Hannah Belame/MDN Rafael Lopez practices sparring with younger brother Max Lopez.

Twin brothers from Nedrose High School in Minot are currently training to bring their talent for boxing to the 2028 Olympics. The pair have already established themselves in the ring against top-level competition in the 17-18 year old age range and 125-132 pound weight bracket.

Born in Kentucky, Jose and Rafael Lopez moved to Minot when they were just one. They began boxing at the age of seven.

“In the beginning we were just looking to do a fun individual sport instead of on a team. We wanted a sport where our own effort is what makes us win,” said Rafael.

The pair’s excitement for boxing quickly turned competitive.

Two years ago, Jose won the silver medal at the Mexico Nationals among 15 year olds in the 115-pound weight division. Rafael won a USA Boxing sanctioned amateur tournament in South Dakota in the same age and weight bracket.

While the twins are competitive, they say they are not competitive with each other.

“We just try to make the training as hard as possible so that we can win all our future matches. We’re always trying to work harder than our opponents,” said Jose.

The boys don’t keep records but do try to see how many matches they have had so far.

They estimate they have competed in about 60 fights throughout their time training.

While they do not keep track of records, they have plenty of belts won from matches.

“There is one belt I got in Mexico. The Canelo-Alverez family provided it to me. It was just a one day fight, and I won, so I got their signature and everything,” said Rafael.

“We train everyday. We do not have any matches scheduled, so we are just staying in shape and not slacking off so that if any matches or tournaments do get scheduled we would be ready for anything,” he added.

Their father, Alejandro Lopez, is also one of their coaches.

As a family, they try to go back to Lopez’s home country of Mexico at least once a year. The boys say Mexico is also their favorite place to box thanks to the warm welcome they always receive.

“All of our family is down there, we always get a big welcome and lots of cheering in our corner,” said Rafael.

They say one of the best parts about boxing is getting to travel to different places around the world to compete like Mexico, Texas and Puerto Rico and getting to see all the different cities.

The training is difficult, but the pair say since there are so many different styles of boxing, they are never bored and are always learning something new.

“We don’t have to wake up and do the same thing everyday,” said Rafael.

The twins also participate in track at Nedrose High School for conditioning, competing in the 100, 400, and 800 meter dash.

“Track is a lot of conditioning and boxing is a lot of cardio. If you run out of stamina before your opponent, you will lose. So track is good for helping out with that,” said Jose.

“It’s a lot of fun because we’re with all our friends,” he added.

Their ultimate goal is to become national champions or compete in the 2028 Olympics, scheduled to take place in Los Angeles, California.

First the pair must place in Nationals to get ranked. Then, the top two or three ranked in Nationals go on to the Olympic trials.

“To get to Nationals we have to win more than ten fights. Then once we get to Nationals, depending on how we place, we get to move on to the Olympics,” said Rafael.

The boys have competed in Nationals in the past.

“The competition is really hard. And since we’re from Minot it’s even harder to make population,” said Rafael.

“One year Jose did really well. He got ranked sixth in Nationals, but for them to even look at you for the Olympics, you have to be top three in the nation for your weight,” he said.

To get to the top three, the boys train daily with shadow boxing and running.

“That’s where track comes in to help out,” said Jose.

The pair lead busy lives trying to balance boxing while remaining straight A students at Nedrose, but remain focused and determined with their training to make the 2028 Olympics a reality.