WHO IS CJ "LION HEART" ?
I’m glad you are here. Let me tell you a little about myself…my name is Courtney Jackson and although my family is from Jamaica (I’m the youngest and only male of four siblings), I was born in Miami and spent my teenage years here.
After high school and looking for a change from a static atmosphere in South Florida, I enlisted in the United States Navy. I began my service in Chicago, working in the pediatrics department for 18 months. When the President at the time announced that “All male medical personnel need to be ready to deploy to Iraq...;” I then transitioned from a clinical setting to a field setting and worked as a corpsman for the marines in California.
I deployed on one tour to Afghanistan in 2010. At the completion of my service, I moved to Los Angeles to study theatre and acting. That is also where I began boxing. A semester later, I relocated back to Miami and enrolled at the University of Miami.
At UM, I was majoring in Biology with a Double Minor in Chemistry and Political Science…my class load was HARD. I was splitting my time between school, training/competing and helping others as a personal trainer/instructor…it was too much! I also felt the responsibility to show those that came after me that athletics is not the only opportunity for black men…that education is important for their future. So, I had to make a decision…a tough one…I had to take time off from boxing and concentrate on my studies.
It took me 5 years, but I finally finished my studies and received a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology and a double minor in Chemistry and Political Science.
Now I could box again…and I did…I was 19-0 and I had 2-weeks to get ready for Hooker for a title shot. I lost by decision, but I was back in the ring.
Then – as life would have it- we entered a worldwide pandemic – COVID-19 and I was out of the ring again – this time for 3 years.
It finally seems like we are seeing the light at the end of the Covid-19 tunnel and I’m training hard again...training my mind and my body to get stronger and better. It has taken everything that I have been through – that all of us have been through – to get me to where I am today…READY TO GO!
I’m excited to finally have a home (Lion Heart Gym,) where I can train to pursue my World Champion aspirations and share my knowledge and my experience with my gym’s members.
My mantra for my clients is simple: " I will feed you the knowledge as fast as you can pick it up! And there's no shortcuts in boxing. Put in the work and it will show