Valley Boxer Fighting His Way to the 2012 Summer Games

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Tags:

sports, david bataller

David Bataller
More: Bio, abc30.com News Team, E-mail

Fresno, CA (KFSN) -- A lot of professional boxing careers can be traced back to a successful start in the Olympics. Action News has a story of one Valley boxer hoping to fight his way into the 2012 summer games.

| Watch Video Above for More Information on this Story |

In a converted warehouse just north of Downtown Fresno, perhaps the best boxing prospect to come out of the Valley in recent memory works hard at his craft.

20 year old Phenom Michael Anthony Ruiz Jr. ... who only laced up the gloves for the first time ... just three years ago. Professional trainers encouraged the Ruiz family to keep Michael Junior boxing.

More: Follow @ABC30 on Twitter!

More: ABC30.com Widget

More: Meet the ABC30 News Team

With an elite support staff including his father ... a former IBF Featherweight Champion ... an agility expert ... a physical trainer ... and a manager ... one of Fresno's own is setting out to conquer the boxing world ... one step at a time.

Ruiz earned a trip to San Antonio Friday ... to compete in the Police Activities League National Boxing Championships. The same tournament he took second in last year. But with three national bronze medals and a silver medal already around his neck, the 2006 McLane High School graduate has eyes only for gold this weekend.

A busy month of October for team Ruiz will end with a trip to Iowa ... where Michael Junior will represent the USA against Great Britain in an international exhibition.

It won't be the last time Ruiz represents the Valley on Team USA ... not when the next Olympics are just a year and a half away.