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I'm standing in the middle of a driveway peering into an open garage door on a hot summer night.

I'm in my hometown, Stockton, California.

The garage has been fully transformed into a makeshift gym, with matts covering most of the concrete floor and a heavy punching bag swinging next to the washing machine.

Come this swamp, don't.

You can't really tell because you can only hear her grunting at her coach, But inside, Faith Gomez is moving with precision and power, pivoting on her toes as she lands every job.

Her belts and metals are proudly displayed on the wall, right next to a letter from the City of Stockton honoring her achievements.

Don't keep your habits down.

One of her coaches, who everyone calls Suley, is wearing a thick, padded chess guard to absorb her punches.

Still, I can tell her quickness is wearing him out.

Don't accept direction, So he was a Jeff.

Time.

I see you guys already working on getting hand down and all that.

As the training session is about to wrap, Fate's other coach, her dad, Simon, enters the garage to see how things are going.

To push, push it out, it up, put it down, but dominate that jabs.

Faith is just two weeks out from her next big fight, an all female competition and her first international one.

So every job, hook and pivot matter.

Javid, like you guess, said David, right hand, always right here with rick, and move it aggressively.

I tell it to be a little aggressively and I would boom, yeah about that else, fucker come on right hand.

Right after.

A year ago, I knew I wanted to tell a story that showcased the boxing scene here in my hometown of Stockton.

A lot of greats have come out of our city.

We have the Diaz brothers, Nick and Nate, who put Stockton on the global MMA map.

But even before that, boxing had been woven into the fabric of this place, the legendary fights held at the Civic Auditorium back in the day.

This place has a nickname, Fat City that reflects both irony and pride.

There are layers to this stemming from Stockton's heyday, where you could come out to the Central Valley and make it big, lift, fat, and luxuriously.

We may not have much, but we fight hard and there's beauty in that.

We are news desert, a place where we mostly see mugshots and crime stats come out of our community.

Yes, Stockton can be a gritty, rough around the edges type place.

So I knew I wanted to tell this story because even in the often overlooked corners of this country, if you look hard enough, there's power, resilience, hope.

But what I didn't know was that the story I'd end up telling would be about a teenager.

Faith is only fifteen years old.

Okay, so this is my bed.

You can't see the bottom sheet, but it's pink because I'm going through my girly eric.

Faith pulls up the comforter of her twin bed to reveal a hot, pink fitted sheet.

On top of her bed are a handful of stuffed animals.

I'm Faith Gomes attend squat Stocked, an early college academy known as SECA.

I still gotta get used to saying softmore.

I'm saying I'm fifteen and everything.

Her thick brown hair perfectly frames the roundness of her baby face, and at five foot nothing, Faith is kind of small and she can be soft spoken at times.

I have my mom, I have my dad, I have my sister Brittany Amber Jasmine, and then myself and then two pets, dog in a guinea pig.

I was drawn to Faith's story not just because of her raw talent, but because I saw a young girl with big dreams and the heart and discipline to chase them.

So for the last year I've been documenting her life as she prepares for her next big fight.

Her story reminds me of the determination and hustle I saw all around me growing up in Stockton, that hunger to fight for something more, even when the odds are stacked against you.

It's Latino Usa.

I'm Maria no Josa Today.

The journey of a teenage girl towards becoming a pro Latina boxer.

What it's like to balance school girlhood and a dream of becoming boxing's next big name.

Producer Adriana Rodriguez takes us back to Stockton to continue our story about Faith.

I'm in faith off white room because she wants to show me something.

And then this is rough because you can feel it.

Faith picks up one of her many stuffed animals so I can feel it's fur.

Oh you have a lot of monkeys.

Oh my god.

That's Jazz, Faith's thirteen year old sister.

The two share room.

People often think Jazz is older, maybe because she's a couple inches taller.

No, when people see me, they say him.

When they see me, they have a baby face.

And then when they see Faith, she has a baby body.

But she's a grown man woman.

She just a grown man woman.

Do you see?

Though?

The girls are hilarious, constantly cracking jokes and full of goofy teenage energy.

The corkboard hanging next to their TV says it all.

It's covered with photos from tournaments and metals, glittery stickers, Hello Kitty and k Pop cutouts, a collage of girlhood and grit.

And these are my rosaries.

Oh yeah, to keep kept two.

We're not Catholic, but we're Christian.

Faith has two rosaries hanging right next to that glittery covered corkboard.

They're families.

Religious beliefs run deep and are woven into everything they do, from the way they fight to the way they care for each other.

