Victor R. Martinez

El Paso Times

Ivy Enriquez, 9, won the 8- to 10-year-old division at the 16th Annual Ringside World Championship.

Ivy is a fourth grader at Hacienda Heights Elementary.

She is trained by her father, Sergio Enriquez, and her uncle, Daniel Enriquez.

The long pigtails and pink gloves are in sync as Ivy Enriquez bobs and weaves in the boxing ring at the Carolina Recreation Center.

Her father and trainer, Sergio Enriquez, yells out instructions to his young pupil.

In the corner, her mother Jessica Castaneda watches close as the 9-year-old dances around the ring.

"I still get nervous," said Castaneda, keeping a close eye on Ivy. "No one wants to see their little girl get hit in the face or bleed."

A fourth grader at Hacienda Heights Elementary, Ivy won the 8- to 10-year-old division at the 16th Annual Ringside World Championship July 27-30 in Independence, Mo.

She fought in the 61 to 65 pounds weight division.

"This was her biggest event, it was her first national championship," the proud father boasted. "We've been to a lot of cities and she has won a lot of boxing matches, but this was the biggest."

Ivy, whose record is 8-2, started boxing a little less than two years ago.

"She got interested in it by herself," Sergio Enriquez said. "She was playing soccer and when the season ended, she wanted to keep playing sports. I asked her what she wanted to do and she chose boxing. I thought she just wanted to train so why not? I took her to the gym and after three months, she asked me when would she get to spar. In her first sparring session she dominated her partner and that's when she fell in love it."

Ivy, who fights for Nightmare Boxing, said her favorite fighters are El Paso boxer and IBF Featherweight champion Jennifer Han and former UFC world champion Holly Holm.

"I like to box because I like to compete and it helps me get my stress out," Ivy said after a training session last week. "It's cool being with my dad, too. He knows a lot about boxing and he's helping me get better and to reach my goal."

Her goal is to box in the Junior Olympics in 2017 and in the Olympic Games in eight years.

But first, the confident and determined girl knows the road to those Olympic games will be filled with blood, sweat and tears — the things that make a fighter of any age great.

She was still enjoying her first national championship.

"I knew I was going to win because I just had to believe in myself and what I've been taught," she said. "I was really nervous before the championship, but it was really cool being in that fight and I did it."

She trains two hours a day, Monday through Thursday, and enjoys hanging out with her cousins, playing soccer and basketball — and dancing to Meghan Trainor songs.

Boxing seems to come easy for Ivy.

"When I first climbed into the ring, it just felt natural to me," she said. "Watching it on TV, it looked real entertaining so I thought I might try it. I've liked it from the beginning."

When asked about her mother being worried about her getting punched in the face, Ivy simply smiled and giggled.

"I would tell her to calm down and that I was going to be OK," she said. "And then when she saw how good I was, she was fine."

Sergio Enriquez and his brother Daniel Enriquez both trained when they were younger.

"I've trained since I was 16, but I never actually had a boxing career," Sergio Enriquez said. "I just did it to stay in shape and because I love the sport."

Daniel Enriquez is the assistant coach.

"I'm excited for her," he said. "We have always had a love for the sport. We have a boxing background ourselves, but we never had the motivation from anybody to push us. Once she showed us that she wanted to box, it was an incredible feeling."

Daniel Enriquez sees nothing but promise in Ivy.

"She has so many advantages," he said. "She is 9 years old and she's pretty tall for her age and she has a long reach so that's a big advantage. She is a true boxer and that will take her very, very far. I'm talking Olympics."

Castaneda said her daughter is determined to be the best she can.

"She dedicates all her time to the ring," she said. "She really likes training and she has gotten really good at it. Once I saw that she was good at it, I was more relaxed. I will support her in whatever she loves. If she sticks with it, I can see her going far."

Victor R. Martinez may be reached at 546-6128; vmartinez@elpasotimes.com; @vrmart on Twitter.

Making of a champ

Who: Ivy Enriquez, 9, a fourth-grader at Hacienda Heights Elementary.

What: Ivy won the 8- to 10-year-old division at the 16th Annual Ringside World Championship July 27-30 in Independence, Mo. She fought in the 61 to 65 pounds weight division.

Of note: She is trained by her father, Serigo Enriquez, and her uncle, Daniel Enriquez, for Nightmare Boxing.

Information: facebook.com/nightmareboxing10.