Emily Martinez was so disappointed in her last match.
The Holland boxer wasn’t close to her best and lost a fight in town that all of her family and friends saw.
“I felt like my world fell apart,” Martinez said.
The Michigan Golden Gloves champion vowed never to let that happen again.
Not the losing part, but putting so much weight on winning and losing that it affects other aspects of her life.
“I don’t ever want to feel that again. I don’t ever want to feel like my world crumbled because I lost a fight. I am not going to let it take over my life. Boxing isn’t the only thing important in my life,” she said.
That was her mentality going into the annual King (and Queen) of the Jungle Tournament in Grand Rapids, a national tournament with a lot of exposure.
Martinez, armed with her new outlook, won the championship at 125 pounds, earning the title of “Queen of the Jungle.”
“It meant a ton to me,” she said. “But I tried not to put so much importance on it. I took a step back and looked at things differently. I wanted to come back from my last fight, which was trash. I wanted to remind myself that I am capable of doing better.”
And now the boxer who trains at Eli J’s Boxing Club is the Queen of the Jungle.
“I have always wanted to win a national tournament,” she said. “That was a goal of mine. I want to be established before I go pro.”
Martinez was also better in the ring, despite an injury that slowed her down. But she had enough to beat Cassie Norris of Indiana for the title.
“I kept my eyes on her. I hurt my leg a few days before the fight, so I really had to rely on my boxing because I couldn’t move as much as I normally could. It was a blessing in disguise,” Martinez said. “I had to focus.”
Martinez’s next national tournament will be in September in Houston.
She wasn’t the only West Michigan winner.
Grand Rapids native Marco Guzman, who boxes at West Side Boxing Club in Holland, was named King of the Jungle in his weight class.
Contact sports editor Dan D’Addona at Dan.D’Addona@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @DanDAddona or Facebook @HollandSentinelSports.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Golden Gloves champ Emily Martinez wins Queen of the Jungle title with new outlook
Reporting by Dan D’Addona, Holland Sentinel / The Holland Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Dan D'Addona, Holland Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