Faith is more than just a name.

It's what holds the Gomez family together and out of the ring.

Since you've been doing this for four years, like you know, you're still a kid, and I feel like boxing it's kind of like a serious sport.

I definitely changed over the years, and once I got into boxing, it just cleared my mind and helped them, like stay focused on a certain thing, you know, helped me mature a little more.

At times.

I still mess around, you know, I'm still kids, you know, but when it comes to boxing, it's like that's all I know.

As I've gotten to know Faith over the past year, I often find myself forgetting that she's just a teenager.

She wakes up before dawn to run powers through a full day of school, trains hard when she gets home at night.

Right now, I'm taking ap classes and college classes, so it's a little more harder than just going to regular high school.

She even sometimes has to miss a week of school here and there just to be able to attend training camps and competitions.

I feel like I'm just trying to enjoy the time I have right now, you know, traveling and getting out there.

Yet somehow she finds time to do her homework and get good grades.

When people going to stockdon like that place is places hard, the place is ghetto.

You know, they have all these descriptions about this place.

But like, to me, even if we were struggling, I still find comfort in places where we live.

As someone who's also from Stockton, I hear her words and I feel that same mix of resilience and pride.

People in Stockton stick together and they they will to help each other out.

Faith's family has a long history in Stockton and with boxing.

Her dad, Simon, is from here.

Grew up around violence, group around it, and it was right in front of my face.

It was almost for sure, you're going to join a gang.

At that period of time, and as God blessed me with some guy.

Getting talent, Simon leaned into sports.

He played football and got involved in MMA fighting and training.

It gave him structure, a way to stay focused, and eventually a way out.

My story is it?

And like unique?

Is this a slocking story of kid had to fight his way home a lot.

I didn't choose to join a gang.

I chose to play sports and probably saved my life.

And he's right, I know that story too, of having to fight my way home from school, except I was lucky because I grew up with two big sisters who were not afraid to run up on someone for making me cry.

So most of the time I never even had to swing.

Stockton will do that to a kid.

It builds resilience into our DNA.

Stockton was the biggest city in the US to go bankrupt in twenty twelve, so growing up in Stockton means you learn to fight, sometimes metaphorically and sometimes literally.

So when Simon says his story isn't unique, I think a lot of us from Stockton get it, whether we like it or not.

Faith grew up like any other kid, curious, energetic, always on the move, but even from a young age, her athleticism stood out.

Simon would catch her climbing on the fridge, scaling hallways, and jumping over couches.

By the time she was three or.

Four, I want to start fighting, and always begging them NonStop, like.

Take me to gym, let me go work out, let me go fight someone, you know once in.

A while, get the bits out me and her words bam, bam.

You know, she had a lot of power in her hands.

We're just, you know, six seven years old, and I don't even.

Find my sister's that time.

Out of all of her sisters, Faith was the only one who wanted to fight, the one who enjoyed watching her dad do mma and was captivated by the boxing matches on TV.

She had just turned ten when she really started begging her dad to box.

I don't want my daughter to box.

I know how it does get in the face.

I know how does it get kicked, and it's not fun.

You know, I don't want that for my kid.

And she bugged me and bugged.

Me and bugged me.

It was twenty twenty, the world had just shut down, and Faith was still asking to box.

With lockdown keeping everyone home, Simon finally ran out of reasons to say no.

Finally he let up, and he was like a cigarette gent.

I was off of work.

You know, nobody's working, and basically I couldn't tell her no anymore.

Part of him wanted to shield her from that grind, but he also recognized something in her.

Letting her train wasn't just about boxing.

It was about giving her the structure and self discipline that once saved him.

The plan was just to sign up, get a feel for the training style, But the moment she heard they were going to the gym.

She's like, hey, do I get to fight today?

After the first like sparring, I had a liking today.

I was captivated by, you know, just fighting inside the ring with another person.

You're ten at that age.

Yeah, It's hard to wrap my head around this sometimes that she was only ten years old when all of this started.

Ten, just a little girl begging her dad to let her fight in a sport where punches land hard, where the goal is to outlast or overpower the other person, where pain isn't a side effect.

It's part of the point.

I think about what I was doing at ten, and then I look at Faith already carrying discipline hunger and this deep sense of purpose.

I also think about what I was doing when I was fifteen, and honestly, the world felt like a place full of battles already, as it does when we're in that very hormonal adolescent phase, which for girls, there's that extra little thing our periods.

People have different mental cycles and different pain levels, and I do struggle a lot when it comes to my period.

