A sports and conditioning “mad scientist,” Cem Eren trains both Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard and light heavyweight boxing champion David Benavidez.

Michael Jordan trained with Tim Grover. Steph Curry trains with Carl Bergstrom. And, for the past nine years, Damian Lillard has trained with Cem Eren, a Tigard-based strength and conditioning coach with a unique passion for boxing.

The two meet for training sessions multiple times per day every off-season. Some of their training sessions focus on strength, power and explosiveness. Others focus on boxing with the shorter, powerfully built trainer laser focused on Lillard, stalking him around the ring with mitts as the Blazers’ legend jabs and parries, fending him off. Eren has worked closely with Lillard as he rehabilitat

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