Homero Palomino: future Olympic boxing champion?

Homero Palomino shows off his championship belt. Courtesy photo

Bonita Vista High School sophomore Homero Palomino gave something noteworthy for Sweetwater Union High School District newsletter editors to write about over the summer after winning the Junior National Golden Gloves boxing championship.

Palomino captured the elite 95-pound title in Las Vegas, winning by a unanimous 5-0 decision. The tournament took place July 20-23 at the Casa Blanca Casino.

The 15-year-old is now off to compete in the weeklong world championship tournament, starting Monday in Kansas.

“I’ve been training every day, putting in a lot of effort with the hope of becoming the world champion,” Palomino said.

Boxing has been Palomino’s life-long passion and has produced a record of 67 wins and 13 losses in 80 amateur bouts to go with five championship belts.

In 2009, he won the Silver Gloves state championship. He also won three consecutive Boxers for Christ titles and two Police Athletic League championships.

Palomino started training at the tender age of 3years, 4 months, and has been under the watchful eyes of father-son coaches Max and David Gutierrez for the past 12 years.

The youngster took to the ring for the first time at a gym in National City that held 500 spectators. He won that first bout and has never looked back, gaining both confidence and courage with each match.

Youngsters are not allowed to actually compete in the ring until they are 8.

“It was so crowded that people had to stand outside,” Palomino said of his first bout. “It felt great to win. I had been training since I was three-and-a-half but I had only been able to do demonstrations until then.”

Palomino credits both his parents — Homer and Rosanna — for providing key support to further his career.

“They’ve been with me since the start,” he said.

He also gives a lion’s share of credit to his coaches. “I’m thankful for what my coaches have taught me over the last 12 years,” he said.

The younger Palomino has not limited himself strictly to boxing. He played two years of soccer for Tiffany Elementary School’s club team, winning a cup title at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista.

He also has played guitar, football, baseball and has run track for six years with the San Diego Flyers youth club. He is exploring the possibility of trying out for the BVHS cross country team this fall.

His leadership abilities have been shown by serving as vice-president and president of his elementary school’s student council and as commissioner of  the Associated Student Body organization at Bonita Vista Middle School.

His top goal is to one day make it to the Olympic Games and reign as the “golden boy.”

Stay tuned.