Two local boys were given the opportunity of a lifetime this
month: After hours upon hours of training, 11-year-old Jonathon
Casaca and 13-year-old Sal Vaca were able to experience the drama,
guts and glory of their chosen sport at a national youth boxing
tournament.
Hollister – Two local boys were given the opportunity of a lifetime this month: After hours upon hours of training, 11-year-old Jonathon Casaca and 13-year-old Sal Vaca were able to experience the drama, guts and glory of their chosen sport at a national youth boxing tournament.
The dynamic duo spent the first weekend of February in Independence, Mo. as competitors in the National Silver Gloves Championships against hundreds of other boys from all over the country – a right they earned after dominating opponents at the local, state and regional levels. And despite the fact that this was their first ever national competition, the boys placed respectably, with Casaca taking second place in his weight class and Vaca taking sixth place out of eight fighters in his class.
“Both of these kids are excellent fighters,” said coach Zeke Lopez, who runs Bull Dog Boxing Gym. “They learned a lot at the tournament. It was a wonderful experience for them, and they both have a bright future ahead of them.”
Vaca, who has been boxing for less than a year, was the first of the boys to compete and was set to fight four different boys in the 132-pound weight class over a period of three days. Unfortunately, he lost his first fight after playing three close rounds.
“I think he got a little nervous,” Lopez said. “You’re fighting in a room with hundreds of people screaming, there’s three fights going on at once, you can’t even hear the bells ringing. Sal has a fire in him, he’s one of my best kids, but I think this was good for him. Next year, he’ll know what to expect.”
Despite his loss, his competitive game placed him above two other fighters in his weight class, allowing him to come in at sixth place. Vaca could not be reached for comment.
Casaca will have been boxing for two years come March, but this marked his first national tournament.
“I became a boxer because of my father… he wants me to be like Oscar De La Hoya,” he said. “But I didn’t think I would be able to go to the nationals this year.”
As one of only four boys in his weight class of 95 pounds, Casaca was only required to fight twice. In his first fight he was the clear victor, but the next day, fighting a boy from Cincinnati, the situation became a little less cut and dry.
Fights at the Silver Gloves competitions consist of three, one-minute rounds to keep from exhausting the athletes who range in age from 10 to 15. Lopez believes that although Casaca may have been bested in the second round, he clearly took the first and third, which should have been enough for him to win the fight and take first place.
But Casaca still brought home a medallion for coming in second place. Now that the fighters are home, they are back to their regular training routine. Every morning they run laps with their fellow athletes at the Bull Dog Gym, who can number anywhere between 10 and 30 kids at any given point in the year. Every day after school they train in the gym for four hours, spending about half their time working with gym equipment and half the time sparring one another.
“These kids don’t stop,” Lopez said. “They’re already gearing up for next year.”
