He Chose Pink Hair So You’d Remember The Punch

Jayden Utarro, a teenager with pink hair won Golden Gloves in his very first boxing match and hasn’t lifted his foot off the gas since. We sit down for a candid look at how bullying sparked a turn to self-defense, how early kickboxing wins and losses shaped his composure, and why a shock debut victory became the fuel for an unforgiving training routine that starts before dawn. This is a story about ownership: of time, of identity, and of what it takes to stand out without losing yourself.

We get into the nuts and bolts of his schedule: 2 a.m. alarms, strength and conditioning before most alarms ring, fast two-mile efforts that sharpen pace, and midweek sparring sessions where visiting hitters bring fresh looks. He breaks down how switching gyms gave him a multi-coach team with distinct roles, why footwork days are as valuable as heavy bag days, and how open-invite sparring keeps the ego in check. He also shares how his mom stepped into matchmaking, how teammates push him past his limits, and how sponsors help keep the lights on when travel and gear stack up.

Identity and ambition run through every minute. The Pink Panther look isn’t a gimmick; it’s a flag you can see from the cheap seats. He talks about wearing local merch, choosing pink because no one else did, and staying open to causes that matter. We trade takes on favorite fighters like Sean O’Malley and Ryan Garcia, then wade into the sanctioning debate around Terence Crawford and what makes a champion beyond belts. School is online, college is a maybe, and the only certainty is the next round. If he could pick any spar, he’d choose Crawford, because the fastest way to learn is to step where the air is thin.

If stories of grit, routine, and clear-eyed ambition move you, this one lands. Hit follow, share it with a friend who loves combat sports, and leave a review telling us which fighter you’d choose for a dream spar and why.

The Boxing Grind 

Transcript

Meet The Young Fighter

SPEAKER_00 1:10

How are you today?

SPEAKER_02 1:11

I'm doing good.

SPEAKER_01 1:11

I'm doing really good. How are you doing?

SPEAKER_00 1:13

I'm doing wonderful. Thank you for asking. Thank you so much for coming on the show. So I wanted to ask you a couple of questions, but before I do that, can you just let everybody have a little bit of a background about you? I know that you're a boxer, but you also have a little bit of a background in MMA. Is that correct?

SPEAKER_01 1:29

Well, not MMA, but I do a little bit. I have a background of kickboxing, you know, some I have a little bit of ground wrestling, but I never actually did any like MMA fights or anything like that.

SPEAKER_00 1:39

Okay.

From Bullying To Combat Sports

SPEAKER_00 1:40

Now, as far as boxing, I know that you were a Golden Glove state champion for 2025. Yes? Yes. Okay. How many fights have you had altogether? Altogether, I've had around I think like 10 fights now. Okay. And when did you first start boxing?

SPEAKER_01 1:58

I started I first started boxing when I was 14 years old, which I am now 17.

SPEAKER_00 2:05

You're now 17. So when you were 14, what what happened that made you say I I really want to pursue boxing?

SPEAKER_01 2:14

So the way that started is I had some instances at school, you know, I had some some bullying going on. So I got into self-defense classes for myself. Okay. And as I got into self-defense classes, I was like, oh wow, man, I I really, really like doing this. So I started to pursue it a lot more. Okay, and did you just where did you start boxing at?

SPEAKER_00 2:34

I started boxing

Early Kickboxing Bouts

SPEAKER_00 2:35

at Fit and HB. Okay, where's that located? It's near Cantelaria. Okay, I I've heard of it before. I need to actually go check it out. So right now, so actually from Fit and HB, what happened from there? Did you have any fights while you were training there?

SPEAKER_01 2:50

I had a couple. This is my kickboxing start. I had a couple kickboxing fights. I had around two kickboxing fights. I lost the first one and then won the second one.

SPEAKER_00 3:00

Okay, and then from there you started boxing. Yes.

Switching Gyms And Coaches

SPEAKER_00 3:03

Okay. And who's your coach now?

SPEAKER_01 3:06

My my coaches are now um Donald Sanchez, Lira, Leroy, Cholo, Diana.

SPEAKER_00 3:13

Okay. So you have multiple coaches. Yes. Were you always with them when you so you left Fit NHB and then you came over to Absolute?

SPEAKER_01 3:21

Yes, and then this is when I got um this new team.

SPEAKER_00 3:24

Okay. And are you currently training for a fight?

SPEAKER_01 3:27

Always training. Always ready.

Golden Gloves First-Fight Win

SPEAKER_00 3:30

Okay. Now can you tell me a little bit about your experience winning the Golden Gloves? What did that feel like for you? And you know, what what has it brought forth in your training to move forward?

SPEAKER_01 3:44

So for the Golden Gloves one, that was that was a different feeling. You know, that was that was exciting. That was that was my first boxing fight, too, is the Golden Glove one. I was like, okay, maybe I'll make it pass and I'll go and you know progress. And I won. I I won the first time. The first time I ever got boxed, I won my golden gloves.

SPEAKER_00 4:00

Wait a second. That was your first fight? That was your first boxing fight?

SPEAKER_01 4:03

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 4:04

Wow. I did not I did not know that. That's that's kind of sick, right?

