Amir Anderson, also known as “Cash,” has been boxing since he was seven years old.

It started when his mother took him to training to toughen him up.

“I played football first,” said Anderson, now 17 and training at the West Area Athletic and Education Center. “I was a little punk; that’s what my mom used to call me. I used to always want to be friends with people that wanted to bully me. She said ‘you need to get tougher,’ and brought me here. And ever since I just loved to box, I never looked back.”

Now 17, Anderson is at the top of his game, having recently won the youth male 156kg weight class at the 2021 USA Boxing Nationals meet in Shreveport, La.

“The only thing that was really struggling for me was the weight. I just moved down from 165 to 156,” Anderson said.

Anderson added that he went through intense training and changed his eating habits in order to hit his weight goal to qualify for nationals.

“I would water fast first, then I would eat fruits and vegetables or I just eat less than what I usually do,” he said. “I was wearing sauna suits. I was waking up at 6 in the morning and going to the gym. I would run three miles, then I would go to school.

“I would come here and I would probably sweat out four pounds every day. That would be a whole cycle for about three four weeks straight.”

The national tournament was Anderson’s ninth tournament. But he says balancing school and boxing can be tough at times.

“It’s tough to keep that momentum, you know what I mean?” he said. “Keep waking up at 6 in the morning, keep going to school. I just have to preserve, because I know where I want to be in the next five years and in my career.”

Anderson will now prepare to fight for Team USA in continental qualifying, with a goal of reaching the world championships.

Outside of the boxing ring, Anderson is still is still keeping his education at the forefront. He goes to Public Service Leadership Academy at Fowler High School, and wants to attend Syracuse University in the fall and study exercise science.