Ben Schnurr just wanted to learn a few boxing techniques.

He never dreamed he would live out a movie script.

The 2012 Fort Dodge Senior High graduate wanted to box since he was in high school, but never had the chance or the time to learn.

Little did he know Schnurr had the right people around him to help his dream become a reality and make him a champion.

“It was kind of something I had always wanted to do,” said Schnurr, who was Fort Dodge Senior High’s Henry W. Schultz Award winner in 2012. “I saw Ron Walstrom (Fort Dodge Boxing Club coach) and asked him if he could teach me a few things once a week. With me coaching and teaching and having two kids, I didn’t have a lot of time.

“It just grew from there. I was kind of hooked on it, and it started to get a little more serious.”

Schnurr, who teaches health at the Fort Dodge Middle School, won his only fight and became a Golden Gloves champion.

He is also a Fort Dodge Senior High varsity assistant football coach, and coaches middle school wrestling and girls track.

“He was quite an athlete,” said Walstrom, who is an eight-time Golden Gloves champion himself. “Before he came into the gym, he was in boxing shape. We just had to show him the fundamentals.”

With all of his time commitments, Schnurr was simply looking to train. Once it started to come together, Walstrom saw something in Schnurr.

“Ron came up to me one day and asked me if I wanted to fight,” Schnurr said. “It really hadn’t crept into my head, but I went for it.”

Walstrom put Schnurr into the deep waters in his one and only fight, competing at the Golden Gloves competition in Cedar Rapids in the super heavyweight division.

“At first he was a little reluctant (fighting),” Walstrom said. “But I think deep down he wanted to do it. He started sparring, and then said, ‘I think I’m going to fight at Golden Gloves.'”

For being pretty green in the ring, Schnurr didn’t show a lot of rookie tendencies. He had two standing eight counts on his opponent – who was 25, five years younger than himself – in the first round. He also had two more in the second round.

“I got hit in the first round, and it was like, ‘here we are,'” Schnurr said. “I bit down on my mouth piece and thought, ‘here we go now.'”

At the end, it came down to a referee’s decision.

“When I got my hand raised, I honestly couldn’t believe it,” Schnurr said. “There were so many people in the arena, and the fight was intense for all three rounds. People that are inside the boxing community, who know boxing, said that it was a good fight. I had earned their respect.”

The experience was something that Schnurr could have never fathomed.

“I definitely had a lot of people looking at me,” Schnurr said. “The guy I fought was 25 and had a big following, but I had a lot of people on my side. My wife told me the crowd was split in half.

“I was very proud, and I got tons of messages from people at home.”

Walstrom was excited to see his pupil earn the title.

“It was a wonderful feeling seeing him win,” Walstrom said. “He has a family and a full-time job, so to get a championship, I have a lot of respect for him.

“To be a father of two, married, have a job and yet do all this work (to prepare to fight)…it takes a pretty special person.”

The fight was one thing, but the process of training was the most fulfilling part for Schnurr.

“From Day 1, it was competitive,” Schnurr said. “I trained with Ron and Smiley Cardenas. I sparred with Fort Dodge legends Denny Ivory and Martin Schuh. Martin was one of my No. 1 supporters.”

For Schnurr, it was never if he could do it, but how well he could perform.

“It was always a question of how good I could be,” Schnurr said. “I started to believe and think about it more, and to have a guy like Ron with me was huge. I remember growing up in Fort Dodge and him running the Boxing Club.

“Ron was there when I needed anything. We would train after school, two to three times a week, and fit it into our schedule. He was always down for it. Ron was pretty proud.”

Schnurr had the full support of his wife, Lauren.

“I could not have done it without her,” Schnurr said. “She was my No. 1 supporter and had to pick up a lot of extra things when I was training.”