Manhattan High’s Sage Rosario is a Junior Olympic champion once again after winning her second USA Boxing Junior Olympics gold medal in Lubbock, Texas, last week.
And she didn’t have strain that much to get it.
The soon-to-be-junior — who currently sits with an 8-0 boxing record and a 48-0 wrestling record including two state titles over the last two years — made quick work of her opponents, pounding her way through the competition on her way to the title.
The tournament is the fourth she’s won since taking up boxing a little more than a year ago.
“And she’s made it look easy, to be frank. The last three fights that she’s had have lasted a total of a minute and a half,” said Pedro Marquez, her coach and owner of K.O. Boxing. “She’s been very dominant and hasn’t seen the second round for a very long time.”
Rosario hits with a force uncommon for a 16-year-old, Marquez said. While in Lubbock, Marquez and Rosario took advantage of having talent of all ages at their disposal and had Rosario spar with several adult boxers.
One of those, a 28-year-old female heavyweight fighter, mentioned to Marquez later that Rosario packed a bigger punch than the opponent she faced in the tournament that week.
That power may set Rosario apart, but the 16-year-old said it’s her other boxing skills have turned her into a fearsome winning machine.
“I was really pleased with my performance just because we came a long way from me throwing crazy power punches to more control and just selecting my shots and stuff,” Rosario said. “I was really proud to see my progress.”
That progress has come with consequences. Rosario is becoming a known commodity in the boxing community. It’s been hard already for Marquez to find opponents, and with every new notch on her belt, it becomes more difficult to schedule quality matches.
“We haven’t been able to find a good competition for her since her third fight, and that’s a testament to how much she’s improved,” Marquez said. “In Kansas, we’ve essentially cleared out the competition. Now we’re going to have to travel to find fights. There’s already low supply of girls, and with how good she is, her name has been spread around the country.
“Whether they know about her by name directly, or they just know of her. (Rosario’s) legend is growing every time we go to a tournament or competition.”
Up next, Rosario will travel to Toledo, Ohio, at the end of July for the inaugural USA Boxing Women’s Championships. The event is the first USA Boxing event that strictly for female competitors, and Marquez is hopeful that they will be able to get a couple of good matches in for Rosario there.
“I’m just excited to see who shows up,” Rosario said. “I hope I have a stacked bracket so I can just run through every girl that comes my way.”
Rosario also plans to compete in the USA Olympic qualifier in December when she will have a chance to make Team USA.
