LESALLE PERU, Ill. – Shawn Hawk, who fights under the title of “The Sioux Warrior,” is one of the top Native American boxers in the country. He moved to Chicago with his family when he was a child and soon started boxing. He returned to the Crow Creek Sioux Reservation when he was 16. Two years later he turned professional and now is a veteran of 22 professional fights, the most recent in early June.

Shawn’s dad, Ray Hawk, was an amateur boxer himself and the reason Shawn started boxing. Ray now has an organization called “Native American Warriors.” He manages and books fighters at events around the country.

Shawn moved to Idaho after his first professional bout and began training with long-time promoter Moe Smith. Smith is well-known in the boxing world, originally as a fighter but for many years a manager and promoter of boxers and boxing events. Smith was quoted at the time as saying, “He’s a tough kid and he can punch, and he’s learning. If he hits ’em, he gits ’em.” Shawn remained in Idaho for his next nine fights and has moved around a bit since then.

Shawn recently sat down with Indian Country Today to answer a few questions:

ICT: When did you start boxing?

SH: I started training when I was 6 and had my first fight when I was 7.

ICT: Where did that early start take place?

SH: I started in local boxing matches in and around Chicago.

ICT: What titles did you win during your amateur career?

SH: I won the Little Silver Gloves. I won that twice. I also won the National Police Athletic League as a junior. That was in 1998. I turned pro later, when I was 18. I fought in some tough-man contests back home.

ICT: What is your record now?

SH: I’m now 20 wins with 1 loss and 1 tie; 17 of the wins have been by knockout.

ICT: Where was your most recent fight?

SH: My last fight was in Coeur d’Alene. It was a really good fight for me. He was tough and I trained hard for that fight. We both got cut in the last round and luckily I was ahead on the score cards so it went in my favor. That was an eight-round fight.

ICT: Do you have another fight scheduled?

SH: I think my next fight will be on July 17 up at 4 Bears Casino. I’m in training for that now.

ICT: Do you know who you’ll be fighting there?

SH: No, not yet.

ICT: Do you plan to spend more time in the Northwest?

SH: I don’t know but I’d like to. I’d like to get another trainer and find somewhere solid I could train at.

ICT: Where are you training now?

SH: I was in Atlantic City. I was in Las Vegas a year or a year and a half ago. Right now I’m staying at my mom’s and training here in Illinois.

ICT: Who would you consider some of the other top Native boxers?

SH: I think Daniel Ponce deLeon is Native. He’s a world champion and a Mexican Indian (Tarahumara). Otherwise none of us have made it yet. I just found out Matt Godfrey is Indian and he’s ranked in the top 10. He’s the one who beat me. That fight was in Philadelphia.

ICT: Are there any young fighters coming up that you think are going to do well?

SH: Yeah, there’s a few on my girlfriend’s reservation. There’s Jayli Fimbres. She’s an amateur but she’s really pretty good. She has a lot of athleticism. She fights like Manny Pacquiao. There are also a couple of Native pros up there and if they got in shape they could do well. Then there’s Emerson Chasing Bear. He just got his first loss but he was undefeated till the fight in Coeur d’Alene. He lost because he wasn’t in the proper conditioning. His record now is 8 wins and 1 loss. He’s a 6-foot-5 heavyweight.

ICT: How about mixed martial arts? Do you follow that at all?

SH: No, not really. I hardly ever watch TV.

ICT: Do you know how purses compare between mixed martial arts and boxing?

SH: From what I hear the MMA fighters don’t get any money, only the top guys. I guess boxing is getting like that too, in a way. Mayweather and Pacquiao are the two cash cows.

ICT: Do you follow any Native Americans in other professional sports like baseball or football?

SH: Not really. I heard about a couple who just made it to the NFL.

ICT: Is it any easier now for Natives to get good fights?

SH: Yeah, with an organization like my dad’s (Native American Warriors) it draws more attention to it and helps us get into the big ones like Vegas or on the East Coast. My dad just had a couple of fighters fighting on TV down in Florida. Nick Runningbear from Minot, N.D. is fighting in Madison Square Garden. He likes the sport. Again, if he really works out and dedicates himself he could be good but he kind of takes it easy.

ICT: Has the number of Indian casinos that now have boxing events helped get Native fighters fights?

SH: It does. It gives everybody, if they’re looking for a place to fight, there is a circuit we can fight and make money and start off that way. Once you get a fan base somewhere you can always come back.