Before the sun even comes up, gloves are being laced up at JLD Boxing Academy in San Luis Obispo.
That is where San Luis Obispo native Isaiah Camat, along with his coach and dad, Christopher Camat, trains.
“Everything just clicks with him," Christopher said. "So it’s so it’s so easy for us to just develop fast just because he picks up stuff so easy.”
Isaiah grew up around the sport, as Christopher competed professionally and was an Olympic boxer, fighting household names like Triple G, but it was another sport that had his attention.
“Football was kind of like my first love, I started playing when I was like 8-years-old," Isaiah said. "Played all throughout high school. I was on the FCA All-Star team, second team all-league."
He moved to San Diego to pursue football at a junior college, but COVID-19 put a stop to that. Isaiah told KSBY News that after that he was searching for a purpose and took an interest in the Navy.
“Training with them at Camp Pendleton for like two months, doing all their PSTs like the workouts with them," Isaiah said. "I passed all the physical workouts."
But some past legal trouble closed that door.
“Drinking stuff like a DUI, some stuff of when I was…I thought it didn’t even matter but I guess when you’re a minor even," Isaiah said.
Which led him back to San Luis Obispo.
“It definitely pushed me as a father because you know, he’s at that time, he was I would say going on depression," Christopher said. "You know he was going depressed and I said ‘Hey son, let’s go back to basics.'"
And that’s exactly what they did when Isaiah moved back, training multiple times a week since November.
A few weeks ago, he won his first fight with a first-round knockout.
And this weekend, he’ll take his shot at the Golden Gloves State Tournament in Pasadena.
“I kind of found my way back to it in my own way, so I think because of that I just want to kind of find my own lane," Isaiah said.
All while inspiring others, like his younger brother Chris, sharing his favorite part of watching his brother fight is when he wins.
