Esteban Aguirre, 9, recently won a National 2024 Silver Gloves title in Missouri. (Chris Riley/Times-Herald)
Estevan Aguirre may only be 9 years old but he already packs quite the punch.
Last week in Kansas City it gave him a national title.
Competing in the 95-pound division for his age group, Aguirre won the National 2024 Silver Gloves title in Independence, Mo. The competition featured boxers from 30 different states, but it was the Vallejoan who ended up the champion, posting eight-counts in the first and third rounds while defeating Rodney White in the title bout.
“When the referee raised my hand I felt happy,” said Estevan. “All the hard work paid off.”
Estevan’s father, Roberto, was thrilled to see his son win.
“He put in the hard work and hard work pays off,” said Robert Aguirre. “I was glad we had 11-, 12- and 13-year olds spar with him because that molded him. It made him better and gave him for experience and made him stronger with the 9-year-olds in his division.”
Estevan has been boxing since he was just 6, but he knew right away that the sport was something he would enjoy doing all the time.
“I liked how people looked when they fought and sparred,” Estevan said. “I wanted to do that.”
The young boxer comes to the Downtown Boxing Club at least five times a week for a few hours each day. He says a “1-2 hook” is his best punch and is trying to perfect it. Although he’s in the 9-year-old division, he often spars with older kids. That helped him for when he entered the arena for the first time in Missouri.
“I was feeling good because I had previously been sparring with people that were 12 and 13 years old, so I was feeling confident,” Estevan said.
After he won during the weekend, Estevan couldn’t wait to get back to school and tell all his classmates in the third grade at Oakbrook Elementary about his big accomplishment.
“Everyone was asking, ‘Did you win? Did you win?’ Estevan said. “My teacher and my friends were happy when I told them I had won.”