Young Waco boxer proves age is just a number

WACO, Texas (KWTX) - At Powerhouse Fighting and Fitness in Waco, a boxer’s stature may surprise visitors.

Nine-year-old D.J. Gober’s boxing career may be young, but winning is nothing new to him.

“I’ve got a trophy, and I’ve got five medals,” Gober said.

His favorite piece of hardware is the medal he won in the Texas Silver Gloves last November, the latest achievement in a journey he and his family have been on for a couple of years.

“He’s been boxing for almost two years. We’ve been doing a lot of traveling. Just seeing him grow as a boxer has been pretty amazing,” said Brittney Gober, D.J.’s mom.

His love for the sport started with watching boxing with his family.

“He used to box when he was younger, and we always used to watch fights. He was like ‘I really want to start boxing.’ So, we didn’t know if he was going to take it serious, but he’s been boxing ever since,” Brittney Gober said.

At age 9, D.J. is already taking his time in the ring seriously. He usually trains six days a week, splitting his time between Powerhouse Fighting and Fitness in Waco and a gym in Dallas.

When asked his favorite part of boxing, he replied:

“I like showing my style off, because I’ve got a fancy style,” D.J. said.

That style is something his father Devin, noticed immediately when his son picked up the gloves.

“When he first started, like when he’s on a bag, he just, like, he’s got swag with it. He’s sitting there dancing,” Devin Gober said.

D.J.’s coaches, Eric Furlow and Deandrew Lewis, picked up on that signature style quickly.

“That’s flavor, I call it the flavor. He’s got a lot of flavor to him, you know what I mean? Ain’t no telling what you’ll see DJ get in there and do. He makes it go, he makes it go,” Furlow said.

“Basically, as long as he’s having fun, and he has fun the way he’s doing it. So, that’s basically what we’re worried about, is him having fun. Because a lot of kids they come here and they don’t stay. So we want to make sure it’s fun for him so he can stick around,” said Lewis, a professional boxer and coach.

For Furlow and Lewis, having fun and working on D.J.’s fundamentals in the ring are key, because they think the sky is the limit for one of Central Texas’ youngest fighters.

“I’m already eyeing the Olympics, you know what I mean? You’ve got to start in on that kind of stuff now, see, start speaking it into him, and he’ll get there,” Furlow said.

“He’s got the potential,” Lewis said.

D.J. will be looking to add to his trophy case later this month when he fights in Arkansas.