With nine days remaining until the start of the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games boxing competition, Boxing Canada would like to introduce you to Canadian Pan American Games Boxing Team athlete Justin Parina. Justin is representing Canada in the male 51kg weight division. Originally hailing from Manila, Philippines, Justin moved to Mississauga with his family at age four and now resides in Montreal, Quebec where he trains full-time at Boxing Canada’s National Training Centre at the Institut National du Sport du Quebec (INS).  Justin developed his boxing career Kombat Arts Training Academy in Mississauga, Ontario.

   

Justin’s favourite boxers are Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather, and Mike Tyson, while his all-time favourite athlete is Michael Jordan. The boxing achievement that Justin is most proud of is winning his first Nationals title in 2018 while qualifying for the 2023 Pan American Games is the life achievement that he is most proud of. Aside from boxing, Justin loves to play football, basketball, soccer and volleyball.

As a new father, Justin finds motivation to continue boxing with his infant daughter, yet understandably, finding the balance between being a new father and a high-performance athlete is one of the biggest challenges that Justin currently faces. One important lesson Justin learned as a high-performance athlete is that “dreams can be granted when you have faith and dedication.”

Justin’s favourite movie is Scarface; he loves Ben and Jerry’s Strawberry Cheesecake ice cream and works doing videography on the side. The movie Forrest Gump had the greatest impact on him as a child as it taught him that “life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get”.

Justin wants to be remembered as a “boxer who never gave up” and believes that the most important thing for national boxing team athletes to remember is to “enjoy the process before you love the product.”

 

Posted on: October 10, 2023