Maleek Jackson was born and raised in South Philadelphia and fell in love with boxing at an early age.

"Once we get to that point where you can feel the mistakes and the errors, and you can self-correct. Then we start learning," Jackson said.

But after witnessing the death of his older brother, boxing was on the ropes as he was absorbed into a life of crime.

"By the time I turned 16, I was a different kid, involved in different things," Jackson said.

He landed a dangerous combination, being sentenced to 10 years in prison until he was 26. Three of those years, he was in solitary confinement.

"I had to put myself in the fight of life and say, 'Yo, round 1 through 5 not gonna be fair. You know that, but you got to survive,'" said Jackson.

Survival became hard when he lost two more brothers to gun violence while incarcerated, including his younger brother, Azzim. 

"The pain that I felt was unlike any other pain, and that one was younger than me, and I felt more responsibility to him as a protector," he said.

Through his inconsolable pain, Jackson rediscovered his love for boxing, which helped him get through his long sentence.

"I was able to practice it again in a hopeless situation and extract the mentality of a boxer," he said.

That mentality helped Jackson to fight, and after serving his sentence, he shadowed the business workings at a local gym.

"I had this light about overcoming and moving forward with my life," Jackson said.

Before you know it, he opened his own gym, Maleek Jackson Boxing, in Northern Liberties. He trains everyone from beginners to professionals.

"The last part you get is a sweat. That's the icing on the cake," he said. "What you really taking is how to use the gift of boxing when you're out there in your life ... and life is getting tough.

Close to his heart is his nonprofit named after his younger brother, the Azzim Dukes Initiative, which offers free year-round training for children.

"It gives kids a gift, just like boxing has given to me ... and ultimately … learn to separate your emotions between your actions. That's what boxing does," he said.

Jackson's story proves that new beginnings are possible with hard work, dedication and of course, a good one-two punch.