Garland

Garland Teen Boxing Champ Surprised With Surprise Gift: a New Car

Someone donated a car to the gym where he trains

NBCUniversal, Inc.

Every teenager dreams of getting that first car, and when it happened to a young man in Garland, it was a knock-out surprise.

Alex Espinosa trains at the Garland Police Boxing Gym. He's done since he was 8 years old, and now a decade later, he's got a few championships to his name.

The other day, Espinosa and others training at the gym all stood outside as gym manager Dave Swavey held a set of keys in his hand and made an announcement.

"Without further ado, I wanna give the keys to who I call aka, Marbles, Alex Espinosa," announced Swavey.

That was the moment Espinosa got his first car. The 18-year-old has had his driver license for just a few weeks, and he's now driving a 1992 red Volvo 240. He slid into the driver's seat, put the keys in the ignition, put the gear selector in drive and took a trip around the parking lot.

"To be honest, I was just looking for something to take me from point a to point be. This is my first car. I didn't want anything fancy. I'm not a very fancy person," Espinosa said.

But he's got plenty of fancy footwork in the boxing ring. He trains at the gym after school five days a week, and it's paid off.

Espinosa is the 2020 Silver Glove National Champion, the 2016 Ringside World Champion and he could have a shot at the 2024 Olympics.

"He's humble, you wouldn't know he's a national champion he comes in here and trains, he's the first one here, the last one to leave, always willing to help," Swavey said.

For right now, though, Alex has the best prize a teenager could want - his own set of wheels.

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