SILVER GLOVES: Meet 4 Young Champs!

National tournament features best in amateur boxing

Do you remember the quote “All that is gold does not glitter”? For these young fighters, their gold standard is SILVER!

Meet four boys from three states and four different cities: Deyon Christie (Las Vegas), Ryan Garcia (Victorville, CA), Gary Salazar (Fresno, CA) and Zimmie Dickinson (Washington, DC).

From coast to coast, they have one thing in common–they are THE 2010 National Silver Gloves Champions in their respective age and weight divisions after winning their prestigious titles last Saturday in Independence, Missouri (near Kansas City).

All four battled extremely tough foes during district, state and regional Silver Gloves tournaments to advance and win their national championship crowns. After whittling down over 1,000 regional boxers, just 350 athletes–the elite in amateur boxing–came from all over the U.S., spanning in ages 10-15, in eight appointed regional teams. Three rings held three days of action with the youth duking it out for the top prize. When the final bell rang in the 43rd edition of this tournament, only 70 hands were raised in glory.

For these boys with big dreams and even bigger hearts, they have proved they also have the will, skill and determination to win. These amateurs will continue to keep their focus on their goal of making the Olympics and becoming future pro champs.

This fearsome foursome epitomizes what it takes to be a victor. They all put on A+ performances and were “A-mazing” inside the ropes. The proof is in the large, heavy first-place belts that hang from their still-growing torsos.

As proud as the boxers are of their own achievements, their parents and coaches may be even prouder of their youngsters whose “sterling” performances captured each of them a coveted Silver Gloves title. The families have all logged in countless hours of training, waiting around at weigh-ins, driving to various local shows and traveling across the country for the nationwide tournaments. Commitment, dedication and patience would all be understatements in describing these loyal boxing families.

As their camps detailed what winning the tournament was like, meet four of the best young amateurs that the U.S. has to offer.

First up is Deyon Christie, 15, from the Mecca of boxing, Las Vegas, and whose young physique already boasts over 200 pounds of muscle. Training out of Barry’s Boxing, he holds the distinction of being the only fighter out of Nevada to bring home a Silver Gloves belt! This heavyweight slugger began fighting just two years ago but with his coach, former pro featherweight Augie Sanchez in his corner, he’s already getting noticed throughout the nation. To get to that top pedestal in the tourney, Deyon had a couple of new challenges to conquer: fight a southpaw (twice) and fight someone larger than him.

Dawn Sanchez, Augie’s wife, tells me, “In this tournament, Deyon had to box twice–and both times he fought against southpaws which he has never done before. Also, at 6’ 1” and 200 pounds Deyon does not often box kids bigger than him…but his first opponent was approximately five inches taller!

What’s next for the talented Deyon? Training to win the upcoming Junior Golden Gloves and gaining personal redemption.

“The Silver Gloves tournament provided an opportunity for young boxers to challenge themselves as there were many skilled athletes. Overall this was a very good experience and excellent preparation for the upcoming Junior Golden Gloves Nationals this July in Mesquite, Nevada,” Dawn says. “Deyon placed silver at the Junior Golden Gloves last year (he lost in the finals) and he is looking forward to redeeming his only recorded loss at this year’s tournament.”

Next up, meet another Region 8 champ, Ryan Garcia from the city of Victorville (between Los Angeles and Vegas). The skilled youth is a familiar face around the L.A. boxing scene; his younger brother Sean is also a California State champion, and his parents Henry and Lisa are licensed USA boxing officials.

The 11-year-old was very excited about the tournament and even more excited (and admittedly a tad nervous) about his very first plane ride. “Like a champ, he took the window seat–despite his nervousness!” says his mom, Lisa. “And he really enjoyed flying above the clouds.”

Ryan, in the 75 pound division, is already hoping to make a return trip, “I miss Kansas. I want to go back there. So I need to work hard to make it again!”

Team Garcia is understandably very proud of Ryan’s weekend win against very worthy opponents. “Ryan performed like a true champion. Winning Thursday against a boy from Washington State, winning Friday against a boy from Maryland and winning the championship against a boy from Oklahoma,” explains his dad, Henry. “It was so exciting because both boys went all out. Our team (with Joe Zanders) also set a new record by winning 22 bouts of of 42! We are all proud of our team as well.”

He and his fellow teammates from the West all got along well. During the competition there is also time for camaraderie that naturally builds during the tournament. They may be rivals, but it is often a friendly rivalry even though they all want to claim that championship belt.

“All the boys from Region 8 were awesome, even the boxers who did not get the decision,” states Lisa. “The most important lesson to remind the boys is that it’s not always about winning–it’s about performing. They have to ask themselves, ‘Did I win performing my best? Did I lose performing my best?’ And if you can honestly say ‘yes’ to both then you are a champ in the making!”

While competitors on the canvas, they forge bonds while traveling and training together as a team. Ryan’s mother gives praise to one of her son’s team members. “One boxer I think that showed a lot of heart is Gary Salazar from up north. He continued his bout with an injury,” Lisa says. “He mainly used his left arm while throwing his right arm as a decoy! He won using only his left punch! He showed heart and was awarded the Region 8 Team Trophy for his courage and endurance.”

