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Boxer Jennifer Lozano driven to inspire Latinas, honor her grandmother at Olympics

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Boxer Jennifer Lozano driven to inspire Latinas, honor her grandmother at Olympics

Jennifer Lozano carries her nickname “La Traviesa” — “The Mischievous Woman” in English — with pride. Not only does it refer to her aggressive and brave boxing style, but also to what her grandmother called her because of the pranks she used to play when she was a child.

She stuck with the nickname as she began her boxing career as a tribute to her late grandmother and will use it as a member of the U.S. Olympic boxing team this summer in Paris.

“After she passed away, I carried the nickname with a lot of pride, and a lot of honor, because she gave it to me,” Lozano said of her grandmother, Virginia Sanchez Cuevas.

The 21-year-old fighter earned her ticket to Paris 2024 in October by winning the silver medal at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, in the 50-kilogram — or 110-pound — weight class. Lozano, who grew up in Laredo, Texas, is the first female Olympic fighter in any sport from her hometown, which sits near the border with Mexico. She hopes her Olympic qualification will give hope to many people in Laredo and Mexico that big things can be accomplished by people from small places.

U.S. boxer Jennifer Lozano reacts as the referee raises her arm to signal she had won her fight and qualified for the Paris Olympics.

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(Dolores Ochoa / Associated Press)

At the end of her Pan American semifinal bout against Canada’s McKenzie Wright, Lozano jumped and cried, knowing she had overcome many of the obstacles and cultural stereotypes she had encountered during her burgeoning boxing career. The win was a reward for this little girl who followed her dreams, even though many called her crazy for becoming a boxer. After hearing the final bell in her fight against Wright, Lozano immediately raised her hand, confident that she had qualified for the Olympics, and pointed to the sky in tribute to her grandmother, who died in 2017.

“It was such a great emotion that to this day I can’t describe. I just thought about the great change it was going to be, not only in the city, but for the future generations of boys and girls who are from Laredo, who have that thought, that mentality that if you are born in Laredo, you die in Laredo,” said Lozano, whose first started boxing to lose weight and little by little realized that she could stand out in tournaments. She tried other sports, such as soccer, basketball and track and field, but nothing excited her as much as boxing.

Under the guidance of Michelle and Eddie Vela, owners and coaches of Boxing Pride gym in Laredo, Lozano has become a rising star in U.S. boxing.

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From 2015 to 2019, she was champion of the National Junior Olympics and the National Golden Gloves. She also won the 50 kg at the 2023 Gee Bee International Tournament and gold at the 2022 USA Boxing Elite National Championship and the 2022 USA Boxing International Invitational.

“It’s been a very long road,” said Vela, her coach since age 11, when asked about qualifying for the Olympics. “It was something we worked so hard for, so many years. It gives me chills just thinking about it. It was incredible to see that we finally made it.”

The Boxing Pride gym taught Lozano the basics of pugilism and when she began defeating 16- and 17-year-olds when she was just 11, her trainer realized that “La Traviesa” could do great things. The gym became her home. She would stay for hours to train with Vela, forming a special relationship.

“We only have to give each other one look to know, ‘OK, I know what you’re telling me, I know what you’re thinking.’ We connect so well that a lot of people don’t believe it. And we just always told each other everything. And I trust him a lot,” the left-handed boxer said.

Lozano, the daughter of Rubén Lozano and Yadira Rodríguez, natives of Tamaulipas, Mexico, earned her associate degree in 2021 from LBJ High School’s innovative biotechnology and science academy amid her boxing training.

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The hardest blow life dealt Lozano was at the age of 17, when she found her grandmother dead in her home in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico — something that put her in “a hole she felt she could never get out of.”

Her grandmother died in a shooting in her neighborhood, according to the boxer. Members of organized crime were searching for someone and shot at her grandmother’s house, fatally wounding her. Lozano and her mother had not heard from her grandmother for days, so they decided to visit her in Nuevo Laredo. Upon arriving at the house, Lozano broke down a door and found her grandmother’s lifeless body.

Jennifer Lozano, left, stands next her grandmother, Virginia Sánchez Cuevas, who was killed in a shooting in 2017.

Jennifer Lozano, left, stands next her grandmother, Virginia Sánchez Cuevas, who was killed in a shooting in 2017.

(Jennifer Lozano)

“I saw her body there on the floor and she was not in good condition,” Lozano said. “… I don’t know, me and my mom never talked about it, but yes, that’s how it happened.”

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After her grandmother’s death, Lozano said she felt a lot of resentment, depression and anxiety. She could not concentrate in school and was angry in the gym.

“I was so angry that I wanted to keep fighting. Out of four rounds we had to go, we ended up going eight or 12 rounds nonstop,” Lozano said. “I had a lot of bitterness, I wasn’t focused or anything and it was very hard to get out of that hole I was in. It was very dark.”

A fight ultimately changed her focus.

In 2019, Lozano lost to Alyssa Mendoza at the USA Women’s Youth National Championships. One punch in particular shook her up.

“I think it was a jab from her opponent that hurt her nose,” Vela said, recalling the painful but important loss. “That’s when she realized that she had to come back, keep working and that was necessary to be in the place we are now.”