I have a heavy flow, and I tend to cramp so much.

That cramping that gets so bad it makes her throw up or leaves her unable to move.

You could gain the one to three pounds I have to maintain my water more.

I'm going to make sure I'm not bloated when the fight does come.

It's not just about discomfort, It's about discipline.

I could get through this.

I could get through my weight, I could get through cramps.

I could get through everything, and I can still mature and become a woman little by little.

Coming up on Latino USA, the complicated relationship that this sport has with toughness, violence and what it means to be a girl in the ring.

Lid which I take boxing my life from this kid, which I do.

It does no word and now we step into the ring with Faith as she goes pound for pound on a national stage.

Here my dad saying, you going, Faith, this is what we work for.

Get mad, this is what came for.

If you ain't mad, you ain't.

Ready, stay with us.

Yes, welcome back to Latino, USA.

I'm Maria Hosa.

We're going to go back to the story of Faith and her boxing journey.

I'm going to hand the mic to producer Adriana Rodriguez, who's going to start by addressing the physical intensity of boxing, especially when it's young girls in the ring.

I should probably state the obvious boxing is brutal.

It just is.

I've watched Faith fight a handful of times now and I still look away sometimes when the punches hit really hard and when there's blood.

I ask Simon what it's like to watch his daughter step into a ring knowing she could get hurt.

The only way to protect a kid is either take her out or teach her the right way.

And who chose to be obsessive with that part of safety.

Either you teach your kid how to do it right, or you pull them out elily.

We tried to take boxing life from this kid, which I do it does not work.

You can take your phone, you take you can take money away from ring whatever.

She's fine with that.

But every time you try to take boxing life shed I almost feel disrespectfu.

She's ready to fight, be not.

Everyone sees what Faith is doing and feels inspired.

I've seen people questioning youth boxing online, and even medical experts are clear and cautious of the risks.

They say it's not just bruises or broken nose, but there's the potential for long term neurological damage.

Simon knows this, but feels strongly about his and his daughter's decision to pursue boxing.

I would put her in some of these situations if I didn't trust what we do and what she she's not looking good, you know, then we wouldn't put her in it, or wouldn't sign her up for a fight.

You know.

Corner makes some boys or face.

One of face early fights took place in the tiny town of Coolidge, Arizona.

She was just twelve, and this isn't a kid whose family can casually fly her around the country for tournaments.

Every trip takes planning, fundraising, and sacrifice from everyone.

But Simon knows how important these fights are.

For an amateur boxer, because it could be the moment to catch the eye of the right coach, the right promoter, or even someone from USA Boxing or an Olympic scout.

I heard him in the corner.

Look you going, Faith, if you want this fight, this is all you.

This is all you.

This is what we worked for.

We didn't come all the way from California to come here to lose this fight.

You know you got, this is what we worked for.

Faith's opponents stumbled to the ground, and Faith couldn't believe what she had just done.

I've seen her lay on the floor and it shocked me, like I just dropped this girl, Like did I just did?

I just bring the crowd to go silent.

To your winner, my unanimous decision.

This fight changed everything boxing.

You got a blue corner, Faith.

Faith didn't just hold her own.

She dropped a top girl in her brack.

I'll see to the music.

I'll spill in it, you know, Winter Loss.

I gave it my all.

I dropped the top girl, and I was excited.

Listen, I get it, I get it.

It might sound really intense to hear a teenage girl talk this way, but honestly, I don't think being a fighter and being a teenager are two sides of a coin you have to choose between.

I spent enough time with Faith to know that the girl who dreams about knockouts is the same one who giggles with her sister right after they're done arguing about sitting on each other's bed.

Last December, Faith was fourteen.

She and her family traveled across the country to the USA Boxing National Championship in Richmond, Virginia.

I went to and I'm not gonna lie.

I almost had a heart attack thirty seconds into watching her fight.

Watch literally notified me that my heart rate suddenly rose and I wasn't even the one in the ring.

In the end, Faith did great in her bracket, and for the championship fight, she was set to face one of the toughest opponents of her young career.

She's a top girl.

She's never been defeated.

I seen her guys, someone who was.

Worth fighting, worth every bit of my time, and she didn't respect any of her fighters, and I want her to respect me.

I want to show who.

I am face opponent was known for ending fights early, and here was Faith going pound for pound, punch for punch, refusing to back down.

You hear my dad saying, keep going, Faith, this is what we worked for.

Get mad, this w came forward.

If you ain't mad, you ain't ready, what a loss You're going to show her that you came here to fight, and you came here to give it to that.

