Boxing Changes One Local Boys Life
By
KGNS News
Story Created:
Nov 12, 2012 at 12:57 AM CDT
Story Updated:
Nov 12, 2012
Life wasn't easy for 17-year-old Angel Martinez, until he fell in love with the sport of boxing.
"I was involved in a lot of things like gangs and drugs and I don't know, boxing just turned it around, kept me in the right path."
Martinez spent a many of his younger years in juvenile detention before he found Rocky’s boxing gym, which changed his entire life.
"A friend introduced me to the gym because he knew how much I loved fighting in the street. He told me boxing would be a good thing for me, so I told him I was going to come check out the gym. So that’s when I met Rocky and that's when he took me to my first fight in Austin. And I liked it so that’s when I started coming to the gym."
Martinez has had 19 fights in his amateur career and has collected seven knockouts.
The young boxer will be going pro in December when he has his first fight in the professional ring during border fight fest.
"I train 24-7, Monday-Sunday I wake up in the mornings from 6:30-7:30, run and I train twice a day.”
"He's got the style, he's got the punch. I'm pretty sure he can make it in professional if he keeps in the right track."
Martinez may only be in the beginning stages of his career but he's already inspiring children.
You can find Martinez training in the gym seven days a week, and he gives all the credit to his coach. Rocky.
"A lot of my friends right now are either locked up or either in gangs, or doing bad stuff and I want to thank Rocky because I'm not into that stuff anymore. Right now, I'm focusing on boxing and school, that’s my main things right now."
Martinez will be fighting in his first professional fight on December 15th at border fight fest.
He will be competing in the 126-weight class division.
