Rosino LeGan has one goal: He wants to fight in the Olympics.
The 17-year-old boxer got a taste of what that would be like when he travelled to Puerto Rico to fight with the Northern California USA boxing team.
It was the first test outside of the continental United States for the Gilroy boxer and he didn’t back down from the challenge. LeGan went 2-1 against his competition, which was the Puerto Rican National Team boxers — including the national champion.
“It gave me a bit of an international flavor,” LeGan said. “It gave me an idea of where I’m at right now, what’s working and what I can do differently. It’s going to be a good stepping stone into different things.”
The team was assembled by Celio Jimenez, a boxing coach from Sacramento who was a professional boxer in Puerto Rico. Fighters were invited to join the exclusive 13-man team to represent Northern California and test their skills against Puerto Rico’s best.
“It was a pretty great opportunity to have,” LeGan said. “I went down there and I fought against guys in a country who take boxing pretty seriously. They take boxing almost as seriously as I do — everybody does. It was a good experience to get in there with guys who were tough and conditioned, ready to fight.”
LeGan’s only loss came against Puerto Rico’s national lightweight champion. The fight went to a split decision due to a flash knockdown on the Gilroy boxer, but he was still happy to have aggreviated his opponent.
While it was LeGan’s first time fighting on such a large stage, he didn’t allow nerves to enter his mind. Besides, he’s already used to facing tough competition, sparring against the 2012 Olympic Trials Champion and as well as another professional boxer at the San Jose P.A.L. Complex he fights out of.
“I was just keeping my mind focused on being able to get out there and perform,” LeGan said. “I figured, I am me no matter where I go. I just kept my game plan.”
There was something, or someone rather, that was missing from LeGan’s trip. His father and trainer, Tom, was unable to be there for the first time in his 26-fight career.
“This was the first fight I wasn’t in his corner,” Tom LeGan said. “It was tough but I badgered him on the phone quite a bit. … It was fine; I wouldn’t have been much help to anybody but him anyhow, but it was hard for Dad.”
When he’s not sparring at San Jose P.A.L, Rosino and his dad, a former boxer himself, are training five times a week at home in Gilroy. It’s here that Tom helps his son with running, general conditioning and the mittwork that goes into boxing. While the sport takes up a lot of his time, Rosino said the sacrifice is worth the opportunity to compete for his ultimate goal — fighting in the 2016 Olympics.
Rosino said he’s focused on making the trip to Brazil in 2016. He keeps in mind what another Gilroy boxing legend, Robert Guerrero, once told him, “Never miss a day because you miss an opportunity.”
“I just want to win and be the best and go to the Olympics,” Rosino said. “If I let up for even a little bit, someone else might be working hard and get my shot. I’m not going to let that happen.”
