Sometimes boyhood friends can determine a person’s choices including the path they decide to take as an adult. Take Rob Brant, for instance.

Brant had a childhood friend who had boxing gloves in the house. “They were those giant 20-once gloves,’’ Brant recalled. It wasn’t long before Brant’s interest was obvious and his friend’s father began showing him some of the basics. “He taught me how to throw a simple jab, some of the remedial stuff,’’ Brant recalled.

Once Brant had his driver’s license it wasn’t far from his home in Oakdale to the White Bear Lake Boxing Club, where venerable amateur coach Emmett Yanez took him under his wing. With Yanez’s guidance, Brant branched out, winning U.S. National Amateur and National Golden Gloves titles.

“I guess I’ve always been interested in boxing, since I was a kid,’’ he said. “I played football in high school too but gave that up when I decided that it was boxing I wanted to pursue. I thought I could be a pretty good football player but a far better boxer.’’

It certainly appears that his assumption at the time was accurate. After compiling a 102-22 amateur record, he turned professional on June 16, 2012, knocking out Cheyenne Zigler at the Hyatt Regency in Minneapolis. He hasn’t strayed since, winning twenty-one consecutive fights, fourteen by knockout. He moved within the last year to Dallas, Texas, where he is training under the guidance of Derrick James.

His professional career has taken him around the country, fighting in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Arizona and California. None of that is new to the 26-year-old middleweight. As an amateur he had bouts across the globe, in Russia, Italy and Mexico. He has become a bright star on the Minnesota horizon and for that he is being honored as the Minnesota Boxing Hall of Fame Prospect of the Year.