My Corner of the Ring

by Jesselyn Silva

I had lost.

  I won’t say I felt like I was robbed, but I did think I had done just as good a job boxing that day. And it wasn’t all bad. I ended the nationals with a bronze. Lauren ended up winning the gold. Not bad for my first time.

  After the fight, Lauren’s mom came up to me and said I was the toughest opponent her daughter had ever had and that after the first round, she was nervous even watching, which had never happened to her before.

  On the drive home, we talked about our experiences and the fights of other teammates. Zack had lost, and Elizabeth had lost, too. The others I had met that weekend didn’t do much better than bronzes. I told my father, Don, and Zack that getting a bronze was okay, but that next year I was going back for gold.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  BEING A GIRL MY OWN WAY

  When I got home from the nationals, the first person to greet me at the door was Jesiah. He cheered, “You’re number one! You’re number one!” As I walked in the door, I said, “I didn’t win in my division, Jesiah.”

  “You’re still number one,” he said without skipping a beat.

  “Jesselyn, we are all so proud of you.” My grandmother’s voice was warm and gentle.

  “I brought home the bronze.” I proudly held up my medal.

  “I heard you fought hard and well against one of the strongest competitors in the division. You represented your family well.”

  “And Don’s gym . . . and your state . . . and girls everywhere,” said Papi, carrying in two heavy bags from our trip.

  “I wanted to come home with the gold.”

  “But you know, Jesiah is right: you are number one in many ways,” my grandmother said. “You are the first in our family to make it to the Junior Olympics, and you are the first to already have accomplished so much in your lifetime.” She smiled. “And you’re still so young! So many firsts lie ahead, so be patient.”

  My grandmother was right. Maybe I hadn’t come home with the gold, but I had done something that felt important and big for me and my family. It made me feel very special inside, and all that hard work felt worth it.

  It was nice to be back in my own bedroom—although I had loved having a roommate for a few days. I walked over to my dream calendar. I had not accomplished my last goal of winning the Junior Olympics . . . but instead of crossing it out, I put a check next to it. “Accomplished!” I had won even if I hadn’t won.

  I looked at all the things I had completed on my dream calendar and decided it was time to start a new set of goals. I grabbed a piece of paper and started to jot down ideas. But what was going to be on my list this time? Win more fights, work out every day, run three miles . . . I had to think. I knew. I wrote. “Wake up every day a stronger person.” Then I wrote under that: “OLYMPICS 2024 . . . Bring home the gold!”

  * * *

  I GOT A call from Everlast a week after the Junior Olympics. A nice woman named Sidney from the company said she had heard about my fight in West Virginia and had checked out my Instagram account.

  “We at Everlast are very impressed with your accomplishments!” Her voice was peppy. “You’re a real inspiration for a lot of young ladies.”

  We had a long talk about boxing and being a girl in a male-dominated sport and about commitment and never giving up. “What drives you to be your best?” she asked.

  “I don’t know. I drive myself,” I said without even considering any other answer. “A lot of people don’t like to see girls in combat sports. It makes them uncomfortable. But for me it’s the place that makes me feel most comfortable.”

  “Why, do you think?” she said with genuine curiosity.

  “Well, a lot of things are done on the surface. Fighting forces me to go deeper. I like to challenge my physical and emotional limits, and boxing does that for me in ways that nothing else does.”

  “Jesselyn, you are exactly the kind of person Everlast is making sports equipment for. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me.”

  A few days after our first phone conversation, I got a package from her with brand-new Everlast wraps—red ones, blue ones, and some with gold polka dots—as well as boxing gloves and an Everlast backpack, which I liked the best of all.

  A note inside said, “Jess, you are all about what Everlast wants to encourage in its athletes. Keep working hard. I hope these help you win gold in the Junior Olympics next year!”

  A few days after the package arrived, I got another phone call from Sidney. She asked if I had liked the care package. I said, “Of course! I’ve never had so much cool gear. Thank you! But you know, I didn’t win in my division at Junior Olympics . . .”

  She chuckled a little and said, “You are inspiring, Jess, win or lose, and we’d like you to share your story with our help.”

  Before I knew it, I was heading down Spruce Street in Paterson, New Jersey, a few weeks later looking for the Art Factory. I had agreed to make a video and do an ad for Everlast, and they had emailed the address and told me to be there by 9:00 a.m. We pulled up to the location and it was this old warehouse—a four-story brick building with red doors and some graffiti on a few walls. It was so interesting from the outside that I couldn’t wait to see what it looked like on the inside.

  The first thing I noticed inside were the elevators. They were the old-style ones with no door or gate; they were more like big freight elevators, where you push a lever down to go up. Jesiah laughed and laughed at the thought of cranking something down to go up.

  Sidney met us at the elevator. She was just as warm and friendly in person. “Welcome to Everlast’s ‘Be First’ campaign!” The space was a large open room with dirty wooden floors. Cameras and lights were set up everywhere, and as we entered, they were in the middle of a photo shoot with a dancer named Liz Marie who was involved in the same Be First campaign. She was wearing a really cool dance outfit, and they kept making her do these graceful leaps. “Again,” said the videographer. So she’d leap again and again effortlessly.

