Two years ago, an awkward right hook ended Jamyle Cannon’s dream of a national championship. He finished the fight with a torn rotator cuff but couldn’t hold on to win.

After countless hours of rehab, Cannon had another chance to become the first member of the UK’s club boxing team to win a national championship since Chad Gilpin did in 2005.

Last weekend, in the third and final round of the national championship bout, he landed another awkward right hook. Pain shot through his arm. Cannon said the pain was even worse than the first time.

“It felt like a hot coal was just placed on my shoulder,” Cannon said.

Again, Cannon tried to fight through it. He kept his right arm up and tried to best his opponent’s score by landing punches with his left arm.

This time, he hung on to claim the belt.

UK head coach George Ginter said Cannon basically won the fight with one arm. In hindsight, Cannon said it was an easy decision.

“I could fight through it and be a champion the rest of my life or just let it hurt,” Cannon said. “The damage was done at that point.”

As soon as the fight was over, Cannon dropped his arm. After, he couldn’t even lift it above his waist. He is scheduled to meet with doctors Friday to have his arm examined.

In a sport dominated by military academies, Cannon’s accomplishments at UK are even more impressive. When he left high school, the Lexington native turned down football scholarships to Indiana and Purdue to come to UK on an academic scholarship and box. Ginter said 10 of the 12 championships this year were won by military academies.

Ginter said he expects Cannon, who is 5-foot-10 and fights at 147 pounds, to be team captain next year. He’s already one of the strongest leaders on the team.

“He’s one of those very quiet leaders,” Ginter said. “He’s very articulate, very smart. He’s a tremendous kid. You couldn’t imagine what a great kid he is.”

Cannon, a social work junior, said he tries to lead by example, but he can be tough on the team when he needs to be.

“They’re not going to follow me because of what I say,” Cannon said. “They’re going to follow me because of how I’m going to perform.”

Cannon isn’t sure what his future holds beyond college. Currently, he volunteers at Cardinal Hill Hospital and is a resident adviser at Kirwan IV. He’s thinking about law school, but Ginter thinks he is talented enough to continue boxing and possibly train for the Olympic trials if he wants to.

Cannon will find out shortly whether he’ll need surgery or more physical therapy. Regardless, he said he would continue to train by running so he can be ready to defend his title next year.

“It’s something I know that I can fight through now,” Cannon said. “To know that I won a national championship fighting with a torn rotator cuff, that gives me a lot of confidence for next year.”