PHOTO BY HAROLD RIVERA
From left, Alex Sepulveda, Yamil Sepulveda, Julian Ramos, Daniel Marte, Aramis Maldonado and Henry Marte celebrate a successful night.
By HAROLD RIVERA
BILLERICA — In front of a packed house of boxing-crazed fans at the Billerica Elks Lodge, a trio of young Lynn boxers offered a strong showing at the 67th Annual Silver Mittens Boxing Tournament finals.
The tournament features the top youth boxers from all over New England, and Lynn was well-represented thanks to Daniel Marte, Aramis Maldonado and Julian Ramos. All three fighters train out of Private Jewels Fitness in Lynn under the coaching of Alex Sepulveda, a Tech alum and former boxer himself.
“I love training these kids,” Sepulveda said. “This is a lifestyle. Just seeing their growth and how happy they get. Just the highlight of them being out there in the ring, that’s beautiful.”
The night started on a good note when Marte took home a victory by default in the 100-pound bantam final. Although he didn’t get to flash his skills in the ring, he was still excited to bring home a win.
“I was kind of upset because I like to earn my fight,” Marte said. “But at least I still won the fight.”
Marte added, “This is super special because I’ve always wanted to be in this moment and now it’s happening.”
Marte, an 11-year-old student at KIPP Academy, has high goals for his boxing career.
“I’m hoping that I can win the next tournament so I can keep moving to the next rounds,” Marte said. “I’m hoping I can become one of the big fighters like (Floyd) Mayweather.”
Next up for the Lynners was Aramis Maldonado, who took the ring against Carlos Nunez in the 138-pound junior final. Maldonado energized the crowd in a physical bout and mounted a powerful final round, but fell to Nunez in a split decision.
“It was tough coming in 20 pounds less than him (Nunez), but I took the fight,” Maldonado said. “I did what I had to do, I did everything I could do to win the fight.”
Maldonado, a 16-year-old Classical student, will look to keep training in hopes of earning a better result in his next bout.
“I was active,” Maldonado said. “I hit him with a couple of right hands. I think I did everything better. I just have to train harder and keep pushing.”
The final Lynn boxer to take the ring on Thursday night was Julian Ramos, who battled against William Guilmete in the 141-pound intermediate final. Ramos gave Guilmete everything the latter could handle in three hard-fought rounds. Unfortunately, Guilmete took the victory in a unanimous decision.
“He (Guilmete) was a great fighter,” Ramos, a 14-year-old student at Breed Middle School, said. “But I tried, I tried my hardest.”
Ramos added, “I just have to keep pushing myself and motivating myself.”
Although two of the three fighters were unable to notch wins, Sepulveda noted a number of positive takeaways from Thursday night’s event.
“These kids are elites in the game right now,” Sepulveda said. “They’re fighting against nothing but the best. These kids are going to go back and now they’re going to train harder. In two weeks we’re going to go to the Junior Olympics and show them what we’ve got again.”
The night consisted of a total of 18 bouts in 15 different weight classes. All bouts lasted the full three rounds, with the exception of one, which was ended early by the referee.
