Photography by Brandon Gonzalez
Aiden Anderson has always been the quiet kid. But when he’s in the boxing ring, everything changes.
Anderson was always getting in fights — but he wasn’t the one starting them. He would get picked on, and his dad encouraged him to pick up boxing to defend himself.
He sparred, a training exercise where boxers practice their techniques by exchanging light blows with a partner, on his first day and immediately fell in love with the sport.
Anderson first stepped in the ring at age 13. Today, the Carter High School junior is ranked No. 1 in Texas in his weight class.
“I really didn’t believe it,” Anderson says of winning his weight class. “I didn’t think I was going to win at 143, because that’s not my actual weight class. I was just so happy.”
Anderson typically competes in the 138-pound weight class but moved up to 143 for the Texas State Silver Gloves Tournament. He earned the No. 1 ranking in Texas after defeating his opponent, who had 67 wins to his 23. This earned him a spot representing the state in the regional tournament in Arkansas.
His quiet disposition paired with his energy in the ring inspired his nickname, “Wake ’em up.” Because Anderson is a quiet kid, most people are shocked by his performances in the ring.
For a while, his friends didn’t even know he was a boxer — that was how much Anderson kept to himself. His friends have now become some of his biggest supporters.
“I was so confused and shocked when my friends started sending me screenshots from a social media post about me winning Silver Gloves, but I was still happy about it,” Anderson says.
His signature move? Ending with a backflip when he secures a win.
Along his journey, Anderson has met plenty of boxers he looks up to, including Frank Martin, Jake Paul, Shane Mosley, Ashton “H2O” Sylve, The Grandy Twins and more.
“Meeting all these people, it’s been really cool,” Anderson says. “Some of the best advice I got from them was to keep going, don’t stop and throw more punches.”
Anderson has his sights set on going pro and becoming the next big name in boxing to emerge from Dallas. But first, by his father’s wish, he will graduate high school.
He says his biggest inspiration is his father, who is his coach and the reason he started boxing in the first place. A single dad, Anderson’s father says he is his “pride and joy.”
“My dad was the one who believed I could do this,” Anderson says. “He’s always motivating me and pushing me.”
