A young El Pasoan is hopeful to represent the United States of America in the Olympics.
Jorge Tovar, 18, spends his days training at Warriors Edge Boxing in east El Paso.
“I’m training in December for Salt Lake City. I qualified to try out for the Olympic trials. If I make it, I get to represent USA,” said Tovar sporting a blue USA shirt.
Tovar has boxed for more than half of his life.
“I started boxing when I was 7 years old. I was obese when I was little. I was weighing like 130 pounds at 8 years old,” said Tovar.
While fitness was his first reason to train in the combat sport, Tovar quickly gained another view of boxing.
“I had two sisters. I had to defend myself and my sisters.”
Putting on the gloves took Tovar to new heights of his early career. Tovar, along with El Pasoan Victor Aranda, ended a 12-year state championship drought in 2017.
https://cbs4local.com/sports/team-of-the-week/ep-golden-gloves-boxing-packs-a-punch-in-this-weeks-team-of-the-week
Warriors Edge Boxing is a family-friendly gym open to kids from different backgrounds. The gym is managed by Luis Treviño, who is also an El Paso County sheriff’s deputy.
“We start with discipline, and then from there we are a competitive facility,” said Treviño.
Above the gym hang the American flag, the Mexican flag, the Puerto Rican flag and the Brazilian flag—showing the diversity of boxers.
“[The boxers] are warriors. Let me tell you our heritage, our upbringings have been a struggle and when they get up in that ring, it’s a struggle for life, for pride,” said Treviño.
Boxing to El Paso is like the Star on the mountain, it is one of the city’s foundations in Treviño’s point of view.
“You gotta have menudo here in El Paso, you gotta have L&J's, you gotta have boxing," said Treviño.
"Jake Martinez, Junior Vicencio, Herman Delgado. These are all local people that I've seen and I grew up seeing. They're all from El Paso,” said Treviño.
The sense of pride for heritage, culture and family has trickled down to Tovar.
"I'm 100% Hispanic and my roots are from Mexico so when I fight, I look up to them I feel like I have to make them proud as well as the United States," said Tovar.
Tovar will compete for a place in USA boxing in December.
https://news4sanantonio.com/news/local/hispanic-heritage-month-boxing-in-the-borderland
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