The Junior Olympic Regional Champion resides right here in Jacksonville Florida. His name is Willie Weaver III, and he is the next big thing in boxing. Just 13 years old, Willie or “Tre” as his family affectionately calls him, is one of the youngest and most accomplished boxers in his field. He is a 4 time state champion, the Florida Junior Golden Glove Champion, the State Pal Boxing Champion, and Silver Glove Boxing State Champion. With all the aforementioned accolades one would assume this young man had been boxing for years. Yet Weaver has only been in the sport of boxing for 16 months, an incredible start to an already decorated career.
It all started in the local non profit program BPM, which stands for Building Powerful Minds. BPM services local youth in several areas including academics, mentoring, and athletics. One of their athletic programs features boxing exhibitions between youth, and Weaver decided to try it out.
He quickly discovered that he was pretty good when he defeated two of their best boxers. “They couldn’t hit him” is how his father Willie Weaver II described it. “We put him in (the ring) with a kid much larger and taller than Tre’ and Tre’ knocked the kid down. It was at that time that I decided to put him in boxing” said Weaver Jr.
Natural talent can only get you so far in sports; you have to work at it, and Tre’ is a hard worker. His father took on the role of training his son after seeing the potential he possessed. With a back ground in wrestling, Willie Weaver II would push Willie Weaver III to the third degree. A regimen that included morning runs, training two times a day in the gym, and foot work drills to enhance his stamina. The result has yielded a fine tuned machine that’s combined athleticism with boxing skill. Skills that place the young phenom in elite company within the Junior Olympic field. Tre currently competes in the 80 pound 13/14 yr old division, a division that possesses some of the best talent in the U.S.
Tre is capable of boxing both in an orthodox and southpaw style. It has enabled him to keep opponents off balance. He is a tactician, analyzing his opponent’s plan of attack and then exploiting it.
That experience is rarely found in a boxer who just picked up the gloves a little over a year ago. But his maturity has grounded him, and prepared Tre well beyond his years. An example of this revealed itself when Tre was asked who his favorite boxer was. Surprisingly it wasn’t boxers like Floyd Mayweather Jr, or Manny Pacquiao. No, Tre’s favorite boxer is none other than Captain Hook himself Roy Jones Jr, one of the greatest boxers of all time. Many of Jones’ most memorable moments occurred when Willie III wasn’t even born. So Tre’ proved he is a student of the sport by watching videos of Jones. He patterns his style after Jones Jr’s ability to deceive opponents with intimidating quickness and demoralize them with power punching. His style and confidence are two of the reasons he has enjoyed tremendous success. It’s also the reason he finds himself as the only boxer in Jacksonville heading to Dallas Texas to vie for the Junior Olympic National Championship.
” There are several phenomenal boxers in the city, but Tre is the only boxer in Jacksonville that will be going to the Junior Olympic Nationals. So I think it’s really big for the city”.-Willie Weaver II
Junior Olympics Regional Champion 13 yr old Willie Weaver III of Jacksonville trains for his National Title bout! pic.twitter.com/cbeYvHCbbJ
— Duval Sports (@DuvalSports) June 15, 2016
Willie Weaver III has already achieved championship status within the south east becoming the Junior Olympic Regional Champion. But on June 26th he can prove to the nation that he is the best in the country by winning the Junior Olympic National Championship. He knows what lies ahead is not an easy task. “Its going to be boxers there that have boxed longer than me, so I have to put in the work with my training so that I can go in there confident”. He has worked on foot drills to become faster and lifted weights to become stronger, so placing an entire city on his back for nationals is a challenge he feels comfortable accepting. The weight of a region rests in the gloves of young Willie Weaver III; truly the next big thing in boxing, truly a star in the making.
Special Thanks to Jax Pal, and The Law Office of Willie Weaver Jr.
For information regarding the Junior Olympic National Tournament click Here
