A former World Boxing Federation super middleweight world champion has started his second month of workouts for the mind and body at Ciel Bella Vista Senior Living in Mesa.
“We put chairs along the wall for people with a walker,” Junior Earl “Sweetness” Butler said in a phone interview about his JEB Boxercise program. “There are places where people are standing in the middle with their gloves on and I go down the line to each person,” he said.
The program appealed to officials at the senior living center for a variety of reasons, officials said.
“Residents laugh, move and engage one-on-one with a world champion, showing that exercise can be fun at any age,” Sheri Simpson, assistant executive director at Ciel Bella Vista Senior Living, wrote in an email.
Butler won the super middleweight world champion title in 1997. In retirement, he started JEB Boxercise and worked as a personal trainer for professional basketball and football players, according to https://www.worldboxingfederation.org/articles/article0983.htm.
“Boxing is the only workout that not only works your body but works your brain, and so Boxercise is a product of the boxing workout that I did for years after I won the world championship title,” he said.
Participants at a recent class at Ciel Bella Vista Senior Living, 1825 W. Emelita Ave. in Mesa, were taught to jab with a boxing-gloved hand as Butler called out numbers for shoulder-height left or right boxing jabs and lower left or right jabs, which can be seen in a video he posted on Instagram @jebboxercise.
“We do a warm up. I teach them numbers, and we start with four numbers — one, two, five and eight.... I move around and they got to walk toward me, and I’m moving constantly, consistently the whole time,” said Butler, a Tempe resident.
“It is designed to work the brain, to work the cognitive skills. It is designed for the client — they have to react and use their brain to react to all of the numbers that I called,” he said. “It helps them focus, it helps with attention ... it helps with memory retention, it helps your balance. It helps with all of those cognitive skills that anybody needs to be functional.”
Now that the class has been held, more of the facility’s residents have been coming to exercise, Butler said.
“The first time we had seven people, and I think the second time we had 12 or 13 people,” he said.
A resident’s daughter first introduced Simpson to Butler, prompting an interview to learn more about his background and fitness services, Simpson said.
“Residents at Bella Vista Senior Living have enthusiastically embraced his workouts, with many describing them as the most enjoyable and engaging fitness experiences they have ever had,” she said. “Butler customizes each session to meet individual preferences, offering both one-on-one training and group programs. He also works as an independent contractor for senior living communities, designing fitness programs tailored to each community’s specific needs.”
At Bella Vista Senior Living, the activities director has booked Butler every other week for the entire year.
“In senior living communities, activities directors typically schedule entertainment and wellness programming, whether it involves performers or fitness professionals,” Simpson said.
Richard H. Dyer can be reached at rdyer@iniusa.org, or on X @rhdyer. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines, https://www.yourvalley.net/civility-checklist/.
Meet Richard Richard Dyer has worked at Independent Newsmedia Inc. USA since 1987, starting his career in Apache Junction as a copy editor and being promoted over the years to work as the editor of the Mesa Independent, news services editor for the East Valley office in Apache Junction, managing editor for the East Valley office, news services editor for the East Valley office and eventually also for the newspapers at INI’s then-Chandler office, managing editor again and as a news editor covering Apache Junction/Gold Canyon and Queen Creek. He helped start the Florence Independent while the news editor covering Apache Junction and Mesa news. In January 2023, he became associate managing editor for the East Valley newspapers and in August 2023 became managing editor for the East Valley newspapers of Chandler/Tempe, Gilbert, Queen Creek, Florence, Mesa and Apache Junction/Gold Canyon, while also reporting on Mesa and Apache Junction/Gold Canyon.
Community: Since 2009, he has worked as a volunteer to design The Blue Guitar Magazine, Blue Guitar Jr. magazine and Unstrung magazine, which are projects of The Arizona Consortium for the Arts; and since 2014, has been overseeing the art submissions.
Education: University of Arizona with a master of arts in journalism and a bachelor of science in agricultural communication. Also continuing education at Mesa Community College in welding in a metal art sculpture class.
Random fact: Saw his first tornado on May 31, 2010, which was classified as an EF-2, as part of a stormchasing tour group.
Hobbies: He is an artist of welded-steel sculptures, selling his artwork at juried and non-juried art shows.
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