STOCKTON, Calif. — Outside the ring, 13-year-old Faith Gomez is your ordinary everyday 8th grader. But the moment she steps foot inside the boxing ring, she becomes extraordinary.
She attends Stockton Collegiate International School during the day and at night, after she finishes her homework, Gomez is in her gym training vigorously to be the best boxer she can.
"I remember when I first started," said Gomez. "I wanted to do volleyball or like some easy sport, but my dad was like 'keep moving, keep going.' After the first half of the month, I was like 'I want to do this. I like it.'"
The Stockton native initially started boxing when she was 10, but it took some convincing to her parents to let her keep it up.
"My parents were definitely in fear at first," said Gomez. "They were like 'What happens if she gets hurt?' And I was like 'We'll just be prepared.'"
That preparation has taken Gomez to new heights, including a gold in the junior Olympics, among many other accomplishments.
"I've won a couple title tournaments," said Gomez. "I've won a couple silver glove tournaments, I won second place in junior Olympics and came back the following year and won gold in Lafayette, Louisiana."
And quite possibly her biggest achievement to date just happened a few weeks ago when she was honored by the city of Stockton.
"At first I was surprised," said Gomez. "Even the mayor came up to me and he was like 'I love your work, just keep going.' That was touching because I didn't think he would say anything. I was like 'wow, that's amazing.'"
Currently, Gomez is training for the silver gloves championship where she hopes to bring home another win. In the meantime, she wants to send some words of advice for the next generation of boxers:
"Even if you're struggling just keep going. Just be grateful for everything you receive and everything that will come later," said Gomez.
