By Lyle Fitzsimmons - Math class. English class. Science class. Lunch.
It’s just another Tuesday at just another Texas high school.
But while some join classmates at band practice or friends on the football field at day’s end, Ray Ximenez Jr. continues laying groundwork toward a far different post-commencement career:
World champion boxer.
“I’m just a regular kid, really, like anyone else there. I hang out with friends and I try to get good grades,” said the 18-year-old, a student at John Leslie Patton Jr. Academic Center in Dallas. “But when I get home, I go to the gym and I work. That’s my job and I don’t miss a day.”
Ximenez punched the pro clock for the second time last week and was the star of ESPN’s pre-Super Bowl show, dominating Alfredo Berto for every second of four rounds en route to a unanimous decision in the second of a three-bout Friday Night Fights card at the Fort Worth Convention Center.
The win, four months after his one-sided defeat of Cristoval Larrazolo in a nearby Grand Prairie debut, ran the precocious youngster’s record to 2-0 and warranted the nearly 12 straight minutes of praise it drew from an obviously impressed Joe Tessitore and Teddy Atlas.
But even SportsCenter highlights won’t get him out of doing homework.
“He’s a good kid. He’s focused. He doesn’t give us any trouble. And we want to make sure he stays that way,” said Ximenez’s watchful father, Ray Sr., who trains the youngest of his four children. “We try to strike a balance and we give him his freedom, and there’s never once been a problem.” [Click Here To Read More]
It’s just another Tuesday at just another Texas high school.
But while some join classmates at band practice or friends on the football field at day’s end, Ray Ximenez Jr. continues laying groundwork toward a far different post-commencement career:
World champion boxer.
“I’m just a regular kid, really, like anyone else there. I hang out with friends and I try to get good grades,” said the 18-year-old, a student at John Leslie Patton Jr. Academic Center in Dallas. “But when I get home, I go to the gym and I work. That’s my job and I don’t miss a day.”
Ximenez punched the pro clock for the second time last week and was the star of ESPN’s pre-Super Bowl show, dominating Alfredo Berto for every second of four rounds en route to a unanimous decision in the second of a three-bout Friday Night Fights card at the Fort Worth Convention Center.
The win, four months after his one-sided defeat of Cristoval Larrazolo in a nearby Grand Prairie debut, ran the precocious youngster’s record to 2-0 and warranted the nearly 12 straight minutes of praise it drew from an obviously impressed Joe Tessitore and Teddy Atlas.
But even SportsCenter highlights won’t get him out of doing homework.
“He’s a good kid. He’s focused. He doesn’t give us any trouble. And we want to make sure he stays that way,” said Ximenez’s watchful father, Ray Sr., who trains the youngest of his four children. “We try to strike a balance and we give him his freedom, and there’s never once been a problem.” [Click Here To Read More]
Comment