'Boxing Barista' Trains For First Fight

A 20-year-old member of Crystal Lake's Pug's Boxing Club makes lattes and espressos for a living and calls himself "The Boxing Barista." 

Starbucks employee Aaron De George was in the gym Saturday afternoon training for his first fight, scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday at UAW Hall, 12540 Cottage Grove, Chicago Heights. 

De George was sparring with Brian De Leon, a 24-year-old veteran of Pug's Boxing Club, at the School of Hard Knocks on Main Street. 

"The matchmaker tells me (De George) is fighting a former wrestler who won his first fight as a boxer,"  said Gary Dobry, De George's trainer. "He will be taller than his opponent. He should win if he stays off the ropes and uses a long jab. He will score a lot of points and beat his opponent if he sticks to that strategy."