She’s the first female boxer in her club. She’s also in middle school.

Before she entered the ring for her first fight, 13-year-old Andrea Girón loosened up by jumping in place, shaking her arms and doing neck rolls. She and coach Freddy Ramirez slipped through the ropes of the temporary boxing ring in the middle-school gymnasium. Rap and hip-hop blared; the smell of popcorn hung in the air.