Before coach David Ramirez found him, he had lost two fights. But now, after starting a strenuous twice-a-day training regimen, 15-year-old Jhordy Ramirez is on his way to the top. He’s already made progress after becoming a Coachella East Coast champion, claiming a national belt.
In fact, he mopped up the competition: He knocked down his first opponent the second the bell rang to begin the second round, and he took his second opponent down for eight counts in the third round, going on to get the decision for the win.
“He’s one of the fastest kids in town, and he’s got power,” the coach said. “It’s the best thing a boxer can have.”
In addition to that power and speed, Jhordy is doing really well in school.
He travels from Santa Maria to Lompoc to train since there’s more space and an abundance of bags in Lompoc’s PAL Boxing Gym.
“He trains really hard,” Coach Ramirez said. “He trains in the morning and in the afternoon.”
Of course, training is important to a great fighter, but what Jhordy really likes in a fight is a hard punch.
“It makes me punch back harder,” he said.
Jhordy plans to fight in the Olympics, and they hit pretty hard there, so he just might do well. For now, though, he has another tournament scheduled for September in Los Angeles.
This article appears in Aug 5-12, 2010.
