Jaiya Chavez is a nine-year-old force of nature.
She recently won her first amateur boxing match in a unanimous decision – and she also received a belt for “Fighter of the Night.”
After securing the win for her first fight, Jaiya is eager for the next one.
Ever since she was really little, she remembers being at the gym and watching her dad, Aaron Chavez, practice boxing. For fun, she would try boxing, too. She’d put on gloves, do mitt work with her dad, and hang around the gym.
But a couple years ago, something clicked:
Jaiya started to get serious about fighting.
She started training every day at Milpitas Boxing, the gym that her dad co-owns with a couple others.
“Some days, we train in our garage at home, if I don’t make it out to the gym,” Jaiya told The Beat in an interview.
Jaiya trains for about 90 minutes a day. She starts out by warming up with some jump-roping and shadowboxing. Then she hits the bag and does push-ups and sit-ups after. She also does running and sparring to stay on top of her game.
“She’ll spar here at the gym and we even go around to other gyms,” said Aaron. “She usually spars against boys, but sometimes we’re able to find a girl here and there that she can get in the ring with.”
Not only does Jaiya’s dad coach her, but she also gets support from other coaches at Milpitas Boxing…
“It takes a village,” said Aaron. “She has tons of people supporting her. It’s not just me. If I’m not pushing her, there are 3 other coaches here that are going to be there. And it’s not just coaches, it’s the community.”
Johnny Meas, a longtime coach and Muay Thai fighter, praised Jaiya’s work ethic.
“She listens very well and trains very hard. She asks the right questions,” said Meas. “She’s a good fighter. She works hard. That’s the most important thing – work ethic.”
The fight Jaiya won happened on January 25 in San Francisco at the Hit Fit Boxing Gym. Most fighters competing that night were adults.
“I was really excited to do my first fight,” said Jaiya. “I was a tiny bit nervous, but when I got in there, I got comfortable.”
Jaiya and her competitor were the only girls fighting on the card. Jaiya’s match went 3 rounds; each round was 1 minute and 30 seconds long.
At the end of 3 rounds, Jaiya won in a unanimous decision.
“She fought against a 10-year-old and had to go up 10 pounds in weight,” said Aaron.
Even though it isn’t ideal to fight someone in a higher weight class, Jaiya still made it work.
“It’s kind of hard to find competitions with girls locally sometimes,” said Aaron. “So you have to go to the valley, Fresno, or LA area. It’s slim pickings.”
Right now, Jaiya is more determined than ever to keep training and working hard.
“She’s a fearless girl. She just gets in there. The day after the fight, she was like, ‘I want to do this every day,’” Aaron smiled. “She has really big goals and ambitions.”
Come June, Aaron told The Beat that they are aiming to take Jaiya to USA Boxing’s Junior Olympics and Summer Festival in Las Vegas to compete with some of the best young fighters in the country.
In the meantime, Jaiya’s dad is looking to line up some other fights for her.
When asked what she loves most about boxing, Jaiya said, “The thing I like the most about boxing is it pushes me. I can get stronger. It’s a hard sport so you have to work hard.”
Jaiya is a third-grader at Marshall Pomeroy Elementary School. Aside from boxing, she also plays softball. She used to play basketball and is considering getting back into that, also.
But, of course, her main passion and focus is her boxing.
“I want to become a pro and be the best,” Jaiya said.
