By Brittany Anderson
[email protected]
Being able to commit to a sport takes immense discipline and enthusiasm and one local teenager has been able to take his love for boxing to new levels.
Anthony “The Ghost” Lona, a 15-year-old boxer and student at Lehman High School, recently competed at the USA Boxing National Championships from Dec. 3-10 in Lubbock.
Photo courtesy of Montopolis Boxing Lona in the ring at the championships.
Lona’s boxing journey started many years ago. After following in his father’s footsteps of playing football, it was boxing that truly piqued his interest one day.
“Out of nowhere, I was just interested in boxing. I kept seeing it everywhere, so I begged my dad for two years and he finally put me in it,” Lona said. “We went to a gym on the east side [of Austin]and that is where it started. I started training every day; I was watching everybody.”
Now, Lona is going on eight years of being a boxer. His rigid practice schedule was instrumental in getting him to the championships, which was no easy feat.
“I practice every day, most of the time on Sundays [too],” Lona said. “And every training’s different. There’s different things to work on, to study, to improve on, to get stronger on. There’s mental practices and also physical practices, like strength and conditioning.”
Lona began training for the championships about six to eight weeks prior to competing, describing the experience as “hardcore” — eating, sleeping and breathing boxing.
“You have to wake up at 5 a.m., run, work out then go to school. Sometimes, I would even leave school early to run before my training, train, then get home and train again. Then, do it all over again. It was exhausting,” Lona said.
Still, his efforts paid off. Lona ended up placing third in his weight and age class (145 pounds and 15- and 16-year-olds). He is also ranked third nationally in this bracket.
Of course, actually getting to Lubbock was half the battle, so he and his family held a series of food plate fundraisers to help him get there.
“I’m thankful to the community that I was able to make it to all my tournaments from the fundraising they helped us do,” Lona said. “I’m glad that people helped me get to where I needed to be and everything they’ve done. They bought the barbecue plates, the pozole, all of the stuff we did.”
For Lona, it all comes down to his fervor for boxing and everything that comes along with it that helps him work through the mental and physical challenges.
“Sometimes, I really don’t feel like doing it [training],” he said. “So it’s not even motivation, it’s the discipline to be able to keep doing it and make yourself better.”
“It’s really a mental game,” Lona continued. “It’s usually the weight that gets everybody. You have to face that struggle watching everybody eat. On Thanksgiving, I ate a small piece of turkey and went upstairs. Everyone around you is eating; during the tournament, you fight one day and have to make weight the next day, so everybody else gets to eat dinner after and you’re just watching them. It makes you think, ‘Do I still want to do this?’ It’s something that you really have to want to do to be able to do it … One thing is, boxing’s not for everybody.”
Lona’s talent and passion has even sparked an interest in bringing boxing to Lehman HS. For now, he continues to train with Montopolis Boxing out of Austin, constantly striving to improve himself. As for what’s next?
“I want to be a world champion,” Lona said.
