Back when she played BIIF basketball, Kira De Morales had a distinctive style, not seen in the long history of the league.
The 2008 Waiakea graduate shot her free throws with one hand, and they went in. When she used two hands, she was often off-target.
Even as a youngster, De Morales always had a good right hand, and not just for basketball but for boxing, too.
Her dad Albert Rosas taught her boxing early on, but De Morales didn’t get serious until her younger brother Kieran Rosas started in 2008.
The 5-foot-10 De Morales has developed a distinctive boxing style with her length, and sharp right hand.
She’s flattened enough opponents to not only win the Golden Gloves in the 152-pound weight class last year, but also position herself for a spot on the U.S. Olympic team for the 2016 Games in Rio.
With a 72-inch reach, De Morales is 7-0 as an amateur boxer. Last year, she was also the Ringside National champion in the 165-pound weight class, and won the Adidas Tournament and Desert Showdown.
De Morales, her dad and brother leave Friday for the U.S. Olympic Trials, set for June 21-27 at Colorado Springs.
She would need to go 4-for-4 in the single-elimination 165-pound weight class to secure a spot on Olympic team and join Claressa Shields, who’s already on it. Shields, also 5-10 and in the 165-pound weight class, won gold at the 2012 London Games.
There’s another Olympic Trials in September in Baltimore.
In October in Tennessee, the Olympic finalists will meet in a box-off called the Pathway to the Podium for the No. 1 seed on the U.S. team.
De Morales would prefer not to attend a second trials because USA Boxing, the governing organization, doesn’t dish out a dime until boxers make the national team.
After Waiakea, De Morales earned a basketball scholarship to Prescott College in Arizona, and another one to Cal State Dominguez Hills.
She graduated in December of 2014 with a degree in kinesiology, and returned home to start training full-time.
In between, De Morales has fought in Toughman kickboxing and mixed martial arts events while home from college on breaks.
In 2013, Olympic boxing regulations underwent a drastic change. There will be no headgear, and judging criteria will be a pro-style 10-point system.
Previously, a computer punch-count system was used that emphasized punch volume over technique and ring dominance.
Clocking someone with a one-punch knockout is a style of preference for De Morales, who made a name for herself as a kickboxer and MMA fighter for her stand-up skills.
“I love the new rules. It’s about aggression, power and effort, just like the pros,” she said. “I plan to give it my all and go out there and brawl.
“Even when I was in MMA, I preferred stand-up. I didn’t like rolling around on the ground. I wanted to stand-up and finish. That’s my skill-set.”
She fights out of the Hawaii International Boxing Club, run by coach Sergio Mamone, who credits his assistant and De Morales’ dad for her development.
“She wants to try the Olympics then go back to school for her masters and be a specialist in biomechanics,” Mamone said. “She’s tall for a girl and she has a deadly straight right.
“Her success is a credit to her dad. Her dad is the one who has made her into what she is now. He’s the one who’s created a little beast.”
Once long ago, Mamone was an MMA fighter known as Da Monsta, a 5-5 heavyweight who knocked foes nearly twice as tall.
He knows all about big trees taking a fall. Mamone’s advice to counter shorter opponents: don’t stand tall and give someone a clean shot.
“I have to drop a little low, keep my guard up and use my reach to my advantage,” De Morales said. “I have the reach of someone who’s 6 feet, so that works out for me. I can’t wait and I’m confident.”
To help De Morales with a contribution or donate airline miles, email teamhi@yahoo.com or contact Mamone on Instagram or Facebook or call 854-0853.