‘We’re a team’
Young Diné brothers work on rising boxing careers
By Colleen Keane
Special to the Times
ALBUQUERQUE
Courtesy photo
USA Boxing members Ivan Watchman Jr., 13, left, and Sheldon Watchman, 12, wearing new gear made possible through donations to the young athletes.
Avoiding a jab to his face, Ivan Watchman Jr. bobs and slips the opposite way and throws a hook to his opponent’s chin, then follows with a semi-circular, vertical punch.
“I learned (this boxing move and others) from my father,” said 13-year old Ivan, referring to Ivan Watchman Sr., Diné. Ivan’s 12-year-old brother, Sheldon, also said it’s his dad who taught him the most about boxing. “He’s my inspiration,” said Sheldon. Ivan Sr. said that Ivan and Sheldon are carrying on that inspirational spark and passing it along to others.
For the past three years, Ivan and Sheldon, USA Boxing members, have trained in several Albuquerque boxing clubs and competed in more than 30 fights with notable wins, according to their dad.
In January 2018, Ivan was featured in a KOB-TV news story after winning the state and regional boxing championship in Compton, California. The year before, Sheldon won his first Albuquerque match as shown in a You-Tube video posted May 7, 2017.
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