  As we made our way past the dancer, another woman came over to me and said, “Welcome, Jesselyn! I’ll be doing your hair and makeup.”

  “Makeup?!” I pulled back.

  “Ha ha! Nothing too over the top, I promise. Maybe just some face moisturizer and lip balm.”

  “Yeah, nothing that, you know, makes her look too grown-up,” my father said firmly.

  The makeup artist laughed and said, “Of course not. It will be age appropriate, I promise.”

  “And we have this for you as well,” Sidney said, handing me an Everlast T-shirt with “Jesszilla” on the sleeve.

  “Am I wearing this in the video?” I asked with excitement.

  With that, another crew member came over and said, “You’ll be wearing a number of outfits for the video and camera shoot. I’ll be doing your wardrobe. Come on, let’s have some fun!”

  The experience was straight out of a dream. I had one person dressing me, one person putting lotion on my face, and another person going over my lines with me.

  For the video, my hair was done in a cool ponytail split to the side. My hair had never smelled so good! First they dressed me in a blue shirt and black tights. I did a number of poses and action shots. Then I switched outfits, this time to a peach shirt and hot-pink Everlast shoes. More action photos. I jumped rope and walked around the warehouse while they took pictures and videotaped me. Up the stairs, down the stairs. Serious face, boxing face, smiling face, funny face. I jumped rope, I hit the bag, I sprinted, I shadowboxed. I found out two of my favorite pro fighters were also part of the Be First campaign: Deontay Wilder and Mikaela Mayer.

  Then I was given a piece of paper and told to memorize what was on it. The words were like poetry, and I loved saying them over and over again.

  “Now, look into the camera, and say your lines.” I wasn’t used to staring directly at the camera, but I did. It felt like I was staring into the soul
of something big and vast. With seriousness I said:

  Never been done by someone like me.

  I had to be first.

  It was my only option.

  But it wasn’t just for me, you see.

  I broke the ground.

  My will, my strength obliterated

  What was set in stone.

  And now I sit on this throne.

  Slip move and counter.

  Who got next?! It don’t matter.

  Dictate the pace.

  All fears are erased.

  Let ’em see how it’s done.

  Let ’em watch the real one.

  Had to teach them my worth.

  Had to choose to be first.

  The lines of my script described it perfectly. Being first wasn’t about coming in first place. It was about being the first person to do it in your own unique way. I was creating my own rules. I had shown up. I was a boxer training out of Hackensack, New Jersey. I taught people how to do a few things and sometimes I won, sometimes I lost. I broke the ground with mighty force, and now I could dictate my own pace. I was a girl my way, in my corner of the ring.

  GLOSSARY

  AMATEUR BOXING: Competitive boxing where neither participant is paid and most fighters are beginning to learn their craft.

  BE FIRST: When your coach tells you to “be first,” they want you to throw your punches before your opponent. In other terms, he or she wants you to be aggressive.

  BLOCK: A defensive move of the hands, arms, and shoulders to stop punches from landing on the face or body.

  BLOW, OR PUNCH: A strike or hit with a clenched fist.

  BOB AND WEAVE: Side to side and rolling movements that are used as defense to avoid punches. Heavyweight Mike Tyson is a classic example of someone who used the bob and weave defense to perfection.

  BOUT, OR MATCH: A boxing contest taking place as part of a competition.

  BOXING GLOVES: Protective padded coverings for the hands, usually made of leather.

  BOXING INSIDE / OUTSIDE: The terms inside and outside are used in boxing to describe punching distance. For instance, outside fighting is when the fighter remains on the outside edge of an opponent’s punching range. Inside fighting is staying within your opponent’s range of attack. This is the most dangerous range, because it’s where both boxers are able to deal damage to each other. It’s also known as fighting “in the pocket,” and if both boxers are fighting in the pocket long enough, it’s known as fighting “toe-to-toe.”

  BOXING RING: A space in which a boxing match is held. A modern ring, which is set on a raised platform, is square with a post at each corner. Four parallel rows of ropes are attached to the posts using turnbuckles, devices used for adjusting the tension or length of the ropes.

  BREAK: This is a command used by a boxing referee to stop the action and separate the fighters.

  COMBINATION: A series of punches thrown in sequence without a break.

  COUNTERPUNCH: A punch thrown in response to an opponent’s punch.

  COVER UP: This is a defensive move employed by a fighter to avoid getting hit. He or she simply hides beneath and behind their gloves to avoid direct contact from an offensive attack.

  CROSS: A straight power punch thrown with the rear hand, which travels across the fighter’s body.

  DEFENSE: Aspect of boxing which aims for complete evasion of an opponent’s punches.

  EIGHT-COUNT: When one fighter is knocked down or in danger of being stopped by a series of punches, a referee can administer a count of eight to give the fighter time to recover or so that he or she can better assess the situation.

