19-year-old boxing star from Inglewood fighting for spot on Olympic team: 'It means the world to me'

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Boxing are set to begin Monday and a 19-year-old star from Inglewood has his eyes set on gold.

"It means the world to me," said Steven Navarro. "It's something that I've always dreamt of doing. I mean, to represent your flag, that's something that's amazing to me. The history behind it is just amazing."

Steven is competing in the highly anticipated 125-pound weight class. The rising star is one of the highest ranked amateurs in the country.

He began boxing when he was just 10 years old. Now, he's a 13-time national champion and an international gold and silver medalist.

"I live in uncomfort since I've been introduced to the sport of boxing," said the teen. "It's not all roses. There's a lot of sacrifices you need to make and I live in it, so I embrace it and I keep moving forward."

Steven comes from a lone line of well-trained and professional boxers. His uncle, Jose Navarro, competed in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney and his father, Refugio Navarro, is his coach.

Along with other uncles - the men are all former professional boxers coached by their father.

"It was something that I always knew I was going to pursue," said Steven. "However, I had to prove to my father. I had to continue implementing hard work, discipline, growth. So yeah, I did, but I had to prove it to people around me."

Steven graduated from Fairfax High School this year and has a bright professional career ahead of him.

For now, his entire focus is making the U.S. Olympic team.

"It's always about what's next," he said. "It's always the next step. First, I need to get it round by round in the tournament coming up. Afterwards, I would love to reunite Team USA with gold. It's been 20 years since we have gotten gold, and that's what I plan on doing. Once I do that, then I'll think about the next goal."

Of course, he couldn't have done any of it without the love and support of his family.

"It's honestly a blessing," said Steven. "I believe it's a gift from the man above because I get to learn from their past mistakes or their success. It's amazing to have an amazing team behind me."