Columbus North freshman Jaden Jimenez, center, won a Silver Gloves national championship last weekend in Kansas City. She is joined by PAL Boxing coaches Robert Hurst, left, and Peter Soler.
Submitted photo
Two months ago, Jaden Jimenez had never competed in a boxing match.
Now, she’s a national champion.
The Columbus North freshman won two bouts last weekend to capture the girls 15-16-year-old 132-pound division at the Silver Gloves National Championships in Kansas City.
“It’s a pretty good feeling,” Jimenez said. “This motivates me more to want to accomplish more in my boxing career.”
That career just began in December on her 15th birthday. Although she had been training for two years at PAL Boxing, her first bout didn’t come until the state Silver Gloves event at Crump Theatre.
In January, Jimenez won a regional bout against a former national champion in Philadelphia to qualify for the national event.
“I was pretty nervous because I knew the girls at Kansas City were going to be good,” Jimenez said.
Jimenez thought she would have to fight three times last week to win the title, but received a bye in the first round. On Friday, she won two of the three rounds in a decision against Madison Lovass from Minnesota.
“I thought I could have done better,” Jimenez said. “The girl was strong and tall, and she was more experienced.”
On Saturday, Jimenez won all three rounds against Taylor Whitehall-Jacoby from Colorado, who was ranked No. 5 in the nation in the @usaboxing rankings.
“I was more confident for my second fight than I was for the first,” Jimenez said. “I didn’t know anything about her. After the fight, I found out she was ranked No. 5 in the country, so I was surprised about that.”
Meanwhile, 14-year-old Yadiel Castillo also represented Columbus PAL Boxing at the national championships. Castillo, an eighth-grader at Central Middle School, lost his first bout to an experienced fighter from California.
Jimenez is the fourth Silver Gloves national champion from Columbus PAL Boxing and the second in two years. Meadow Vetitoe won a title last year.
“It wasn’t a big surprise because we knew how tough (Jimenez) was,” said her coach, Peter Soler. “We saw a lot of things that needed to be adjusted and polished and we worked on it. She did a good job.”
Jimenez may have another fight Feb. 17 in Indianapolis. She also is considering competing in the Golden Gloves state championships this spring in Indianapolis.
“After fighting, I know what I need to work on now, and I will train even harder,” Jimenez said. “I was pretty surprised, but also not that surprised because I worked hard. I was pretty confident, even though the other girls were more experienced than me. I’ve been working hard for this.”
