Carlos Morales is a 14-year-old freshman from Eagle Rock High School. While he seems like any normal student at first glance, with friends, classes, and homework, he is set apart by his commitment to his sport. While many students participate in athletics as a hobby, he sees his as a career. He’s not just a student, but an up-and-coming boxing prodigy as well.
“I’ve been boxing for basically my whole life,” says Carlos. “My dad used to go to the gym and I would always come with him.” Evidently, Carlos’s career has been budding since he was born, even going back to his family. His father, also named Carlos Morales, has an impressive boxing career himself. Born in Hidalgo, Mexico, he moved to Highland Park and started boxing at the age of 10. As a natural, he quickly climbed the ranks and went against world-renowned boxers like René Alverado and Gabriel Tolmajyan. As a high school student, Mr. Morales attended our very own Eagle Rock High School and graduated back in 2008, where his son now attends. Nowadays, he co-owns CM Boxing stables in Alhambra, and is known to the boxing community as “The Solution,” and has passed the name down to his son, who is known as “Little Solution.”
Carlos “The Solution” Morales shares a quote that he aspires to live by: “Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.” This is a message he has clearly passed down to his son.
“I really started to take boxing seriously when I was seven,” the younger Carlos continues, “and I’ve just been loving it ever since.” He soon began to realize that boxing could be more than just a simple hobby, and with his talent, he quickly got better and his skills continued to grow. Traveling internationally to attend boxing competitions, his excellence is globally recognized. In addition to attaining 5 national championship titles for the US, he's a two-time national champion for Mexico. This truly separates Carlose from the rest; having to beat so many opponents clearly shows that Carlos is simply the best, further emphasized by his rank as number one in the nation.
While most high school students have days off from their sport, Carlos doesn’t take breaks. “I train seven days a week,” he says, “and I don’t take any days off.” His dedication to boxing is evident and his commitment is unwavering. When presented with the question of where he wants his boxing career to lead, Carlos has big plans. “I want to be national champion again for both here and Mexico,” he says, a goal that seems very reasonable, as he has already claimed that title many times. “I also want to make it to the Olympics in 2028 when I’m nineteen.”
“My favorite part about boxing is that I’m able to be more violent than my opponent. I can just be violent and technical, and I really like winning too.” Carlos has done his fair share of winning, something that makes all his hours of training worth it. With such a busy schedule, he has trouble finding time to do other things. Besides boxing and school, he doesn’t have very many other hobbies, although he does add that his second choice in sports would be baseball. But there’s no time for second sports when you train every day; although Carlos’s life revolves around boxing, he never gets sick of it. It’s a passion that he loves.
When you tune into the 2028 Olympics, don’t be surprised to see Eagle Rock’s very own Carlos Morales taking home gold. But success isn’t only categorized as winning: “It’s not important that he becomes a world champion,” Carlos’s dad says. “What’s important is he becomes a good man.”
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