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“That’s when I started to see things as they are and I got my act together,” said Lozano, who realized after that loss that she couldn’t be depressed.

U.S. boxer Jennifer Lozano holds up her medal after her trumph at the Pan American Games in October 2023.

U.S. boxer Jennifer Lozano holds up her medal after her trumph at the Pan American Games in October 2023.

(Martin Mejia / Associated Press)

Lozano focused on her mental health and thought she had to make a change. She thought of all the people who have gone through difficult times in her city. Most of all, she remembered the words of encouragement her grandmother would give her.

“She would tell me that I was going to do great things. That she loved me very much and that I should never forget her,” said Lozano, who has tattooed in her mind the days when she used to watch Jackie Nava’s fights with her grandmother and the flautas she made for her to eat.

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“She told me: ‘You’ll see, mija, you’ll see that you’re going to be great. You keep working hard and working hard and it’s all worth it.’ ”

After her 2019 loss, Lozano notched 11 straight wins in amateur boxing.

“What I learned is that you have to be thankful for who you have in front of you because you never, literally, never know if that’s going to be the last time you see that person,” she said.

USA Boxing also helped her recover mentally, just as it did with Jajaira Gonzalez, a Southern California boxer who also struggled with her mental health before qualifying for Paris 2024.

“Lozano is fantastic. She’s had a difficult history as a child and the things that come with that. She’s been focused, and she’s had good fights,” said USA Boxing’s head coach, Billy Walsh. “She’s stood her ground, she hasn’t let feelings get the best of her. She’s very strong and has fought in the face of the toughest pressure, in the face of the biggest stress.”

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Lozano has helped other teammates, especially fellow Olympian Gonzalez, to be mentally strong.

“She’s like my little sister. She pushes me and so like me just like her,” Gonzalez said. “She has a very strong mentality. I would like to be just as strong as her.”

With her Olympic participation, Lozano said she wants to change the stigma that exists for people from South Laredo.

“We have a bad saying that what is from Laredo never progresses. That if you are born in Laredo you die in Laredo,” said Lozano, who also is inspired by her sister Jessica, who moved to San Antonio to continue her education.

“I’m here to not only inspire and motivate, but equally to make a big change, not only in my city, but for all Hispanas, Latinas, Mexicans and all of Latin America. I want to be a global inspiration.”

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This article was first published in Spanish via L.A. Times en Español.

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UCLA softball pummels South Carolina to advance to NCAA super regional

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UCLA softball pummels South Carolina to advance to NCAA super regional

No. 8 UCLA stuck with right-hander Taylor Tinsley throughout the Los Angeles Regional and that faith in the senior paid off.

During the Bruins’ NCAA tournament opener at Easton Stadium, Tinsley gave up 10 runs before her teammates rallied for a walk-off win. She returned less than 24 hours to pitch against South Carolina, giving up two earned runs in a victory. Tinsley was back in the circle Sunday afternoon, yielding one run in UCLA’s 15-1 victory over the Gamecocks to advance to the super regionals.

“I am proud of Taylor’s resiliency, the ability to do whatever she can to help this team,” UCLA coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said. “She got stronger through the weekend. I am proud of that.”

Tinsley and her teammates will host Central Florida in a super regional that begins Friday.

“I feel good,” Tinsley said after pitching three key games in three days. “I could have gone more innings if needed.”

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South Carolina right-hander Jori Heard gave up only one hit through two innings, keeping UCLA’s potent bats relatively quiet. The Gamecocks had runners on first and second with two outs in the second, but Tinsley escaped the inning with a pop-up to left field.

The Bruins got on the board first with a two-run home run from left fielder Rylee Slimp in the third inning. The Bruins followed it up by loading the bases with no outs in the fifth for right fielder Megan Grant.

Grant cooked up a grand slam to make it 6-0. She has 40 home runs, extending her hold on the NCAA single-season home run record. Oklahoma freshman Kendall Wells trails Grant with 37 homers.

“Its just incredible because I am blessed to be able to say the number 40,” Grant said.

South Carolina broke through on an RBI single from left fielder Quincee Lilio to cut UCLA’s lead to 6-1 in the fifth inning after being held to just one hit since the first inning. The Gamecocks couldn’t cash in the rest of the way.

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The Bruins resumed scoring in the sixth inning, with the bases loaded and Grant at bat again. Fans at Easton Stadium anticipated another grand slam, holding up their cellphones hoping to catch some magic. Grant served up a two-run RBI single to expand the lead 8-1.

Jordan Woolery added to the scoring with a two-run RBI double down the left-field line, and Kaniya Bragg hit a home run to left-center field. Soo-jin Berry put a bow on the win with one more home run.

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Pro wrestling star learns what ‘land of opportunity’ means in US as he details journey from Italy to America

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Pro wrestling star learns what ‘land of opportunity’ means in US as he details journey from Italy to America

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Cristiano Argento has been tearing up opponents in the ring for the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) as he worked his way up the ladder to get a few shots at some gold.

