The girl from southeast Washington, D.C., is fresh off a big win at the Junior Olympics in Kansas in June.
Nine-year-old Westia Russell hopes to one day make the Olympic boxing team.
“I can punch people without getting in trouble,” she said.
For Westia, winning was never an issue: She brought home a medal in Kansas and now has bragging rights at NoXcuse Boxing Gym in Prince George's County, where she trains five nights a week.
“She weighed 125 pounds and she kept getting hit in the head, so the referee stopped the fight,” Westia said.
Westia has been punching people in the ring for a long time. The boxer known as Princess Mama has been laced up in gloves since kindergarten and will be starting fifth grade in the fall.
Her mother was a former boxer herself, so her choice of sport was no surprise.
“She told me that's what she wanted to do,” she said. “She could have said she wanted to do cheer, soccer, dance or whatever, but she chose boxing.”
NoXcuse coach Lamont Roach Sr. said he knew right away she had something special.
“She's a little beast,” he said. “I'm really proud of her. When she first came in at about 5 or 6 years old, she had her mother's spirit in her and I knew she was going to be a warrior.”
Westia wasn't the only NoXcuse kid to win at the Junior Olympics, as 15-year-old A'Saan Jenkins also won in his weight and age class.
“It was a great feeling,” he said. “All the hard work paid off. It was a great feeling.”
Both hope to make the Olympic team one day.
