Contreras Worth His Weight in the Ring : Boxing: At 4-feet-2 and 60 pounds, 11-year-old fighter’s skills are as advanced as many veteran amateurs.

Pound for pound, Armando Contreras Jr. might be the best fighter David Martinez has trained. At 4-feet-2 and 60 pounds, Contreras, 11, is anything but intimidating.

He’s undefeated in the ring (21-0) and won a national championship belt in the 60-pound class of the 10-11 age division last month at the Silver Gloves competition in Marshalltown, Iowa.

And unlike most young boxers who flail about the ring, Martinez said Contreras throws as many body punches as head shots and punches equally hard with each hand. Although Contreras has been boxing a little more than a year, Martinez said Contreras’ skills are as advanced as many older amateur fighters.

Could he be a contender?

Perhaps it’s a bit premature to be talking about international boxing competition. After all, Contreras, a sixth-grader at Foster Road Elementary School in La Mirada, still plays Little League and took up boxing because he grew bored with karate, a sport he started when he was 4 1/2.

But yes, Contreras wants to be a professional boxer. And although Martinez and Contreras’ father, are careful not to pressure Armando, it’s clear they believe that he has a good chance at greatness.

“We’re letting the kid grow,” Martinez said. “We’re sure he’s going to do well later on so we aren’t going to rush him.”

Armando Sr. said: “I would like him to try for the Olympics if he wants it. He says he wants to be a pro.”

Meanwhile, Martinez and Armando Sr. are encouraging Contreras to stay active in other sports, such as baseball and football. Although Contreras could fight in tournaments almost every week, he will fight mainly in major events, Martinez said, such as the Silver Gloves and the Junior Olympics of Southern California, an event Contreras won last year.

“Right now to keep his interest in boxing we are going to give him two to three months off here and there so he can go into other sports,” Martinez said.

Talking with Contreras at the La Habra Boxing Club, it’s obvious he doesn’t believe he’ll lose interest despite cautionary words from his father.

“We see professionals come in here sometimes,” Armando Sr. said. “I tell him, ‘Look at their faces they’re all swollen and bumpy.’ He tells me he won’t get hit.”

At the youth boxing level, Martinez said Contreras’ unmarked face isn’t likely to be marred. Safety is the main consideration at this level, so bouts consist of three one-minute rounds and headgear is mandatory. Knockdowns are rare at this level, Martinez said, so fights usually are stopped if a boxer goes down.

For someone 38 pounds lighter than a 98-pound weakling, Contreras throws a mean punch. The sound of his combinations echoed through the gym during a recent sparring session.

But if you want to hear boasts from a cocky boxer, you have come to the wrong place. Contreras prefers to keep his success a secret.

“The kids who boast of what they can do, you have to be leery of,” Martinez said. “But Mando doesn’t say anything. He just comes in and does his job.”

Contreras said it’s a matter of self-preservation; he doesn’t want to make trouble.

“I don’t tell anyone because then they’ll start picking on me,” he said.

Not that he can’t defend himself. Last year, Contreras had an altercation outside the ring with a classmate who was about a foot taller. Contreras said the boy threw a punch at him, so he fought back.

“Now he doesn’t pick on me any more,” Contreras said.