Alabama teen boxer Juan Valdez training for greatness
By Julian Mitchell
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PELHAM, Alabama (WVTM) — Juan Valdez isn’t like most teenagers.
“I’d rather not party right now and party when I’m older,” Valdez said.
Instead of spending time doing other things, the 16-year-old spends all his time at Champions Boxing working on his craft.
“I love this sport, I can’t see myself without doing this sport,” Valdez said.
Since Juan was nine years old, boxing has been his passion. It started when his dad brought a punching bag home.
“He bought a punching bag off of Facebook Marketplace and he just caught me always punching the bag when he came home,” Valdez said.
Seeing that he took a liking to the sport, his dad, Juan Valdez Sr. took Juan to the gym.
“They put the gloves on him and he fell in love, he doesn’t want to do anything else just box,” Juan Valdez Sr. said.
Since then he’s spent countless hours in the gym, blossoming to become one of the top amateur boxers in Alabama.
“I didn’t have much confidence, I didn’t think I’d be good at it, but I had a good support team. Good coaches that always built me up when I didn’t feel as well, my dad always built me up,” Valdez said.
Many of the trainers at Champions Boxing have had a front-row-seat to his growth. Cordarrius Powell, a.k.a ‘Coach Mailman’ has nothing, but praise for Valdez.
“Exceptional, sensational, aspiring, inspiring and dedicated. There’s so many positive things you can see about this kid,” Powell said.
Coach Mailman has been able to see not just Juan’s talent, but how hard he works, something he says not many kids his age have.
“He doesn’t look at it like a sport, he looks at it like a job at his young age,” Powell said.
The work ethic comes from Juan’s will to be the next great fighter out of Alabama.
“There’s not a lot of world champions out of Alabama, I think it’s just Deontay Wilder and I want to be better than him. I love him, he’s a good person to look up to, but I want to be better than him. I want to do what he’s done and twice more,” Valdez said.
It’s a long road to get there, but with his dad by his side, Juan’s ready for it.
“He’s like my dad, my best friend, my brother, he’s everything to me,” Valdez said.
His dad set to be there every step of the way.
“God blessed me with this kid, I mean I say he’s one in a million,” Valdez Sr. said.
As he looks to achieve his dreams.
“People ask me if I have a plan B, I don’t have a plan B this is my only plan. I don’t see anything else but boxing,” Valdez said.
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