Teen Sarasota boxer trains with grown men — and holds his own

There’s a sparring session going on at Sarasota Boxing Club. I watch from just inside the dimly lit gym as two men tap gloves, circle up, feign a few punches then clash in the center of the gym’s lone ring.

The men take it slow at first to warm up. A few minutes in, they’re taking shots to the cheek (with headgear on) like they’re nothing. It’s an even bout for a while. Suddenly, one of the men gets his opponent on the ropes. He takes advantage. He throws a sharp right jab to his opponent’s temple. Another, in quick succession. Then, viciously, another.

The electronic bell rings. The aggressor and defender tap gloves again, this time covered in much more sweat. As they leave the ring, they take off their headgear, and I realize my perception of what I was watching had been off the entire time.

The defender was indeed a grown man. The aggressor was not. He was a teenager.

A 14-year-old named Andrew Cano, to be exact.

Cano attends Booker Middle School. He’s been boxing for three years now, and holds a 4-1 record in the Intermediate Male division of USA Boxing. That one loss, well, Cano said he “just didn’t have it” that night. That must have been the case, because otherwise, I don’t see how anyone in his class could stand a chance. He’s currently preparing for a fight on Jan. 21 against a 15-year-old in Bonita Springs. Cano just turned 14 in September, so that’s a sizable age difference. Not that it matters to Cano. The kid just wants to box.

Why does Cano like the sport? It’s simple, really.

“It’s such a fun sport. There aren’t many sports where you can punch someone in the face and not get in trouble for it,” Cano said. “It’s just the sport for me.”

Sometimes I wonder why more teens and tweens don’t take up boxing, or at least ask their parents to invest in a punching bag. It’s a great way to work out all of the things you’re feeling.

Despite the performance he put on in the sparring session, Cano insists he’s more of a defensive boxer. There are no knockouts on his resume. Instead, Cano wears his opponents out with speed and tries to outpoint them, getting in enough shots to impress the judges while avoiding much damage himself. Cano’s go-to punches are his straight right and his left hook.

None of this would be happening if not for Andrew’s father, Jose Cano. The pair used to watch Friday Night Fights together every week. Andrew Cano loved it. Jose Cano decided to put that love to the test, and took his son to Sarasota Boxing Club so he could get a taste of the sport in real life. They still watch all the big fights together at The Winghouse.

At Sarasota Boxing Club, Cano trains under Harold Wilen, a 2015 inductee to the Florida Boxing Hall of Fame. Wilen grew up in New York and New Jersey, but has lived in Sarasota since 1985. He has coached seven amateur boxers to top-10 rankings.

Wilen believes Cano has what it takes to be the eighth.

“He’s got a combination of intelligence, listening well and technique,” Wilen said. “Even before he really learned technique he had a bent for it. Some people are very hard to instill technique. They want to do it their way. But it seemed initially that he had that thing of listening to a coach and good skills.

“He has to continue to focus on this and not be distracted by the other things. There’s so many things in life. Girls, schoolwork. He’s learning to fit everything in so that things work.”

Wilen has Cano spar against experienced amateur boxers, sometimes even pros, and he said that Cano holds his own, occasionally even getting the better of them.

Cano said he could not get his legs to stop shaking before his first fight, which makes sense. I’ve never been in a fight in my whole life, though I was framed for one (That’s a story for another time). I’d be paler than Casper if I had to step into the ring now, let alone in middle school.

After that first fight, though, it has been all confidence for Cano, and it should be. I was really impressed by what I saw from the young boxer. Add strength over time, increase quickness and cardio through running, and the boxing world has itself a lean, mean fighting machine.