What does Turlock native Orlando Zamora fight for?
His immediate answers are as follows: God, his family and his coaches.
Later this month, he’ll officially add the United States of America to that list.
On Feb. 18, the 2024 Turlock High School graduate was named a member of the USA Boxing’s Elite High Performance Team. For those unfamiliar with USA Boxing, the Elite High Performance team is the main adult roster of seven that represents the red, white and blue on the international stage.
It was the news the 19-year-old had been waiting his entire life for.
“It was always a big deal to me to train with Team USA over the past year, but this was something else,” Zamora said, referring to last year when he trained with Olympians as he was a USA Boxing National Champion. “This here, it's a dream come true because I've been wanting this for so long. This is something I worked so hard on. And this is the biggest thing you can do in amateur boxing.”
Zamora will compete at 55 kilograms, or 121 pounds.
The six boxers joining him are Thomas Covington (Westland, Mich.), Dustin Jimenez (Rochester, N.Y.), Carlos Flowers (Dover, Del.), Robby “Rahim” Gonzales (Las Vegas, Nev.), Malachi Georges (Teaneck, N.J.) and Kelvin Watts (Chesapeake, Va.). They were selected based on procedures conducted by the USA Boxing High Performance Department following the conclusion of the Elite Selection Camp from Jan. 20 to Feb. 18. at the United States Olympic & Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. They will represent Team USA in World Boxing Cup events throughout the 2025 schedule.
USA Boxing is led by Head Coach Billy Walsh (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and National Resident Coach Timothy Nolan (Rochester, N.Y.). At the monthslong selection camp, the coaches gave each hopeful a mid-camp evaluation in which they told them what they liked and what they felt needed improvement. Zamora felt as if he was one of the more dominant boxers in the camp in the final two weeks.
“I felt like I was on it those weeks, and I told the coaches in the last meeting before they let me know that I made it, that I had heard their feedback, that I worked on that through the rest of camp and that I improved on those critiques,” Zamora said. “They agreed and after talking for a few more minutes, asking me questions about how the camp went, they gave me the news, and it took me a minute to fully realize it, but once I did, just an amazing feeling.”
The usually serious Zamora remained poised as he walked out of the facility, but the emotions got the best of him when he finally found some alone time and spoke to family and friends. It wasn’t necessarily out of pure joy, but rather of sorrow.
Zamora’s main gym is Marquitos Boxing in Fresno and Winton, and he has done all his strength and conditioning training at The Truth Boxing Gym in West Turlock, founded and owned by head coach Adrian Palacio. On Jan. 24, Palacio suddenly passed away in his sleep at the age of 41. He was the last person Zamora saw before flying out to Colorado Springs. Zamora learned of his death just minutes before one of his critical sparring rounds with another national contender.
“It messed me up because after I heard the news, I had to brush it off and worry about it later, get to the gym and start sparring. But it was always in my head. I did alright. It wasn’t my best. I was so focused on what was going on at home. Like, why? Like, how did this happen?
“On that Friday, I just let everything out. I don’t cry or let my emotions get the best of me ever. But I was just crying, looking back at the last text I sent, thinking about the last time we saw and hugged before I left. So that last week, I said it would be for him. I said, ‘I don't know how it's going to be or how they're going to choose, or how it's going to play out.’ I told myself that I would finish strong, and I did.”
His selection represents a second chance to make his and Palacio’s international dreams come true.
In December of 2023, he won the 119-pound Elite Male national title, which would have qualified him to be on the 2024 Olympics team. But the Paris edition did not include the weight class, so after training and sparring the roster, had to compete at regional and domestic events throughout the year. He moved down to 112 pounds for one tournament to be able to fight more notable names and higher-ranked athletes, as many 119-pound regulars temporarily ditched the division after it was left out of the Olympic slate. His 2024 campaign culminated in a rare loss after which he moved up to 121 at the USA Boxing National Championships for similar reasons. Without a belt, there was no guarantee he would remain with Team USA. But he was welcomed to the tryouts and made his presence known.
The former Bulldog remained confident that he could have had a competitive showing in Paris, and is admittedly upset he never had that opportunity. But just under a year removed from the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad, he still has the chance to make his mark across the globe in search of what many consider to be the next best things for amateurs: international gold medals.
“It’s funny how life works like that,” Zamora said. “I thought it was over for me. After they got rid of my weight class at the Olympics, and having to defend my belt then move up where I lost, I thought there was no way I could compete for the U.S. anymore, and that I’d likely just go pro. But it worked out alright.”
It all begins with the 2025 World Boxing Cup in Foz do Iguacu, Brazil, March 31 to April 5. Team USA will then compete at a World Boxing Challenge in the Czech Republic (June 10-15), followed by a second World Boxing Cup in Kazakhstan (June 30 – July 7). The final international competition for the USA Boxing Elite teams will be the inaugural World Boxing Elite Championships, hosted in Liverpool, England (Sept. 4-14).
“Never been to any of those places,” Zamora said with a laugh. “It’ll be a cool experience, for sure, but there’s work to be done out there. I want to make the country, my family, Coach Adrian who is my family, make them all proud.”
