Skip to content
Sports
Link copied to clipboard

Carto readies for a shot at Golden Gloves title

Christian Carto has many fond memories of winning the Golden Gloves 108-pound national title last May in Las Vegas. One of them, however, wasn't those late-night runs following bouts.

Christian Carto, 17, of Deptford, NJ won the national Golden Gloves title at 108 pounds on May 17 in Las Vegas. The St. Augustine Prep student is shown training at Rosati's Gym in South Philadelphia with Mickey Rosati, left, on May 27, 2014. (Charles Fox/Staff Photographer)
Christian Carto, 17, of Deptford, NJ won the national Golden Gloves title at 108 pounds on May 17 in Las Vegas. The St. Augustine Prep student is shown training at Rosati's Gym in South Philadelphia with Mickey Rosati, left, on May 27, 2014. (Charles Fox/Staff Photographer)Read more
    by John N. Mitchell, Inquirer Staff Writer
    Published 

Christian Carto has many fond memories of winning the Golden Gloves 108-pound national title last May in Las Vegas.

One of them, however, wasn't those late-night runs following bouts.

"I would fight and then I would have to go out and run," Carto (37-5) said. "It was all worth it because of the way things turned out. It was worth it."

That was last spring, when Carto - making his debut at the nationals - emerged as an underdog and earned a 3-2 split decision over two-time USA Boxing 108-pound champion Leroy Davila of New Brunswick, N.J., for the Golden Gloves title.

Tired of trying to make the lighter weight, Carto, who trains six days a week at Rosati's Gym in South Philadelphia, has since moved up to a more comfortable 114 pounds. On Saturday, Carto, a Deptford, N.J., resident and senior at St. Augustine Prep in Richland, N.J., headlines Joe Hand's 15-bout Golden Gloves Eastern Regional Championships at the 2300 Arena on Saturday.

Paired against Daniel Sandoz in Saturday's eighth bout, the winner also will win the state championship and advance to the nationals, which will be held in Las Vegas May 10-17. All other winners advance to the state championships next Saturday at the GPG Event Center in Pennsauken.

Carto said that growing an inch since last year - he now stands 5-foot-6 - made it more difficult to make 108 pounds. So he experimented at 110 and 112 pounds before settling upon 114.

In January of this year, Carto scored a third-round technical knockout over Justin Dampac of Lynwood, Wash., in the preliminary round of USA Boxing Elite National Championship in Spokane, Wash. However, his quest for that title ended in the quarterfinals when eventual champion Antonio Vargas of Kissimmee, Fla., scored a 3-0 decision over him.

Carto said that he rallied in the third round of that fight and thought he landed some good blows later in the fight. However, more important to him, Carto said that setback has left him hungry. As a result, he says, there's no way he'll overlook his opposition on Saturday.

"Not at all," Carto said. "Everyone trains hard to get here. I know the work I put in. I also know that I want to keep on fighting and get back to the nationals."