Shannon Vigil said her favorite thing about boxing is the actual fighting, because she can take out her anger.
And after a year of training with the Campeon boxing club of Española, she finally got her chance inside the ring May 31 in Los Lunas.
“At first I was really worried and anxious,” she said. “I couldn’t stop bouncing.”
That energy paid off, and Vigil bested her opponent, Desiree Dran of Los Lunas, in three rounds.
Vigil, 15, was one of four Española boxers who came away victorious from the Rising Stars event. Noel Talavera won at 165 pounds, Chris Suire won at 90 pounds and 11-year-old Sergio Madrid won at 73 pounds.
The entire Campeon team, which sent a total of seven fighters, also won a joint award for outstanding team effort.
Head Coach Franciso Flores said he took the part-time coaching job with the city of Española after homegrown star Monica Lovato left the position in 2008.
“This team just grew,” Flores said. “When I first got here, there were about two kids here.”
Now Flores and his three assistant coaches train more than a dozen fighters three days a week, at the Española Recreation Center. Flores commutes after finishing his day job as a food inspector based in El Rito. He said the strict discipline of boxing — and of showing up for practice — is important for young people who might otherwise be out on the streets.
“It’s been quite an experience for me,” Flores said. “It’s challenging.”
The team takes boxers ages eight and up. For more information on Española boxing, call Francisco Flores at 581-9586.