But the path to get to one of the most prestigious pro wrestling companies in the U.S. was long and a path that not many wrestlers have taken.

Argento was born and raised in Osimo, Italy – a town of about 35,000 people located on the east side of the country closer to the Adriatic Sea. He told Fox News Digital he started training in a ring at a boxing gym before he got started on the independent scene in Italy. He wrestled in Germany, Sweden, France and Denmark before he came to the realization that, to become a professional wrestler, he needed to make his way to the United States.

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Cristiano Argento performs in the National Wrestling Alliance (Instagram)

He first worked his way to Canada to get trained by pro wrestling legend Lance Storm. He moved to Canada, leaving most of his friends and family behind and without a firm grasp on the English language.

“At the time, my English was horrible. I didn’t speak any English at all,” he said. “But I was with my friend, Stefano, he came with me and he translated everything for me. I probably missed 50% of the knowledge that Lance Storm was giving to us because I was unable to understand. I was only given a recap and everything I was able to see. I’m sure if I was doing it now with a proper knowledge of English, it would have been a different scenario.

“Eventually, I moved back to Italy after the training and I said, OK, now, I want to go to the U.S. So, I studied English more properly, and eventually I got my first work visa that was in Texas. I was in Houston for a short period of time. I trained with Booker T at Reality of Wrestling. I got on his show, which was my debut in the U.S. That was awesome. I eventually got a new work visa in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where I currently live since 2017. Since then, my wrestling career, thankfully, kept growing, growing, growing and growing until now wrestling for the NWA. One of the bigger promotions in the U.S.”

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Argento said that his family thought he was “nuts” for chasing his pro wrestling dream.

He said they were more concerned about his well-being given that he was half-way around the world without anyone he knew by his side in case something went sideways.

“My family, friends, everybody was like why do you want to move to the opposite side of the world not knowing the language, not knowing anybody, by yourself, to try to become a professional wrestler? And I was like, well, we have one life, I love, and that’s what I’m gonna do,” he told Fox News Digital. “Eventually, my family was really supportive. But when I first said, ‘Hey, mom and dad, I want to do that.’ They looked at me like, ‘Are you nuts? Are you drunk or something? What are you talking about?’ And I said, no that’s what I want to do. And they knew I loved this sport because in Italy I was traveling around Europe, spending time in Canada training, so they started to understand slowly that’s what I want to do with my life. They were proud of me.

Cristiano Argento works out in the gym. (Instagram)

“They’re still proud of me. I think more like the fact that you’re gonna try that, that it’s hard than more like you’re gonna leave us. The fact like, oh, my son is gonna go on the opposite side of the world for a six-hour time difference and we’re gonna see him maybe, when, like, I don’t know. Not often. I think it was more that. And for me too, it was really hard. It was heartbreaking not being able to see my family every day or every month. Like once a year if I’m lucky. I think that was the biggest part for them because of concern or that I was here by myself and if I have any issue or any problem, I didn’t have nobody. So they were scared. Like, you get sick, if you have a problem, anything, and they’re not being able to be here next to me. But they were really supportive since day one.”

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Argento is living out his dream in the U.S. He suggested that the moniker of the U.S. being the “land of opportunity” wasn’t far from what is preached in movies and literature – it was the real thing.

“I was inspired by people who came to the U.S. and made it big,” Argento told Fox News Digital. “The U.S. was always like the land of opportunity. That’s how they sell it to us and this is what it is. I feel like, in myself, that was true because anything I tried to do so far I was able to reach a lot more than if I wasn’t here. I’m not yet where I’d like to be but I see like there’s so many opportunities in this country. Not just in wrestling but like in any business to reach the goal. I’m really happy of the choices I did here.

National Wrestling Alliance star Cristiano Argento poses in Times Square in New York. (Instagram)

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“But my big inspirations were big-time actors who moved to the country, who didn’t know English, with no money, no support system. I had one dream, I have to go right there to make it happen and I’m gonna go and do it and I’m gonna make it happen. So those people were always the biggest inspiration even if it wasn’t in wrestling, just how they handled their passion, how they pursued their dream without being scared of anything, how far you are, how alone by yourself … You don’t know the language, you’re like, let’s go, let’s do it.”

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Outside of the NWA, Argento has performed for the International Wrestling Cartel, Enjoy Wrestling and Exodus Pro Wrestling this year.

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Loyola wins Southern Section Division 1 lacrosse championship

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Loyola wins Southern Section Division 1 lacrosse championship

There’s no denying that Loyola’s lacrosse program is best in Southern California and could be that way for years to come with the number of elite young players participating.

On Saturday night, the Cubs (16-3) won their latest Southern Section Division 1 championship with a 14-6 win over Santa Margarita. The Cubs have won three title since the sport was adopted as a championship event in the Southern Section. Defense has been Loyola’s strength all season.

Senior defenders Chase Hellie and Everett Rolph and junior goalkeeper William Russo led one of the best defenses in program history under coach Jimmy Borell.

Senior Cash Ginsberg finished with five goals and junior North Carolina commit Tripp King finished with two goals.

In girls Division 1, Mira Costa upset top-seeded Santa Margarita 12-6.

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