Hold your eyes on Las Vegas fighter Dylan Capetillo. Ranked #2 in the US, he has his eyes on the massive prize – a gold medal because the nation’s #1 fighter for his weight. After which at some point, on to the professionals.
Tucked away in a strip mall off Tropicana Avenue in Las Vegas sits Capetillo Boxing, the house to dozens of neighborhood youngsters who flock to the gymnasium after faculty every day. The gymnasium is run by the Capetillo household, 3 of 4 sons, (the 4th is stationed in Texas serving within the army) together with Mother and Dad. The gymnasium can also be the house away from house for one of many nation’s top-rated fighters, who simply occurs to be considered one of their sons – Dylan Capetillo.
The 5’4-inch boxer weighs in at about 95 kilos nowadays as he hasn’t hit his late teenagers progress spurt, widespread among the many Capetillo brothers. Dylan mentioned he has been boxing, “since I used to be just a little boy, like age 3 or so I, was within the gymnasium. However I began competing at about age 8”.
Now age 14, Capetillo has began to show some heads on larger novice levels with some vital wins on the nationwide scene and presently sports activities 52 wins in 60 novice bouts. Scooping up his third WBC novice title final summer time in Vegas, he picked up his greatest win final December in Lubbock, Texas. He collected a silver within the USA’s nationwide match and the win slotted Capetillo into the # 2 rating within the nation.
Whereas that could be a big victory, it wasn’t the objective the younger boxer had in thoughts, and it solely added gasoline to an already disciplined and distinctive work ethic. It additionally revealed the qualities that may separate Dylan from different boxers his age who might need been content material with 2nd place.
“I used to be bummed out”, he mentioned. “I skilled laborious to go there and win the entire thing, so I used to be upset once I got here up quick. That isn’t what I used to be making ready for”.
Requested to explain his son’s model, father Jorge, sitting shut by through the interview, mentioned {that a} boxer should be skilled for all types he’ll face within the ring.
“I assume I’d say he’s a boxer-puncher”, mentioned the elder Capetillo, himself a former boxer. “We all the time have skilled for each model, each distance”, he mentioned. “Lengthy vary, center, shut. We all the time need to be prepared for any model that we face. If we’re with a man who needs to slug, we are able to field. If we’ve a man making an attempt to field, we are able to counter that additionally”.
Jorge can also be very pleased with the Capetillo Gymnasium’s novice staff, who just lately took house 4 medals on the Las Vegas Title Invitational match. Nonetheless, his # 1 fighter has some larger fights on his thoughts.
“We’re taking a look at a match in California in September, then I feel presumably Arizona in October”, mentioned Dylan. “However the huge one is the nationwide match each December. That’s in Louisiana subsequent December”, he mentioned. “That’s the huge one”.
Dylan Capetillo already leads the lifetime of a full-time fighter. He does homeschooling to accommodate his morning runs and later-day gymnasium exercises. (*As he does along with his conditioning, he takes his research significantly and does very nicely at school). He’s a well mannered and approachable younger man that has a maturity about him that belies his age. One thing tells me I gained’t be shocked if he’s certainly rated as the most effective fighter within the nation for his weight class after the subsequent nationwide match.
And at some point when he turns skilled, one thing he hopes to do in his late teenagers, he’ll have his sights set on a world title.
Father and coach Jorge, himself an in-demand minimize man and coach for a lot of elite professionals, mentioned of his son, “I feel he was born for this. He works very laborious; he’s disciplined, and he needs to do the most effective he can in each combat. Dylan’s character and persona are simply hooked up to boxing. He loves the game of boxing”.
