange’s teaching abilities. “You can tell Jimmy has a warrior spirit,” Quinn said. “Most good coaches are able to give a little cue, give a little something … there doesn’t have to be a lot of talking. But you pick up those, and I really enjoyed working with him during the off-season and into this season. Friday mornings are our time to hit mitts and spend some time together, so it’s good.
“The good news is on those Fridays Jimmy doesn’t hit back, so I do OK in those matches,” Quinn said.
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