With the encouragement of his father and uncle, sophomore Hovhannes Barseghyan started boxing in his home country of Armenia when he was just 8 years old. Now at 15 in America, Barseghyan trained hard to reach nationals where he placed second in the Silver Gloves Tournament.
“When I look at my uncle and dad, I get inspired to push harder and get into higher levels of boxing,” Barseghyan said.
Driven by that inspiration, Barseghyan pushed to earn second place in the nationals of the Silver Gloves tournament on Feb. 2, in Kansas City, Missouri. Nearly a month prior, Barseghyan earned the regional title in the Silver Gloves in Compton, California, on Jan. 11. Barseghyan won the intensely close regional match by a point, three to two.
“I was happy because my family came to cheer me on,” Barseghyan said. “I had to win for them.”
After he moved to America at the age of 8 to 10-years-old, Barseghyan’s journey continued at Flash Enterprises Boxing Academy. Coached by the owner Jorge “Kid Flash” Diaz, Diaz worked with Barseghyan to train overtime and intensified his conditioning to prepare for the Silver Gloves. Six days out of the week, Barseghyan spends more than three hours training, which consists of running with a weighted vest, sparring with experienced heavyweight boxers, bag work and more. Following his regimen, he also stuck to a diet to maintain weight at 176 pounds (80kg).
“I was very excited that I could have experienced (the) national tournament,” Barseghyan said. “Going into the fight, I was getting ready, mentally, to beat him.”
This year, the Silver Gloves tournament was hosted in Kansas City, Missouri, held by Silver Gloves of America (SGA). The tournament is open for boxers as young as 8 years old to 16 year old boxers. Leading to nationals, light heavyweight Barseghyan competed in a series of matches in the Silver Gloves, first winning the District title at the Compton Sheriff Activity League on Nov. 9, 2024. Returning back to the same gym in Compton, he fought for the state title on Dec. 7 and would later win the regional Silver Gloves title on Jan. 11 there as well. This officially pushed him to the national level.
“He’s progressed because he’s been putting in the work and he doesn’t care who’s in front of him,” coach Diaz said. “His determination, it speaks volumes.”
At Kansas, he worked with the former head coach of the U.S. Olympic boxing team, Joe Zanders, who has led five boxers to national titles. Barseghyan continued his success, winning his first match on Jan. 30. This moved him to the semi-finals the next day, where Barseghyan won by knockout in the first round. His streak lasted until the final match for the national title on Feb. 2, where he lost by decision, placing him second place in the Silver Gloves Tournament of 2025.
“He has a lot to learn, he’s not the final product yet,” coach Diaz said. “At the end of the day, it’s up to him, he’s on the driver’s side.”
Barseghyan took this as a building block to learning more as a boxer and further improving himself. Along with this he took a big step toward his professional boxing career. Continuing his reign, Barseghyan plans to compete in the Junior USA Boxing Olympics, which will kickoff this year in June.
“Hard work pays off, (it) doesn’t matter what kind of sport,” Barseghyan said. “I want people to be inspired to push harder with what they want to do in life, that sometimes you’ll take the loss, but you can come back stronger.”
