Don’t let this adorable face fool you. Seven-year-old Ruby Tucker is one tough second-grader that packs an incredible punch.
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“My favorite punches are the uppercut and the hook,” said seven-year-old Ruby Tucker in an interview with The New York Post. “I hope to be a professional boxer one day, like Laila Ali. She moves forward a lot, and uses one-twos when she does.”
Proving that the four feet, 47 pound boxer is serious about her skills, she dedicates three to four days a week to practice with her dad and trainer, Kijuan Tucker, who hopes to, one day, turn his tiny young athlete into a pro competitor.
“I was just a big fan of the sport,” said Tucker, in the same interview. “She has a natural, effortless form.”
The talented featherweight’s training schedule is a tough one without a doubt. She wakes up at 6:30 a.m. and eats a healthy breakfast of toast, fruit and juice. Sugar is never hardly on the menu.
“There’s no soda in her diet, and we try and limit the candy,” said Tucker.
After breakfast, Ruby and her father spar for about an hour and fifteen minutes in a park near their home.
“We work on footwork, head movement, defense and jabs. We love throwing jabs,” said Tucker. And afterwards, it’s off to virtual school.
Inspired by their work together, Tucker founded Zilla Boxing Club, a boxing gym for young people, in Elizabeth, NJ.
Tucker has gained several excited young students and hopes that the Mike Tyson-Roy Jones Jr. exhibition fight, MMA, and UFC will inspire even more young people to get excited about the world of boxing.
So what do Ruby’s classmates and friends think about her boxing career? Well, she told The New York Post that, “My friends think it’s really cool that I box, and I teach them moves.”
Your friends aren’t the only one’s that think it is cool! We cannot wait to see you in the ring fighting just like idol Laila Ali.