Even with the words of encouragement, Faith found herself slowing down.

Her punches got a little lazy, and she stopped bouncing as much.

My arms are tired, and how I just didn't want to let go.

My body was sore and herding from long days of training and struggling to make weight.

The bell rings, and Faith goes back to her corner.

Something to My.

Dad told me, how like, it don't matter what happened to ask for board.

You know you gave it to me.

You know you did everything you could.

Faith, this is what we came for.

Faith lost, But she held her own against one of the top girls nationwide.

This teenager who was still juggling classes, chores and curfews, got in that ring and showed a kind of composure, courage, and heart that can't be taught.

It's fierce, it's alive, It's earned her parents, her siblings, her coaches.

They're all in this with her, and so is her city.

We will be right back, don't they.

Yes, Hey, we're back.

There are clearly more opportunities for young boxers now, but that wasn't always the case for girls.

So my parents didn't let me play sports.

They didn't let me box.

I was never on teams.

I think that they were working too much, they couldn't afford things.

And then the other thing is girls don't fight.

Blanca Gutierres founded the all female Beautiful Brawlers competition.

It's held annually in the coastal city of Pacifica, California, at her gym called baby Face Boxing.

Blanca grew up watching her dad box, but unlike Faith, Blanca's dad never let her step into the ring as a young girl growing up in the seventies.

But in her twenties, she stepped into a kickboxing gem and thirty minutes in she knew she was hooked.

Some of the coaches didn't take her seriously at first, but Blanca didn't care.

Six months later, I was fighting, and so I could literally say Beautiful Brawlers started.

Back then, in my mind, I was like shit, like this is beautiful.

This is what my life's supposed to be.

So years later, Blanca built the space.

She never had a gym where girls could fight and be taken seriously, this is exactly the competition Faith has been training for.

The Beautiful Brawlers fight card hosted by Blanca's gym, a stage built for fighters just like her.

We're going to start this event, mom, and we want.

To say thank you for showing on, thank you for supporting us.

The first time England comes across the pond to fight in the United States.

It's a great honor.

I've been to my fair share of boxing tournaments at this point, but this one feels different.

The energy is bubbly electric, and there's this unspoken sense of competition and sisterhood.

One by one, the fighters step into the ring for three two minute rounds, with each about ending not in rivalry but in sweaty, smiling hugs between opponents, no matter whose hand was raised.

Right now, I feel confident, comfortable.

I've been training for it, and plus it's a smaller ring and I could put on more of the show there.

You know, she tries to run cast your right away and gotta worry about all that space.

Her hands are wrapped, her gloves are on, She's bouncing in place, calm, focus, confident as ever.

This isn't just another match.

It's her moment.

I mean, it's whatever.

I mean.

I'm coming for that belt, pink belt.

Now, I'm trying to win the top international fight.

I mean, that's what I came before, and that fight right away.

With the footwork of a dancer and the grit of a street fighter, Faith puts on her show.

Faith won her match and also walked away with the second belt for best fight of the night.

I caught up with Faith outside of the gym just moments after the fight.

A small crowd had already formed, family, friends, even a few strangers.

They were all waiting for a chance to congratulate her and snap a photo with the champ.

All Right, I just want I just want the one I was talking about that Bik Glenn.

I feel good, I feel happy.

Why isn't a little draink because I was draining water, But I mean I still pulped her head back.

I gave a good show and a lot of people enjoyed its.

Faith is already training for her next big fight.

She'll be back in the ring for the USA Boxing National Championships this December.

What else has been going through your mind with preparing for your next fight?

Honestly, you could even.

One to wear or another, but for now, this fifteen year old has school in the morning.

This episode was produced by adrian Na Rodriguez and edited by our managing editor Fernando Echavari.

It was mixed by Julia Caruso, JJ Carubin and gabriel Lebayez.

Fact checking for this episode by Rosanna Aguire.

Special thanks to Diego Ayala from the Press Recording Studio.

In Stockton, California.

The Latino USA team also includes Jessica Ellis, Rebecca I Vara, Rerinaldo, Leanos Junior, Stephanie Lebou, Andrea Lopez Cruzado, Lis Luna Gorrimr Marquez, Jurieta Martinelli, Monica Moreles Garcia and Nancy Trujuillo.

Benni Le Ramirez and I are co executive producers.

I'm Your Host Mariano Josa.

Latino USA is part of Iheart's myke Ultura podcast network.

Executive producers at iHeart are Leo Gomez and Arlene Santana.

Join us again on our next episode.

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Approximaes Chao.

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