City stands behind two local female boxers before National Tournament
CALEXICO — Local residents gathered here Friday night to support two female boxers who will be representing the Valley in an upcoming national tournament in San Francisco.
A public sparring session at Calexico Boxing Academy was held as a fundraiser for Carolina Najar, 16, and Roxana Ortiz, 18, who will both be fighting in the annual Beautiful Brawlers tournament, which is an all-women amateur boxing event featuring the nation’s top boxers, on Sept. 1.
The fundraising session allowed local boxers to showcase their skills in front of a packed crowd at CBA’s gym, located on Cesar Chavez Boulevard.
Donations were accepted to watch the sparring matches, and the gym also raised funds by selling food items during the event.
“It makes me really happy to see these people supporting you and making all this just for us to go to this tournament,” Ortiz said.
The 18-year-old has been part of CBA for four years now, while Najar has trained at the academy since it opened five years ago.
The academy is a non-profit organization and is funded by the city of Calexico.
Najar began boxing when the academy was first established, while Ortiz has been fighting for about six years.
“I started because people made fun of me, and my dad wanted me to learn how to defend myself,” the Najar said. “That’s how I started, and then I began to like it a lot.”
The uniqueness of being a boxer was what truly intrigued Ortiz to first step in the ring.
“Not a lot of people do it, so I see it as a unique sport,” she said. “I also try to prove people wrong, too, because people say only guys can do this sport.”
The two Calexico residents will be competing against topranked boxers from both the United States and Canada in the upcoming annual tournament.
It will be Najar’s first time competing at Beautiful Brawlers, while it will be Ortiz’s second.
“It was really nice and organized,” Ortiz said. “It’s a good experience because all the girls that are going; they’re ranked in the country. It’s also really cool to see all girls and no guys boxing there.”
Ortiz said attending national tournaments can be costly, and the CBA tries to support each of its fighters in any way it can.
“We always have to struggle raising money to go to events, not only for this event, but also for the guys and the girls,” she said. “So we always try to make fundraisers to make some money and help us out, especially when it’s a long trip like this one. We try to raise as much money, as possible so we can go comfortably.”