CLINTON, Iowa — Selia "Panterita" Landa is a trailblazer. The Clinton, Iowa, native is one of the best boxers in the United States in her age group and she's paving a path for future generations of girls in the sport.
Landa started boxing 10 years ago when she was just 4-years-old. Her dad, Jorge Landa Rodriguez, is also her coach at Del Sol Boxing and knew his youngest daughter had the talent and drive to succeed in a male-dominated sport.
"My dad always told me 'you’re not normal,'" Selia said. "I’ve never felt normal."
She's only 14-years-old and weighs just 85 pounds, but Selia is larger than life.
"I spar with boys, I workout with guys," she said. "It’s never like I’m put at a lower standard than them because I’m smaller. It’s always 'keep up with them' or they, I wont even lie, most of the time it’s them keeping up with me."
Her confidence certainly isn't lacking. But what else would you expect from "La Panterita"?
"So my boxing name is 'La Panterita.' Which means little panther."
"I feel like once I get my career going, when I turn pro, I’ll be making big money you know?" Selia said. "So then I can settle down and do all the things I never got to do as a kid."
Selia trains seven days a week and travels hundreds of miles for competitions.
"Missing a day is like missing a week. You know, it really does take a toll on you. It isn’t something to play with, it’s the conditioning, it’s the cardio — all of it. It’s consistency and that’s a big thing with boxing, you have to stay consistent to keep working towards (your goals)."
But her goals are much more than personal aspirations. Selia knows the impact of her influence.
"So Katniss Everdeen, the main character in the Hunger Games, she goes like this, she pulls her arrow back that’s what I do after I win. I did it last time at nationals and everybody was kind of confused at it but she was you know, she was different," Selia explained. "She was the face of everything. She changed the world. She started that revolution. She stood up for what she didn’t think was right and I really liked that."
"I’ve noticed she does her best at trying to inspire new females to come on board," Rodriguez said. "And, more importantly, if she does inspire them to follow in her footsteps she’s giving everybody a purpose. And if you give somebody a purpose, it changes her life completely forever. So every time I see her do the arrow, I feel like she’s giving people a purpose."
Selia is already a two-time national champion — winning back-to-back Silver Gloves titles but she says "that's just the beginning."
"Pressure’s nothing new to me I’ve learned to work with it, work around it. If this is what I’m going to do (which it is) for the rest of my life, it's something that I’ve learned to deal with and learned to handle," Selia said.
And while it seems like all work and no fun, Selia says that's not the case.
"I do have fun. Most of my fun is in the gym, I wont’ lie."
But she can't deny that boxing is more than just a sport for her.
"Realistically, boxing is my life."
And what is a life, without a purpose.
"It’s really about how much you’re willing to risk and how much you put into it," Selia said.
To follow her success you can check with Del Sol Boxing Club.