A discus and shot put thrower for the track and field team, a two-way tackle for the football squad ... Butler junior Leland Anderson keeps himself busy.

Now he’s found yet another game to his liking.

Boxing.

Anderson, 16, has been coming to the Butler Cubs boxing gym since he was 12.

“Some friends of mine were coming here and told me about it,” he recalled. “It sounded like fun. I figured, why not? Try something new.”

A couple of his recent opponents wish he never did.

Fighting in the super heavyweight, junior division, Anderson recently won the Pittsburgh Golden Gloves title with a third-round technical knockout of Ethan Shiple of Pittsburgh. He then fought in “The Donnybrook” — a group of Western Pennsylvania amateur boxers against a group from Ireland — and scored a third-round TKO over Ireland’s Connor Whelan.

The bout marked the first international victory by a Cubs boxer in the program’s history.

“That’s a pretty cool thing,” Anderson said. “But, honestly, we have a few guys in this gym right now who are capable of winning international fights.“

Whelan was 6-foot-8, 260 pounds. Anderson stands 6-0 and weighs 227.

“I didn’t know if I’d have a chance against that guy,” Anderson said of Whelan when he first saw him. “But he started the fight way too fast. He was such a big guy ... He should have paced himself more.

“I dug down deep and just started throwing. I got him to take one standing-eight count, then in the third round, he left himself open and I caught him with a stiff left uppercut. Hs head went back and I saw his knees buckle a little bit.

“They gave him another standing-eight and the fight was stopped. I don’t think he wanted to continue after that,” Anderson added.

The win lifted Anderson’s amateur record to 4-1.

“His work ethic is impressive,” Cubs boxing trainer Billy Wolfe said of Anderson. “Leland works hard every night he comes here and that hard work is beginning to pay off.

“He deserves everything that’s happened for him these last two weeks.”

Anderson comes to the Cubs boxing gym two nights a week and stays for a couple of hours. He works as a dishwasher at The 11th Frame in Butler along with competing in track and field.

Before he took a job, Anderson was in the Cubs gym four nights a week.

“I was here every night they were open,” he said. “I love this place. The boxing community is like a family. Everybody supports each other here. Everybody’s humble here ... Everyone just wants to help everyone else get better.”

Anderson describes his strengths as a boxer as “being able to hit hard and being able to take a punch.”

Wolfe has no argument there.

“He hits hard,” the Cubs trainer said. “Leland is very athletic and a strong jkid. He’s also great kid, super respectful to everyone. He’s one of the more dedicated guys I’ve worked with here.”

Anderson said he’s working on becoming more balanced in the ring and using more of the ring in his fights. He’s been sparring with former Cubs fighters Ryan Covert and Paul Zalus.

“Those guys hit heavy and they’ve taught me a lot,” he said. “Billy will put the mitts on, we’ll go in the ring and I’ll throw punches into those mitts for three minutes. That’s built my endurance.

“I’ve had more gas in the tank than guys I’ve been fighting.”

Anderson expects his next fight to be June 22, when the Cubs host its annual amateur boxing show in the facility’s basketball gym.

He is also thinking about turning pro down the road.

“I’ve had that thought. It' be cool to see where that goes,” Anderson said.

Wolfe won’t bet against him.

“Going pro is very possible for him,” Wolfe said. “Leland has the work ethic, the strength, the courage. All of the tools are there. He’s a complete kid.”