Meet the MK Boxing Coaches
Mike Knox
Founder & Coach
Mike is the owner and instructor at MK Boxing. For many years, Mike has studied in traditional Martial Arts, including Shotokan, Uechi-Ryu, Goju-Ryu, and Kempo Karate Styles, and has attained his Black Belt Rank in various styles. He has a background in Yoshitsune Combat Jiu Jitsu and was awarded his Black Belt Rank by Soke Michael Depasquale.
Mike Knox is a Certified Boxing Coach through USA Boxing and continues to train in Boxing, Japanese and Brazilian Jiu-jitsu.
He currently teaches classes involving Boxing, Kickboxing, and Mixed Martial Arts Striking, which involve the use of hands, elbows, knees, and feet. The classes focus on Heavy Bag Work, Focus Mitts, Partner Drills, and Conditioning.
Available for personal training by appointment.
Peter Gillis
Coach
Peter has been a member and an instructor of MK Boxing for 5 years. He is passionate about mixed martial arts, physical fitness, and teaching.
Peter started at MK in 2018. He has trained in Boxing, Kickboxing, Muay Thai, and BJJ. He taught the kids beginner and intermediate Boxing classes from 2019 to 2021; during that time, he started coaching Boxing for adults on a fill-in basis.
As of 2022, he became a permanent coach; his class focuses on Boxing and Kickboxing with an emphasis on physical fitness/cardio. At one of his Boxing/Kickboxing classes, you can expect circuit workouts, heavy bag work, ring work, mitts and gloves, sparring, and conditioning.
Pax Cook
Coach
Pax has been a member of MK Boxing for a number of years.
He is a fighter and competitor in the heavyweight division. He enjoys coaching and training current and new clients of the gym.
You can see Pax training and coaching on Tuesday and Thursday evenings at 6:30 pm.
Hamid Razzaghi
Coach
Hamid has several years of training in wrestling, kickboxing, and boxing in the United States and abroad. Hamid has been a member of MK Boxing for many years, and is excited to contribute his expertise to a dynamic boxing program and join a team that shares his dedication to excellence and growth.
Sam Auwerda
Coach
Sam has been boxing for many years, spending the most recent of them at MK Boxing in training and teaching. He is passionate about getting in shape, boxing technique, and having fun while working out. He focuses on conditioning to build endurance through intense cardio sessions and employs lots of pad work to teach foundational methods for various boxing styles. In his classes, you can expect to sweat and learn a lot through jumping rope, circuit drills, bag work, mitt work, sparring, and much more.
Tom Rosa
Coach
Tom has been a member of MK Boxing since 2006 and is now looking to teach all levels of boxing. He is currently competing in various competitions around the country.
Tom currently has 152 fights and has competed for the last 40 years.
He is a 3-time Toughman Contest Champion and 4-time runner-up, 2-time Ringside World Champion, 3-time Masters Invitational Champion, Rude Dog Masters Invitational Champion, 2021 Rude Dog Life Time achievement award winner, Las Vegas Masters Ringside Champion 2022.
Tom Rosa has been inducted into the Masters Boxing Hall of Fame.
Tracey Goetz
Coach
Tracey has been training in various martial arts for more than 10 years. Her main focuses are grappling and boxing from a self-defense perspective. She holds an instructor’s certificate from the IMB Academy of Martial Arts in Carson, CA. She continues to further her training under the instruction of Esteban De La Cruz of the IMB Headquarters in Carson, Chris Smith of the IMB in Connecticut, and the instruction of Coach Mike Knox. She has also been fortunate to train with many icons of the martial arts through instructors’ conferences and seminars.
She enjoys traveling and spending time at home with her dogs.
Gail Nault
Coach
Gail has spent 15 years training in various styles of martial arts including Boxing, Muay Thai, Jeet Kune Do and Eskrima under the lineage of the late Grand Master Richard Bustillo (original student of Bruce Lee) of the International Martial Arts academy headquartered in Carson California.
She holds instructor certifications through the IMB academy and continues her training under Master Estaban Delacruz of the IMB academy California, Master Chris Smith of the IMBCT and Coach Mike Knox of MK Boxing. She is passionate about training and enjoys passing on her knowledge and training to the new generation of students.
Justin Piper
Coach
Justin has been a member and an instructor of MK Boxing for many years. He has trained in Boxing, Kickboxing, Muay Thai and Jiu Jitsu.
He teaches a combination of boxing, kickboxing, and conditioning when he is covering a class. In his classes, you can expect a heavy bag workout in boxing and kickboxing combinations, focus mitt training, partner drills and some ring work.
Coaching for Every Stage of the Journey
First-Time Beginners
Never boxed before? You don’t need experience to walk through the door. Learn the fundamentals, build confidence, and discover a different way to train.
Kids & Teens
Structured training helps young athletes develop coordination, discipline, confidence, and fitness in a supportive environment.
Fitness-Focused Adults
Train hard, improve your conditioning, and learn real boxing and striking skills while working toward your fitness goals.
Experienced & Competitive Athletes
Take your technique, conditioning, and performance further with experienced coaching and serious training.
Our Coaching Approach
Coaching Built Around People
Meet People Where They Are
MK Boxing welcomes people with different goals and different levels of experience.
Some members have never thrown a punch. Some want to get back in shape. Some want to learn boxing, kickboxing, or another discipline. Others want to compete.
Our approach is not to force every person onto the same path. It’s to give people access to quality training and help them discover where that training can take them.
Teach Real Skills
Training should be more than simply burning calories.
Members learn combinations, movement, technique, conditioning, and practical skills while getting a challenging workout.
The physical training matters, but so does the satisfaction of learning something new.
Create a Place Where People Belong
After hundreds of people have walked through the doors of MK Boxing, we still emphasize something remarkably simple:
Know people by name. Make them feel welcome. Give them a place where they can participate rather than disappear into the crowd.
That philosophy has helped shape the MK Boxing community for more than two decades.