The transition from kickboxing to boxing didn't come overnight for Augusta Boxing Club's Nicholas Torrance.
But only a year-and-a-half after he started boxing, the 13-year-old has already reached an elite level, his coach Tom Moraetes said.
The fascinating part? Despite a 14-2 record, Torrance is still in the learning stage.
"He's not even close to plateauing," Moraetes said. "He's improving so much from one fight to the next. It will look like he's had two more years of training since his last fight, but it's only been two months. That's why I'm so excited about him."
On Friday night at May Park Gymnasium, Torrance won the championship belt in the 13- to 14-year-old, 95-pound division of the Ringside/Comcast Augusta Junior National Summer Boxing Classic with a majority decision over North Carolina's Andres Chavez.
Torrance said he fed off the home crowd, using his right hook to catch his opponent several times.
"I try to listen to what they're saying and use it," he said of the fans' encouragement. "It gets me even more excited."
That encouragement comes from Torrance's teammates at the Augusta Boxing Club as well as those at Greubel's Mixed Martial Arts.
Asking his parents if he could learn martial arts as a three-year-old, Torrance started training in kickboxing at Greubel's after his family moved to Evans when he was five.
Since, the rising eighth-grader has become a force on the national level, twice winning the International Kickboxing Alliance World Classic and also earning the World Association of Kickboxing Organizations' national title.
Torrance sports a 13-1 record in kickboxing. But it was his lone setback that convinced him to give boxing a shot.
"He lost to the eventual national champion," his father, Col. Andrew Torrance, said. "Nicholas' kicks were much better, but he realized he needed to get better with his hands."
That brought Torrance to the Augusta Boxing Club, where he picked up the subtle differences between the two sports.
"(In boxing), you're standing toe-to-toe, and you have to be more aware," he said. "Kickboxing is different, because you can see the kicks coming."
Moraetes said Torrance benefits from having Justin Williams, a Silver Gloves national champion, as a training partner. Williams advanced to tonight's championship bout in the 13- to 14-year-old, 125-pound division.
After his bout, Nicholas had several fans approach him and shower him with compliments.
"That makes all the hard work worth it," Nicholas said.
Reach Justin Williams at justin.williams@augustachronicle.com.
JUNIOR BOXING
Ringside/Comcast Augusta Junior National Summer Boxing Classic
May Park Gymasium
Friday's results (Preliminaries unless otherwise noted)
9-10, 60 pounds: Jody Gauthier (La.) def. Edgar Barbosa (Mich.) 3-2; Terry Anderson (Tenn.) def. Emmeric Edwards (S.C.) 5-0.
11-12, 70 pounds: Desmond Jarmon II (Ohio) def. Joe Vega (Fla.) 5-0; Ethan Clark (Ark.) def. Mikhail Montgomery (Ga.) 5-0.
11-12, 95 pounds: LaQuans Smith (Ga.) def. Diego Chavez (Ill.) 4-1; Maliek Montgomery (Ga.) def. Taurean Johnson (Ill.) 5-0.
13-14, 85 pounds: Hunter Turbyfill (Miss.) def. Ariel Vega (Fla.) 4-1; Javon Garnett (Ohio) def. Kamiin Stone (Ark.) 5-0.
13-14, 95 pounds (championship bout): Nicholas Torrance (Ga.) def. Andres Chavez (N.C.) 4-1.
13-14, 101 pounds: Timothy Hunter (S.C.) def. Shawn Simpson (Ill.) 3-2; Steve Cross (Tenn.) def. Jamon Tay Clark (Ohio) 3-2.
13-14, 119 pounds: Alejandro Barbosa (Mich.) def. Kenneth Thomas Jr. (Ind.) 5-0; Dusty Harrison (Washington) def. Tamar Boyd (Ohio) 5-0.
13-14, 145 pounds: Robert Clark (Washington) def. Dylan Mason (Minn.) 4-1; Ebbe Perry (N.C.) def. Carlton Holmes (Ga.) 5-0.
15-16, 145 pounds: Nate Davis (Washington) def. Dustin Mason (Minn.) 5-0; Chris Warden (Washington) def. Bobby Bryant (Miss.) by walkover.
Thursday's results
9-10, 65 pounds: Duke Ragan (Ohio) def. Desmond Lyons (Ga.) 3-0.
9-10, 70 pounds: Desmond Jarmon III (Ohio) def. Brandun Lee (Calif.) 2-1.
13-14, 90 pounds: Destyne Butler (Ill.) def. LaMarcus Smith (Tenn.) 3-0.
13-14, 95 pounds: Nicholas Torrance (Ga.) def. Romelio Garcia (Mich.) 2-1; Andres Chavez (N.C.) def. Jerry Griffin (Ohio) 3-0.
13-14, 119 pounds: Tamar Boyd (Ohio) def. Kashif El-Amin (N.C.) 2-1.
13-14, 125 pounds: Justin Williams (Ga.) def. Michael Montgomery (Ga.) 3-0.
13-14, 138 pounds: Tyler Howard (Tenn.) def. DeAndre Robinson-Neal (S.C.) 3-0.
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