Sela L. Panuve Gonzalez Media TV interview on national rematch

The Sela L. Panuve Gonzalez Media TV interview put a national final rematch at the center of the boxer’s upcoming schedule: she will face the opponent who beat her by split decision last year. Speaking with Jose G, Panuve also discussed a Detroit fight against a West Point boxer, her start in the sport at the United States Air Force Academy and the training behind both bouts.

How did Sela L. Panuve start boxing at the United States Air Force Academy?

Sela L. Panuve began boxing at the United States Air Force Academy after growing up wrestling and playing other sports in Maui, Hawaii. She had never competed in boxing before arriving at the academy, where coaches encouraged her to pursue it. She won a national title in her first year and reached the final in her second.

From wrestling in Maui to boxing at the academy

Wrestling had been a constant throughout Panuve’s childhood, but boxing was new to her. At the academy, she found coaches who believed she could compete and a team she described as a family. She said her interest in boxing developed quickly, even though she had not expected the sport to become such a large part of her life.

Her first two seasons gave her both a title and a specific result to revisit. After winning a national championship in her first year, she lost the following year’s final by split decision. She said she hoped to compete for another title in the upcoming season, which would round out her third year in boxing.

Acceptance and boxing after graduation

Getting into the academy surprised Panuve. She knew admission was competitive and had tried not to raise her expectations. Her mother, she recalled, was less surprised. At the time of the conversation, Panuve said she was approaching her second-to-last year and was grateful to be there.

She has not settled on a boxing path after graduation. Panuve said military programs could make continued competition possible and cited Army’s WCAP as an example of a program in which boxing could be a service member’s job. For now, her focus is on being a cadet, student and boxer at the academy.

What did Sela L. Panuve say about Hawaii and her boxing style?

Sela L. Panuve described herself as an aggressive boxer who prefers to land punches and move back out rather than fight at close range. She connects that competitive instinct to her upbringing in a large Polynesian family in Hawaii, while noting that people who meet her outside the ring often do not expect her to be a boxer.

Growing up with a competitive family

Panuve said she grew up wrestling boys, playing on a boys’ soccer team and putting on football pads to play with her male cousins. She also recalled childhood games of WWE in the living room and outside. Among her first cousins, she was the first girl; she said she now has three younger girl cousins.

That upbringing made physical competition familiar, she said. Panuve also spoke about how much Hawaii cares about fighting and mentioned Max Holloway as an athlete the islands embrace. She was grateful for the chance to represent where she comes from, though she did not present herself as speaking for every Hawaiian boxer.

Distance in the ring, a different impression outside it

In a bout, Panuve is willing to take a punch, but she does not want to stay inside. Her preferred sequence is to get her own punches in, then move away. She acknowledged that being too comfortable getting hit may sometimes work against her.

Outside the ring, she said teammates see her as notably girly. She described the contrast between getting her hands wrapped, often with her nails done, and switching into a serious competitive mindset once a fight begins. Even her mother has commented on how different she looks in the ring.

How does Sela L. Panuve train and respond to tough sparring?

Sela L. Panuve said her coaches run a strict program with early runs, two practices a day, and core and conditioning work. Before the national tournament, the team also holds an intensive one-week camp. In sparring, she measures progress against specific goals and asks for more rounds when she needs to correct a poor session.

Double practices and outside sparring partners

The training days are long, Panuve said, and the concentrated camp before nationals adds another period of focused work. Her coaches also bring in boxers from outside gyms, giving the team different opponents and a way to assess how its members are performing.

Panuve enters those sparring sessions with things she wants to try or observe. Rather than judging a session only by whether it felt good or bad, she looks at whether she carried out those plans and what the rounds showed her about her progress.

Asking for another round after an off day

When she gets roughed up, Panuve listens to her coaches but does not want to stop at the explanation that she had an off day. She would rather return to the same sparring partner, apply the feedback and finish with a better round.

Panuve put that response plainly:

I ask for more rounds.

For her, the extra work is a chance to address the problem immediately, not simply to add rounds to a session. She said she likes to end on a good one after making an adjustment.

What does Sela L. Panuve use for food and recovery during training?

Sela L. Panuve turns to acai bowls and smoothies between double practices, and she likes alternating between hot tubs and ice baths when her muscles are sore. Her food picks depend on where she is: she named Mo Ono when she is back home in Hawaii and Smoothie King while in Colorado Springs.

She described cold, refreshing food as a go-to during training camp. Mo Ono is her favorite acai stop at home. In Colorado Springs, she had also liked Quench for its large servings, but said it had recently closed.

For recovery, Panuve said she enjoys a tub day and moving between a jacuzzi and an ice bath. She offered those as parts of her own routine, alongside the demands of two daily practices, rather than as a prescribed approach for other fighters.

Who is Sela L. Panuve fighting next in Detroit and November?

Sela L. Panuve said she was set to fight a West Point boxer in Detroit around Halloween weekend, then meet the boxer who beat her by split decision in last year’s national final in November. She had not faced the Detroit opponent before; the November opponent was familiar from their championship bout.

A first meeting with a West Point boxer in Detroit

The Detroit fight would pair Panuve, an Air Force Academy boxer, with a boxer from West Point. Panuve said she knew of her opponent through other competitors and expected a strong, offensive fighter whose punches carried weight. She planned to be alert to that power, but did not claim to know firsthand how their matchup would unfold.

A November meeting with last year’s finalist

Panuve’s November opponent beat her by split decision in the previous national final. Panuve described her as talented, tall, quick and possessing good reach. Unlike the Detroit matchup, this fight comes with direct experience of the opponent’s style.

She wants the second meeting to be her comeback from that final but kept the task practical: she knows what to expect and has to execute. The two upcoming fights give her different tests, one against an unfamiliar boxer and the other against the opponent behind her closest unfinished result.

Who is Sela L. Panuve?

Sela L. Panuve is a boxer who trains and competes while continuing to develop her skills in the ring. She approaches the sport with determination, discipline and a competitive spirit.