PORTLAND — For 25-year-old Jayson Richter, a Golden Gloves New England champion after just 12 fights, boxing runs in the family.

Richter, the son of Karen and Phil Richter, who live in Lamoine, is a former U.S. Marine who served two tours of duty and saw action on the front lines as an infantryman in Iraq.

And though he’s been interested in boxing since childhood, his first involvement in the sport didn’t come until late in his military service when he took temporary orders to join a Marine boxing team.

Richter’s dad and his uncle Greg both were Golden Glove boxers in upstate New York in their younger years.

“My dad had some pictures and they’d tell me stories,” recalls Richter, but boxing opportunities were nonexistent during his youth in eastern Maine.

After attending Ellsworth Middle School, Jayson and brother Jeremiah both played football and hockey at Brewer High School.

But with his Marine training, Richter’s boxing appetite was whetted.

After enrolling in pre-med courses at the University of Southern Maine, where he is now a junior, he began training at the Portland Boxing Club.

Over the past winter, Richter was active in the New England Golden Gloves novice competition as a welterweight (152 pounds) in the novice class.

And he quickly made his mark.

In early February, Richter scored a 4-1 split decision over Jonathan Figueroa of Hartford, Conn., to win the New England semifinal at Lowell (Mass.) Memorial Auditorium.

Richter got off to a fast start, scoring with some heavy hooks and uppercuts, but the two fighters fought on mostly even terms for the next two rounds with Richter pulling off the victory.

Back at Lowell on Thursday, he survived a first-round knockdown to best Kevin Weeks of Raynham, Mass., in a 3-2 split decision for the novice class championship and earned honors as Outstanding Novice Class Boxer from USA New England Boxing.

Richter credits the training he’s received at the Portland Club for much of his success.

“I was definitely nervous when I was first starting out,” says Richter. But so far, the worst blows he’s taken have been from his training partners.

“I’ve been hurt sparring when I’ve been hit with body shots. Those are the worst.”

The Portland gym produces some pretty good fighters, Richter says. “You’re training with these guys three or four times a week and their caliber is just as good as the guys we’re competing against.”

Richter acknowledges that he’s “been in my share of scrapes,” but says that sort of fighting is different than boxing.

“In the ring, you’re going three minutes nonstop,” he said. “You have to resist the urge to be in there without a plan.”

His military service and experience with the daily life-or-death struggle that went on in Iraq “puts everything in perspective” for Richter.

“Having had combat experience helps in the ring and in life in general,” he says. “There’s no adversity I will face that will have the consequences that combat does.”

How long he’ll stick with boxing remains to be seen.

“Boxing slows down right now,” says Richter. “The busiest time is the fall and winter. We’ll probably have a few fights and go to shows here and there.”

But he’s also concentrating on his studies and will begin the application process for medical school this summer.

“I’ll find out next year whether I’m accepted and, if so, where I’m going,” he said.

“But I love this gym and these coaches,” he says of the Portland Boxing Club. “The only reason I wouldn’t stay would be if I relocate or go to school somewhere else.”

For more sports news, pick up a copy of The Ellsworth American.