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For Alize Hernandez, the pressure was undeniable. The 15-year-old boxer from Redwood City had been competing for less than a year, yet she was already on the brink of her first national title. Caught up in the moment, she shut off her phone, prayed with her parents, spoke to no one but her coach and stepped into the ring.
Looking ahead, she faced her opponent. This was the day she had been waiting for.
But, the road to this match had not been the smoothest.
A sophomore at Sequoia High School, Alize Hernandez is the oldest of three siblings and a 3rd generation immigrant. She first told her dad she wanted to try boxing when he was introducing the sport to her younger brother when her dad was trying to keep him in shape for football season.
At nearly 14 years old, she began her training and was instantly addicted. She had tried other sports, like volleyball, but her true passion was boxing.
“After the first week, I just wanted to be there every single day,” Alize said, adding that she started by spending one hour at the gym daily, but her desire to get better eventually drove her to spend five to six hours training. “And then it got to the point where my parents had to go and drag me out of the gym.”
She was immersed in the feeling of hitting the bag, training her footwork and building strength. But it was more than that.
“It didn’t feel like a workout…, ” she said. “I was having fun.”
Breaking Stereotypes
With boxing, Alize felt like she was entering a sport still considered male dominated by many.
“Some guys will always be like…she’s not strong enough, or you can’t train with me, because I’m stronger than you and I’m bigger than you,” she said. “But you don’t know that, because you’ve never gotten in the ring with me.”
One year later, Alize had her first bout in San Ramon. The weight of expectation bore down on her—the same feeling countless athletes face, the fear of letting her family down. Butterflies swarmed in her stomach, her nerves buzzed, and she bounced on her feet to shake off the tension. But she kept repeating to herself, “I’m going to win.” After the first round, the nerves faded, the doubts disappeared, and she claimed victory in her debut fight.
“It was the best thing in the world,” she said.
Alize knew she belonged in the ring, so she switched to homeschooling to balance classes with training. Even though it was hard being away from her friends, she could better focus on her goals.
In her early fights, she often doubted herself, knowing her opponents were more experienced and had been fighting since they were 8 or 9 years old.
But her dad always told her, “If you think you will lose, you’ve already lost that fight!” So, she focused on maintaining a positive mindset and trusting her training to speak for itself.
Most of her days consist of school work and training for a minimum of six hours, which includes strength and conditioning to improve her endurance and power. She then trains with her coach in San Francisco and then returns home to train with her dad before ending the day by running a minimum of four miles.
“She’s very disciplined, she works really hard even by herself, even if I’m not there or her father’s not there, she’s gonna push herself, and I think that’s what a lot of fighters are missing,” said Sean Hall, Alize’s coach. “She’s very tough.”
Early Victories and Setbacks
In June 2024, Alize competed in the USA Boxing National Junior Olympics in Kansas and won the bronze medal.
In October, she faced every athlete’s worst nightmare – an injury. After enduring repeated blows to the nose while training, she could no longer breathe properly through the swelling and had to undergo surgery. But her love for boxing wouldn’t let her stay away for long. Just a week later, she was back in the gym.
“Every time she loses, it pushes her even more,” said Alize’s father, Miguel Hernandez. “That’s what makes her so great, is that she doesn’t settle.”
In 2024, she won the International Women’s Tournament in Washington and secured second place in the USA Boxing National Championships in Virginia.
But Alize wanted more—she was determined to become a national champion to prove everyone who had ever doubted her wrong.
In January, she advanced to the Silver Gloves National Tournament after winning the Northern California, state and regional titles.
The national tournament occurred in Missouri from Jan. 29 to Feb. 1. Alize competed in the 119-pound weight division. She represented Region 8, which includes California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Hawaii.
She had spent months training and boxing through multiple levels to earn her spot in this tournament. Now, she was just one step away from a national title. The nerves crept in, but deep down, she knew—she would win. And she did.
After winning the tournament, she rushed to her dad and called her mom to say she was bringing the belt home.
The Bigger Dream
But for Alize, this is just the beginning.
“Because I am still a girl in the sport, there are people who have put me down, doubted me, or thought I couldn’t do it or I won’t make it far,” Alize said. “I wanted to prove to them that I am going to make it far. And I feel like the first step was getting that national title to show that I am something because a national title is not something you can just get easily. It’s something you have to put a lot of hard work into.”
She aims to become a champion in multiple weight classes, eventually fight in the Olympics and then go pro.
“Young women out there that are gonna pursue boxing, you have to have a lot of character and a lot of drive,” she said in her message to aspiring female boxers. “Always push yourself to be the best version of you and never let anybody bring you down, no matter who it is.”
