Vincent Avina isn’t as active as he wants to be in the ring, but “The Beast” makes it count when he does step into the squared circle.

In his first — and only — appearance in the Golden Gloves Junior Nationals on July 20-23, the 15-year-old incoming sophomore at Sierra High earned the 119-pound championship belt after vanquishing three opponents at the CasaBlanca Event Center in Mesquite, Nev. 

Avina turns 16 next month, and because of where his birthday falls he will be considered too old to compete in the Golden Gloves junior circuit. Next year, he’ll be in the 17-35-year-old division.

“It’s one of the biggest tournaments there is,” Avina said. “If you ask anyone about amateur boxing, that’s the one they know about.

“I wasn’t nervous,” he later added. “I’ve fought in 45 bouts, so I was pretty calm.”

His confidence and experience served him well. 

Avina opened with Bryan Arce of Nevada and coasted to a 3-0 decision win. He then took out Arizona’s Luis Retana 2-1 in the semifinals before shutting out Freddy Perez of Wisconsin on the cards.

“Honestly, I thought I didn’t lose that round (against Retana),” Avina said. “The first fight was probably my toughest one just because I was a little rusty. After that each fight got easier. The finals was a piece of cake.”

Avina has had an impressive run over the past three years despite an inconsistent training schedule. Earlier this summer he captured a third straight title in the Brawl For It All Tournament of Champions in Salinas — formerly the U.S. Independence Day Boxing Championships in Fresno. Inactivity caused him to fall out of the rankings, but he is now tabbed at No. 8 in North America (USA/Canada).

Albert Avina, Vincent’s father and trainer, splits custody with his son’s mother. That means Vincent gets to spar, do work on the mitts and heavy bags every other week.

“My weeks off I try to do little things like pushups, some sit-ups and a little shadow boxing,” Vincent said. “I just try to do as much as I can.”

When he’s with his dad they try to squeeze in as much as possible. The Avinas train at various sites in town — CalFit Manteca, 24-Hour Fitness and Savage Elite Fitness — and get some ring work in at Modesto PAL on occasion. 

“When I pick him up it’s non-stop driving,” Albert said. “I work in the Bay, and when I get off I come here to pick him up and a lot of times I’m coming right back to the Bay just for some sparring. I don’t care if it’s only a half-hour workout; I just want to keep him as sharp as possible.”

The Avinas travel to Vallejo to get sparring sessions in. He works out with Vacaville resident Derry Edwards, previously a No. 2-ranked pugilist whom Vincent beat two years ago. Vincent also spars with adults, some of them pros who are bigger and stronger than he is.

With Vincent unable to participate in most major tournaments, such as the Junior Olympics, he enters in smaller cards to face off with other top prospects in and around his weight class. This summer, he has beaten one Junior Olympic champion and lost two close decisions against highly-ranked combatants with more experience in national and world tournaments.

“We can’t do certain tournaments because of our schedule, but we do those fights just to show that they only won because we couldn’t enter,” Albert Avina said. “Now, they don’t want to fight. Ever since 2014 he made a name for himself and he kept it. I also wanted him to see what kind of competition he will be facing before these tournaments.

“With the experience (gained) from the summer he’s showing that he’s hanging with the top kids. As long as my boy isn’t getting dominated I feel like we’re doing a good job.”

Vincent will continue to get bouts in when they become available. He hopes to compete in the Ringside World Boxing Championships in Kansas City, Mo. next year as well as the Golden Gloves. His long-term goals are to make the U.S. National Team and perhaps make the 2020 Olympics before going pro.

“Right now we’re just outpointing (opponents),” Albert Avina said. “I’m still waiting for his man strength to develop, but he’s got the speed and he’s got the experience.”