SPEAKER_01 4:11

It freaked me out. I was like, I just won golden gloves in my first fight. Wow. But you know, from that moment on, that kind of like set me on like a path of fire.

SPEAKER_00 4:18

Okay. And now, because I I believe, I believe I've been to a couple of your fights.

SPEAKER_02 4:23

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 4:24

I have. And I've had the the wonderful pleasure of sitting with your mom, Donna. I love Donna. And I always have to say hello to mom. Hi, Donna. Now, there were a couple of fights that I saw. Now, how did those fights get, I guess, coordinated? Was that do you have a manager?

SPEAKER_01 4:42

I do have a manager. That was my mom did a little bit of the matchmaking. My mom also helped me out, like set everything up. And my coaches, I can't forget my coaches, my team that helped me train everyone. You know, it was ever we all support each other.

SPEAKER_00 4:54

Okay. And were the the people that you fought, were they also locals from New Mexico?

SPEAKER_01 4:59

I

Family, Management, And Matchmaking

SPEAKER_01 5:00

think some of them are some of them are locals, but some of them are from like I think a different place. I'm not sure. They come from everywhere.

SPEAKER_00 5:08

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 5:08

You never know.

SPEAKER_00 5:09

And now what are you training? Are you training like five or six days a week? What does that training consist of?

SPEAKER_01 5:15

So that consists of. So I'll tell you the first day schedule and I'll tell you how much I do it. Um I wake up at three, or sometimes I wake up at 2 a.m. You know, go to the gym, get some strength and conditioning, and do some cardio, go back home, take like, I don't know, like maybe an hour and up, or maybe two, three. And then after that, I go on a really long run. Maybe I run, these runs are different though. I don't go for time. I I go for um a two-mile run as fast as you can instead of like the average six-mile run.

SPEAKER_00 5:43

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 5:44

And then I go back to the gym, and then that's when we do some more strength and conditioning, or we do some more boxing. It depends. Sometimes we'll do footwork, whatever the coach has in mind. And I go back home and I keep doing that. And I do that six days a week, and I take I usually only take like Monday off.

SPEAKER_00 6:02

Wow. Okay, and now

Training Schedule And Sparring

SPEAKER_00 6:05

I mean you seem very energized in this conversation. So definitely, definitely doing something right.

SPEAKER_01 6:12

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:13

But now, so with that training though, are they also incorporating sparring?

SPEAKER_01 6:19

Yes, of course.

SPEAKER_00 6:20

Okay, is that on Saturdays?

SPEAKER_01 6:21

No, it's usually on like Tuesdays or Thursdays.

SPEAKER_00 6:24

Okay, and are you sparring with people from different gyms that are coming in, or is it just is it just local here in this gym?

SPEAKER_01 6:31

It's from whoever wants to come in, you know, like someone else from a different place, has some guy come over there, drive two hours down, we'll set it up.

SPEAKER_00 6:37

Oh wow, okay. And now for the year 2026, do you have any idea how many times you're gonna try to fight? It's whenever. It's whenever. Are you calling out anybody specific?

SPEAKER_01 6:50

No.

SPEAKER_00 6:53

Oh, we're not starting any beef. All right, I get it. Now, what about as far as family support system? I know your family is very supportive of you. When you first told them that you wanted to start boxing, like doing a transition, what did they have to say about that?

SPEAKER_01 7:09

You know, they they were a little shocked because it was it was a it was a bad time, you know, because of the incidents going on. I was like, I kind of like doing this. I want to I want to pursue it more. You know, at first they're like, okay, maybe it'll just be like a temporary thing, you know, like maybe some people box for a month or two and then they'll come back. Just a phase, yeah. And then it just kept going, you know, and I started loving this. I loved it more and more and I kept doing it.

SPEAKER_00 7:31

And I have to ask, right? Because you are the Pink Panther for everybody that you know you can't see him, but he he's his trademark is pink, right? Pink hair. Pink hair. So, what exactly started that?

SPEAKER_01 7:45

You know, I saw I saw a lot of all off fighters. They have blue hair, red hair. No one had pink hair, you know. Now nowadays you gotta do something to stick out more. I was like, I like the colored pink, so I'll I'll I'll I'll pick pink.

SPEAKER_00 7:56

I love it too. And you did the whole uh I have I have your shirt, the

Identity, Pink Brand, And Merch

SPEAKER_00 8:00

own the ring, yeah, by by who's that's Frankie from Own the Day. I have that shirt. Yeah, I spar in it. I love it. So you're gonna continue with this look.

SPEAKER_01 8:08

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:08

Okay, because a lot of times people will think that the pink is affiliated with the whole breast cancer thing. And I wanted to just clarify that it was really it's not really related to that, but it could be. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:18

It's it's it could be towards a good cause, it could be towards me, it could be wherever you want.

SPEAKER_00 8:22

Okay. Now, where do you see yourself going with boxing? I know that you you're kind of very open to different things, different fights, different locations, things like that. I guess really, what would be the something that would stop you?

SPEAKER_01 8:39

Stop me?

