Background

Jose Manuel Avila, or “Kid” Avila as he is known in the boxing world, was born in a small town called Santa Fe in Honduras. Kid was a natural athlete. He excelled as a soccer player, swimmer and runner. Kid discovered boxing at age 15 as a form of self defense.  His undeniable talent quickly became apparent to the Honduran boxing world as he was victorious over all his opponents in the amateur ranks. Kid was quickly selected for the national amateur boxing team. He was then chosen to demonstrate his talents in 1986 for the Honduran President, Jose Ascona. Later that year, La Federacion Nacional Deportiva Extraescolar de Honduras (National Federation of the Honduran Boxing Commission), granted him the award for “Most Outstanding Boxer of 1986″ on the Dia del Deportista Hondureno (Honduran National Day of the Athlete).  Kid was also the trainer at the Honduran Armed Forces (1986-87) where he trained soldiers in boxing, physical fitness and defense techniques.

In 1987, Kid fought for the bronze medal for the Honduran team in the Pan-American games in Indianapolis. This inspired him to move to New York in 1988 to pursue the American dream. That year he became a New York State Golden Gloves Champion at 139 pounds and was immediately signed as a professional. After only seven pro fights, Kid fought for the NY State Championship against a seasoned fighter with much more experience, Donald Allison. Many of Kid’s fights were televised on prime networks like ESPN, Telemundo, Telefutura, Univision and FOX.