WACO, Texas — At Waco Boxing Academy, three fighters were crowned regional champions in the Golden Gloves tournament in Fort Worth.
"When I won it, I was mad happy bro. It's just shout out to my coach and all them and shout out to the fighter I fought. That's really it," regional champion Mykeal Stevenson said.
Stevenson is 16 years old and currently attends Waco high school.
"It's discipline. It's telling me that I can actually do it. Like that's all the motivation that I need it...If you stay in the gym every day and grind, I mean, anything is possible," Nathaniel Gant said.
Gant was also crowned a regional champion and qualified for the state tournament. He also served at Fort Cavazos.
Waco boxing academy has been open for about three years and these young boxers have felt their game grow being a part of this gym.
"It's probably tripled in size. I got 80% of my fighters are actually boxers. They're actually competitors. I don't have a whole bunch of beginners," Waco Boxing Academy owner Gilbert Sanchez said.
"I've grown a lot. It's a lot of pros here. A lot of good work. A lot of great people here, man. It's crazy," Stevenson said.
With these athletes being in more tournaments, it's an opportunity for the local boxing scene to get more eyes.
"It's very important, you know, showing up getting the win because all the other fighters, they're from big cities. They get a lot more exposure. So, when you show up, you really have to show out when you're from a small city like this," regional champion Andrew Reyes said.
Reyes currently attends University high school.
"They know when Waco Boxing Academy is coming, they understand that a good group of kids are coming and we're coming in shape, ready to spar. And when we spar, we spar hard," Sanchez said.
An expanding boxing scene as the fighters will look to add more hardware to their resumes.