  EXHIBITION BOUT: A competitive match in which a winner is declared but the result is not officially recorded.

  FEINT: A fake movement or punch used to make an opponent unnecessarily react, or to draw attention from one’s actual point of attack.

  GO TO THE BODY: An offensive strategy focused on attacking the midsection or abdominal region, as opposed to targeting the head.

  HAND WRAPS: Strips of cloth used by boxers to protect hands and wrists against injuries induced by punching.

  HEADGEAR: A padded helmet worn on the head by contestants in amateur and Olympic boxing for protection.

  HOOK: This punch is thrown with the lead or front hand and is delivered in a semicircular pattern. The hook is executed by leading with the front hand, bringing the elbow up, and rotating the front side of the body (in a similar motion as slamming a door). It is meant to reach beyond an opponent’s guard and make contact with the side of his or her head or chin.

  JAB: A punch that is thrown with the front hand and delivered straight at the opponent. It should be the centerpiece of any boxing offense.

  JUDGE: An individual whose job is to be present at ringside to score a bout and assign points to the boxers, based on punches that connect and overall performance.

  OFFENSE: A technique that relies heavily on punching.

  ORTHODOX: A fighting stance where the boxer has their left hand and left foot forward, leading with left jabs, and following with a right cross left hook. It is the normal stance for a right-handed boxer.

  REFEREE: The individual charged with enforcing the rules during a match.

  RINGSIDE: A spectator position in the front row or right next to the ring.

  ROUNDS: Time periods in a boxing match for fighting, separated by one-minute breaks.

  SANCTION: A certificate of approval issued by USA Boxing for events/matches.

  SLIP: To move one’s head to avoid getting hit.

  SOUTHPAW: A fighting stance where the boxer has their right hand and right foot forward, leading with right jabs, and following with a left cross right hook. It is the normal stance for a left-handed boxer.

  SPAR: To engage in a training match used to gain experience in preparation for a sanctioned bout.

  SPONSOR: A person or organization that provides funds or goods for a project or activity carried out by another.

  STICK AND MOVE: This is an offensive style of fighting that incorporates a great deal of movement, with the fighter constantly punching and moving.

  TECHNICAL KNOCKOUT (TKO): The termination of a fight when a fighter has been declared by the referee unable to safely continue after having received too many blows, or due to appearing too unsteady after three eight-counts.

  TOE-TO-TOE: When two fighters stand directly in front of each other and exchange punches at close range without backing away.

  UPPERCUT: A punch thrown in an upward fashion, through the middle of a fighter’s guard, intended to make impact on the point of his chin. It is delivered from a crouched position, with the hands up and, as the upper torso twists, the hand is extended out and up slightly to make contact. This can be thrown with either hand.

  USA BOXING: The national governing body for all Olympic-style amateur boxing in the United States. It is overseen by the United States Olympic Committee and the International Boxing Association (AIBA).

  WEIGH-IN: Pre-fight meeting for boxers to be weighed to make sure they are within their weight class limits.

  WEIGHT CLASSES: Competition divisions based on weight limits. For example bantamweight, which has an upper limit of 118 pounds for professionals and 119 pounds for amateurs.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  I am so grateful for all the amazing people who worked on this book with me. Thank you for being in my corner! Dear God, I would like to thank you for giving me life daily and the strength and abilities to overcome any obstacles set before me. To my dad, mother, and the rest of my family, I want to thank you guys for always believing in me and supporting me every step of the way. To Coach Don and the rest of my boxing family, thank you for accepting me on my first day in the gym and motivating me every day. Forever dedicated!

  Who would have thought I could be an author of
my own book at twelve years old? I would like to thank Saira Rao and Carey Albertine at In This Together Media; Jess Regel at Foundry Literary + Media; Brin Stevens, my co-writer; and Stacey Barney at Penguin Random House for your help making this dream a reality. I couldn’t have asked for a better team for this project. Thank you!

  Thank you to all my supporters on social media who are always showing me love. And thanks to all the doubters for giving me the extra push to do my best!

  I will remain forever grateful for everything and everyone that has been part my journey. See you guys at the 2024 Olympics! To be continued . . .

  PHOTO AND ART CREDITS

  Photo Credits: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6: Courtesy of Pedro Silva; 7, 8, and 9: These photos were taken by Mike Wells for the feature documentary JessZilla; 10 and 11: Courtesy of USA Today; 12: Courtesy of Mariano Paul; 13, 14, and 15: Courtesy of Angel E. Diaz, Jr.; 16, 17, and 18: Courtesy of Everlast Worldwide. Art Credits: Unless otherwise specified, all artwork provided by Jesslyn Silva. 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, and 38: Courtesy of Shutterstock; 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, and 49: Courtesy of Eileen Savage.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Jesselyn Silva was born and raised in New Jersey. She's a young boxer with dreams to compete in the 2024 Olympic Games.

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