Sierra Martinez seems destined for greatness, even in a sport as cruel as boxing.
Now, she is one training camp away from being a U.S. Olympian.
A top amateur with more accomplishments than most college professors put on their CV and a American hero who proudly serves the United States Army. A nine-time national champion, a two-time international champion and oh, she was the 2019 Under Armor Boxer of the Year.
In the first week of January, Martinez took one step closer to her Olympic dream. She is now qualified to compete with Alyssa Mendoza at the Olympic training camp for the 2024 Olympic Games. The nominee will be announced at a later date via a press release.
Martinez now is the first female fighter possibly ever, but in recent memory, to win the Red, White, and Blue. That is to win a junior, youth, and elite national tournament. Sierra won all her fights (5-0) at the Olympic Trials and had to fight an extra bout. A time-keeping error forced her to rematch an opponent she previously beat.
“Boxing isn’t our life,” insisted her father, Simon Martinez. “I am just as proud of her serving this country through the Army WCAP program and continuing her education. The person she is makes me proud, not just the boxer she is.”
Martinez has consistently been the best in the amateurs, with no coincidence being that her father, Simon Martinez, paved the way. Simon is a former New York State Sub-Novice Golden Gloves champion. Originally from New England, Simon moved Sierra and his family to Texas. They worked with boxing hall-of-famer Paul Reyes and his son, Vincent Reyes, for a couple of years in Texas. That was before Sierra got into the WCAP program, and the family uprooted to Colorado Springs, CO.
Rarely do people think of boxers as the pillar of middle-class stability, but Martinez is that. She has a good career as she chases her Olympic dream and is recently engaged. Martinez is a figure from the 1940s born in the new millennium. The type of figure adversity birthed from the great depression that made people value every penny and moment of life.
Yet, it wasn’t always easy. Her upbringing, at times, was tough. These stories will be detailed at a later date. Her father had made mistakes in the past but was able to get full custody.
One struggle was when her father, Simon, nearly lost his life to COVID-19 during the pandemic. He was given a slim chance to survive but fighting runs deep in the Martinez family. When he was discharged from the hospital, they played the ‘Rocky’ music, not because of his boxing history, but because anyone who withstood the pain and agony, he went through was a survivor, was a fighter, and had ‘the eye of a tiger.’
Her father recalled once going to a tournament in Canada. The story was recounted numerous times by both Sierra and Simon, who told it. She fought a girl from Canada and was brought in to fight the promoter’s daughter. A fancy belt was on the line. Sierra won the fight, but it took fifteen minutes for the decision to be read. People snapped their fingers like it was a beat poetry, not a boxing decision. That was out of dismay. They hated the decision.
The promoter left them at the venue. They had to find their way to the airport, which was hours away.
Still, the two reflect on that story with one memory: Sierra falling asleep with the belt that she so proudly won.
Now, the girl who fell asleep with that same belt she won in Canada is one training camp away from being a 2024 Olympian.
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