SPEAKER_00 8:40

Mm-hmm. What would be something that would stop you? Would it be maybe you're going back to a different school or studying something different? Or are you gonna just continue?

SPEAKER_01 8:51

No, I don't think anything's gonna stop me really.

SPEAKER_00 8:53

Okay. Are you are you in school right now?

SPEAKER_01 8:55

I do online school.

SPEAKER_00 8:56

Oh, okay. And is that what grade are you in?

unknown 9:03

11.

SPEAKER_00 9:04

11.

Goals, School, And Future Plans

SPEAKER_00 9:06

Okay, you're so you're in the 11th grade. So do you plan on going to college? I'm not sure on that. Okay. When the time comes, I'll think about it. Okay. And now with your coaches, have you discussed with them a future plan forward, or are they kind of just working with you and and taking it day by day where you want to go?

SPEAKER_01 9:26

They're kind of working with me.

SPEAKER_00 9:28

Okay. Do you watch boxing right now on television? No, of course. Oh, okay. Who's your favorite fighter?

SPEAKER_01 9:35

One of my favorite fighters, I would have to say Sean O'Melli. He does MMA though, but he's a good fighter. He's got really good striking. Sean O'Melli, Ryan Garcia.

SPEAKER_00 9:46

Well, he's got Ryan Garcia got that fight coming up.

SPEAKER_02 9:48

He's fast.

SPEAKER_00 9:50

So I'm guessing that you're choosing Ryan Garcia to win over Mario?

SPEAKER_02 9:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:55

Oh. That's a little controversial. Oh my um.

SPEAKER_01 10:00

My other favorite fighter would be my coach Donald.

SPEAKER_00 10:03

Okay. Okay. And I think that Donald's actually, he's gonna fight this year. Yeah, I think he's training for a fight. I don't know. Maybe.

Favorite Fighters And Hot Takes

SPEAKER_00 10:10

Yeah, yeah. We're gonna keep it up. Yeah. No, we're just we're just throwing that those words out there. Nothing's definite in set in stone yet. But if you had the opportunity to go up against somebody to spar, one of the the elite fighters out there, who would it be?

SPEAKER_01 10:27

You have to be the best. You know, they have to be if it could it could be anyone, right? Yeah. I don't have to I'd have to pick someone like I don't know, like Terrence Crawford.

SPEAKER_00 10:37

Okay, okay. I mean, I know I mean I've actually watched him spar, and he's he's he's no joke. He's no joke. I mean, even with his sparring.

SPEAKER_01 10:48

Well, if you gotta read if you don't get my ass hit, I'll say I got my ass picked by Terrence Crawford.

SPEAKER_00 10:52

Yeah, yeah. What do you think about the whole WBC taking away his belt? Because he didn't pay the fees. What do you think about that? I don't really like it. You don't really like it. I mean, I think it's a little bit ridiculous.

Sponsors, Teammates, And Gratitude

SPEAKER_00 11:05

Uh well, I think it's look, I could see them taking the belt away, but then to try to discredit him and say that he's not a champion. That's that's where I draw a line.

SPEAKER_01 11:14

I don't care about the belt, but when they just credit him that he's a champion, the fees he's a he's that he's a millionaire. You can pay him if you wanted to. Yeah. If you wanted to. Obviously, had a reason not to, but they discredited him not being the champion, and that's what I don't agree on.

SPEAKER_00 11:25

Yeah, and a lot of fighters out in in in the the fight world are saying, like, oh, well, it doesn't, you know, I guess he's just not, you know, we're not really gonna give him the credit anymore. And I'm like, nah, that's just crazy to me. Is there anything that you wanted to talk about to the public, to the people in in New Mexico, across the country? I would like to talk about my sponsors and my teammates.

unknown 11:46

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 11:48

Okay. So my sponsors are it's Culp W, uh Jake Paul, Ambrosia, Empire, and Wolfpack. Okay. Those are my main sponsors. Now, my teammates who have supported me, I want to be here without my teammates. Now, first of all, I'm going to mention Lil Nixon, he's been putting the work in, dude. Every day he shows up, he does extra, he does, he gets it done. Just say Wedding, Angel, Nico, Osmell. Okay. And then, of course, let me get on my coaches. Donald Sanchez, Livra Basin, Deanna Cello. You know, that's that's everyone. Everyone's supporting me and my family too, of course, my mom.

SPEAKER_00 12:31

I want to be here.

SPEAKER_01 12:31

I want to be here without her.

SPEAKER_00 12:33

Absolutely. So now with your sponsors, this is just something that's ongoing. So anytime that you have a fight, they

Closing Thanks

SPEAKER_00 12:40

are sponsoring every all of your needs and things like that. Is that correct? Yes. Okay. And well, we I guess we don't really know when you're fighting again, so I'll probably have to have you back on the show when you are set to fight.

SPEAKER_01 12:51

Oh, yeah, definitely.

SPEAKER_00 12:52

Yeah. All right. Well, thank you so much for your time. I really greatly appreciate you coming on here, and I look forward to speaking with you again in the future.

SPEAKER_02 13:00

I look forward to.

SPEAKER_00 13:01

Thank you.