Winning a Pennsylvania Golden Gloves boxing championship would mean more to Brian Mowry than receiving a medal.

It would be setting up a career path.

Mowry, 22, a Knoch graduate and member of the Butler Cubs boxing program, is headed to Harrisburg for an April 8 Pa. Golden Gloves title bout in the 201 pounds and over novice division.

“Winning this is a must milestone for me,” Mowry said. “It's my next step. Once I get this, I can decide whether I want to pursue boxing, MMA or whatever.

“But I need that state title first. This is what I'm concentrating on.”

But before Mowry goes to Harrisburg, there's a little side trip to South Africa first.

A work commitment has him heading to Johannesburg Friday for what will be a 20-day stay in South Africa. He will be helping out an industry in the field of “beer fillers” there.

“Apparently, the quality of bottles is an issue over there,” he said.

Cubs boxing trainer Don Spinetti is hopeful that staying in shape won't become an issue for Mowry.

“He needs to get in his cardio work at the very least,” Spinetti said. “If that doesn't happen ... Brian will return here only a week before his fight and there won't be enough time to get back into shape.”

While Mowry admitted the timing of this trip “isn't ideal,” he doesn't anticipate staying in shape to be a problem.

He's counting on boxing being a global sport in that regard.

“You can go pretty much anywhere in the world and find a boxing gym,” Mowry said. “I'm hoping to find one where I can train, get my sparring in, all of that stuff.

“I work full-time, so I get in about 10 hours a week in training up here (in the Cubs boxing gym). I'm hoping to get those same kind of hours in over there.”

Mowry said his mother's boyfriend's son lives in South Africa, near the area he's going, and may assist him in finding a gym.

“What I have to watch for is who's training me and with what style,” Mowry said. “I can't be switching styles and practicing a different technique now.”

What he's been doing has been working fine. Mowry is 7-1 as an amateur. His older brother, Steve, is building a professional MMA career in Florida.

Mowry stands 6-foot-7 and weighs 210 pounds.

He is trying to become the third Butler Cubs boxer — joining his brother and Billy Wolfe — to win a state Golden Gloves title in the past five years.

“The biggest things in his favor are his reach and the fact he listens well,” Spinetti said. “Some guys go into a fight with a game plan, they get hit and they just start winging it.

“Brian's not like that. He stays the course.”

While Mowry takes advantage of his reach in the ring, he admits he has to get physically stronger and bigger.

“I need to add some weight to this frame,” he said. “Until I do that, my punching power won't be where it needs to be to knock some guys down.”

A wrestler in high school, Mowry easily determined what he likes most about boxing.

“Winning. Just winning. Beating the guy standing across from you, one on one ... there's no feeling like it,” he said.