the latest young fighter to emerge from the desert

COMMERCE, CALIFORNIA – The Diaz brothers, Joel and Antonio, have built a roster of young fighters who have grown up in their Indio, California gym and now are developing into young professionals. 

The junior welterweight Cayden Griffiths is the latest addition to the team’s growing roster. 

Griffiths recorded a second-round knockout in a bout with Marc Misiura on Thursday night at The Commerce Casino in Commerce, California. His teammate, the junior middleweight Grant Flores, also won his fight by second-round knockout.

Griffiths, an 18 year old from Coachella, California, is the newest face to emerge. 

“I have a great team behind me,” Griffiths told BoxingScene. “I was around nine or 10 when I started training there and ever since then it’s just been amazing. There are so many talented fighters coming out of there and I’ve had the blessing to learn from them and develop my own kind of style.”

Griffiths journey to boxing was simple enough.  

“My parents wanted me to learn self-defense,” Griffiths, 3-0 (3 KOs), said. “When I was a child, they put me in Taekwondo. 

“When we moved to California from Pennsylvania, we found a boxing gym and I fell in love with it. I’ve been there ever since.”

Griffiths joins a promising stable of young fighters emerging from the Indio desert. While fight fans know of Israil Madrimov and Murodjon Akhmadaliev, the newest young faces are coming out of the Diaz brothers’ gym – Grant Flores, “Gucci” Manny Flores, Jose Tito Sanchez, Leonardo Sanchez, and Griffiths. 

“We’ve all grown up together,” Griffiths said.  “Being able to be in the same gym as older, mature fighters such as Israil Madrimov and Murodjon Akhmadaliev. 

“These are world champions that have been at the highest level for years. They teach us things and we learn off each other. It’s an amazing experience to be able to share the gym with them and pick up things from them.”

The bright lights and big stages can be intimidating, especially for a fighter transitioning from amateur boxing. The transition has been eased for Griffiths, because he has done it with his peers. 

“It’s comforting,” Griffiths said of having his teammates on the same show. “When you’re fighting on a big show and it’s just you and your team –  it can be a little intimidating, but since we’re all together, it’s just good vibes all the way around.”