Dustin Jimenez Rochester NY headed to USA Boxing Olympic training site
- Advertisement -
Dustin Jimenez is a boxer in a growth spurt.
Jimenez has grown at least 2 inches during the last year and a half, to about 5 feet-10 inches tall. He is noticeably heavier. And the 17-year-old is now the owner of a Regents diploma after graduating from Greece Athena. Mark that down as one of his best wins.
There also has been growth in the ring, enough for Jimenez to receive an invitation to the Olympic and Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. Jimenez will be a training partner, sparring with members of USA Boxing’s Youth High Performance Team during this camp July 28-Aug. 10 before the Brandenburg Cup event in Germany next month.
This is an introduction for Jimenez to USA Boxing’s High Performance training program, at the place you want to be, if you dream about boxing in the Olympics, like Jimenez.
“A real good opportunity,” Jimenez said. “I’ll be able to meet everybody and show the coaches what I’m made of.
“This is my first time going to camp. I have to kind of make a name for myself out there.”
Dustin Jimenez a tournament winner at National Junior Olympics
Jimenez won a tournament during the USA Boxing National Championships in December but at 132 pounds, a weight class no longer in Olympic competition. As a result, there was no invitation to a USA Boxing High Performance Team selection camp during the spring.
The next move for Jimenez was to move up to the 139-pound weight class. He was a silver-medalist, a second-place finisher in April, at the USA Boxing National Qualifier in Detroit. Then came the National Junior Olympics and Summer Festival June 5-10 in Lubbock, Texas, where Jimenez was a tournament winner. Soon after, Jimenez received an email from USA Boxing, asking if he would like to come to Colorado.
“I know he has a long way to go but if he stays on the path he has a very good shot at being alongside the best boxers,” Syracuse-based coach Chris Burns said. “This is kind of his first step.
“Coaches want to see how he listens, execute what they want from him.”
Dustin Jimenez needs to show perseverance
Burns, 39, has been certified by USA Boxing as an athlete or coach the last 22 years. A Syracuse resident who aslo teaches in that city’s school district, he has coached at least two elite-level USA Boxing boxers. His uncle Ray Rinaldi is a hall of famer trainer. Burns met Dustin Jimenez through Jason Jimenez, Dustin’s father, when the boxer was about 9 or 10 years old, during his first years fighting.
“It’s easy to stay where you are, spar boxers you know but when it’s tournament time, his dad will get him here two or three times a week (to fight older, stronger, more skilled fighters),” Burns said. “That is one of the first things I said, have him spar with the most difficult competition possible.
“You are going to be able to know right away if he is going to want to do this, instead of wasting years.”
Burns said a boxer needs perseverance, in addition to speed, strength and courage. The typical Olympic-caliber boxer has…
Read More: Dustin Jimenez Rochester NY headed to USA Boxing Olympic training site 2023-07-05 07:22:22