EL CENTRO — At just 10 years old, Timothy “Two Time” Ruiz is quickly turning heads across the national amateur boxing landscape.
The young phenom from Sparta Boxing Gym in El Centro recently returned home after tearing through a week-long national tournament in Cleveland, Ohio, capping off a flawless run to take home the gold medal. Returning to his fifth-grade classroom just days after going toe-to-toe with the country’s top amateur fighters, Ruiz has solidified his status as one of the nation’s premier young talents.
“This kid is super talented,” said Jorge Munoz, director and head trainer at Sparta Boxing. “He has speed, power, everything you could think he has — confidence, everything. We’ve been sending him to all the big tournaments, and he’s been taking over.”
Competing in the competitive 80-pound open division — a rank reserved for boxers with at least 10 fights that allows them to face opponents with vastly more ring experience — Reese fought every single day of the tournament. Despite entering as a relative unknown on the national scene, Ruiz fought his way through top-ranked opposition, securing a victory in Sunday’s championship bout.
“Nobody knew him because this was his first time going to these big tournaments, and these other kids were already well-known,” Munoz said. “All of a sudden, everybody from USA Boxing started to know who Timothy Ruiz is.”
The victory in Cleveland is only the latest achievement in what has been an undefeated stretch in open-division play. Ruiz’s growing list of titles includes gold medals at the international tournament in Oxnard, the Gene Lewis tournament, and Ringside competitions. With his recent national title, Munoz expects Ruiz to earn the No. 1 ranking in the nation for his division.
Boxing runs deep in the Ruiz family. Timothy was brought to Sparta Boxing around the age of six by his father, a former heavyweight amateur boxer who previously trained under Munoz. Today, his father and uncle assist as volunteer coaches at Sparta Boxing, while his older brother also competes at a national level, recently reaching the finals in his own division.
Known for his devastating straight right hand, exceptional body work, and ring IQ far beyond his years, Ruiz frequently spars with boxers as old as 14 and weighing up to 80 pounds to sharp-tune his skills, given his strength advantage over many peers his age.
“I’ve been training kids for 30 years… and when you see talent, you just see it,” said Munoz, who previously guided his own son to a Junior Olympics national gold medal. “I teach him whatever, he absorbs a lot of stuff, and he just acts like a sponge. He does things that take other fighters 10 years to learn.”
Despite the rigorous schedule and travel demands that come with national competition, Ruiz continues to excel in the classroom while balancing his schoolwork with help from his family and teachers.
For Munoz and the team of 12 volunteer coaches managing more than 100 young boxers at Sparta Boxing, Ruiz represents a rare homegrown talent with unlimited potential.
“He has everything to be a megastar,” Munoz said. “With the boxing IQ he has, he could be anything he wants.”