Mike Tyson was known for his thundering uppercuts. Alex Pereira has a patented left hook.
Sinisa Jovic believes in November his intellect will carry him to a kickboxing world championship. That, and the drive his mother taught him while raising him in Serbia and the Akron area.
Jovic, who lives in Kent, recently won an American national championship for kickboxing, earning him a spot on the national team. He’s scheduled this winter to compete in the World Association of Kickboxing Organizations’ Senior and Masters World Championships.
The goal is clear: Bring back the gold.
In the U.S. gold medal match in March, Jovic tapped his intellect. Starting in round two, his opponent began to push the pace to make up points on the scorecard. Jovic answered by tightening his defense and ratcheting up his intensity.
Just as mom taught him.
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“She told me that whatever I do in life … put 100% of your soul and love into it, and it will never feel like something you have to do,” Jovic, 25, said of his mother, Branka.
He still values her advice. He spends six days a week training at Rising Dragon MMA in Bedford Heights, often twice a day. Sometimes his coach, Tiawan Howard, has to tell him to take a day off.
Born in the United States, Jovic spent his childhood in near Bijeljina, a city located in Republika Srpska, within the country of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“We didn’t have much, but we were super happy,” Jovic said.
He took an interest in combat sports — boxing, wrestling, kickboxing. The latter didn’t become a serious pursuit until he returned to the States. Again, his mom was a catalyst, pushing him to train so he didn’t spend so much time indoors.
Around age 15, Jovic — then a blue belt — defeated a black belt in a point karate competition. From there, he went on to win a world point karate championship.
Up next? The world kickboxing championships in Abu Dhabi.