Which leads us to our third boxer being profiled: Meet Gary Salazar from Fresno and Aleman Boxing. His coach, Frank Aleman, is a former pro fighter and founder of their boxing club. Gary, 15, won his title in the 112 pound division. “He had to defeat two-time national Silver Gloves champ Marshall Sanchez of Texas before going to the final matchup against Maliek Montgomery of Georgia,” states his trainer.

Aleman also gives praise to the other kids in the tournament. “He fought his toughest foe over there–Marshall Sanchez.” His coach says Gary is on a 25-bout winning streak that includes last year’s major titles: 2009 National Silver Gloves, 2009 International Desert Showdown, and the 2009 Junior Golden Gloves National Championship. While celebrating their victory, the teenage champ is already thinking ahead. “Next up for Gary is the National Junior Olympics,” Aleman tells me. And they are hoping that Salazar will make the 2012 Olympic team.

For now, they will keep the Silver Gloves celebration going. “I’m having an amateur boxing show down here in Fresno on February 20,” Frank says, where Gary will be a special guest of honor at the event hosted by Aleman Boxing Fresno and receive a hero’s welcome.

Now for those of you on the East Coast, meet Zimmie Dickinson–your Silver Gloves Champion out of Region 3 and an 80-pound dynamo!

The twelve year old has been training with Troy Fox for over five years now. His father and assistant trainer Kullen Dickinson notes his son’s recent accomplishments: five-time DC Silver Gloves Champ, five-time DC Junior Olympic Champ and two-time Ringside World titlist. “Zimmie has more than 70 bouts listed in his passbook and only eight losses. Many of which were against older boxers, but all of two he has avenged! One is against a fighter that is more than two years older. They weren’t supposed to be matched up but things happen. The other is a 15-year-old national champ who is 20 pounds heavier, so we’ll have to wait for that one later!”

Kullen mentions the tough competition taking place over the weekend. “Anytime you are facing the Top 8 boxers in the U.S., it’s going to be a very competitive tournament! It was more so for Zimmie because he is what we call “the bottom of the bracket,” meaning he is 12 in the 12/13-year-old division. He faced two 13 year olds in both of his bouts.”

His father adds with a chuckle, “Also, this is his third consecutive title, so he is a very good win to have on a boxer’s resume! He has a target on his back and he also has to deal with the fact that almost all of his bouts are online.

“I put all his bouts (win OR lose) up on our blog and on YouTube because I don’t want to seem like I’m putting everyone else’s stuff on and have people upset. So, he had a lot of things stacked up against him but he boxed beautifully.”

And to travel back to their DC area, they all had to try and box themselves, their vehicles and their planes out of the snow!

While the spotlight burned bright on these boys and teens, once the tournament was over they had a new foe to face: a snowstorm. The wintry blizzard waylaid several boxers trying to fly back home. But the wait was made easier knowing they were bringing a championship back home. As the hazardous weather blanketed the east, a lot of the Silver Glove warriors had to stay in Kansas City just a little longer than planned.

“We were supposed to leave Sunday morning but didn’t get out until Tuesday…but it was a good thing. We got two more feet last night and now I think there are still some boxers stuck out there,” Kullen relays. “I got stuck in Missouri because of the mid-Atlantic storm but my son came out and won his third consecutive National Silver Gloves—so being stuck is not that annoying.” He laughs and also adds that he’s happy some of the youngsters got to experience snow for the very first time.

Dickinson remembers, “There were several of our regional boxers frolicking in the snow during last week’s tournament. They had never seen snow before falling from the sky!”

Another parent, Lisa Garcia, also recalls the effects of the snowfall during the tournament. “The snow did not come down too heavy nor did it stick, but the Washington, DC boys, Dusty Harrison and his father Buddy, were stuck in Kansas due to the conditions back home in DC.”

All four boxers profiled in this piece have now all made it home safely. And just five days after winning this year’s championships, all are still relishing their hard-earned titles–and deservedly so.

A champion is not made overnight, but these guys are already triumphant veterans of the ring after years of training and sacrifice. Boxing is their life, and therefore their lives are all about boxing. In their personal holiday photos, you’ll see Christmas trees and stockings right alongside boxing trophies and belts! No doubt, in their households, they eat, sleep and dream of boxing. With that edge, you just may be meeting the next Olympic star or possibly the next “Golden Boy.” This talented crop of amateur standouts could be where boxing’s next superstars lie.

Don’t believe me? Well, then go ahead and stick this where the sun don’t shine…in a “time capsule”!

That’s right, put this away for a decade or so and then check it out in the year 2020. In a few years, there’s an excellent chance the names of Deyon Christie, Ryan Garcia, Gary Salazar and Zimmie Dickinson will ring a bell to boxing fans around the world!

Congratulations to ALL the 2010 Silver Glove participants and champions!

Photos of Deyon, Ryan, Gary and Zimmie courtesy of: Barry’s Boxing/Dawn Sanchez, Aleman Boxing Fresno/Frank Aleman, Henry and Lisa Garcia, and DC Boxing/Kullen Dickinson