‘I was the villain’: Waianae’s Lorenzo Patricio wins World Boxing Cup in China

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Waianae native Lorenzo Patricio loves being an underdog on a big stage. His mentality fueled a gold-medal run at the recent World Boxing Cup in China.

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Out of his five wins, four came by unanimous decision.

“That final fight, it was a hell of an experience. The stadium was packed all the way to the top with fans and just the crowd was so hostile because I was fighting against China. I was the main event. I was the last bout and I was going against China in his home city,” said Patricio.

Opponent Jiamao Zhang’s home-crowd advantage was no match for Patricio’s unwavering confidence.

“I was the villain that night. I was the villain. Once the crowd knew that I was winning it was a little quiet,” said Patricio.

At 19, Patricio has over 100 professional fights on his resume and 91 wins.

His fighting spirit comes from his family.

Dad Lyndon was a boxer who trained with former Olympian Brian Viloria.

His older sister, Shera Mae, has 11 national championships and made her professional boxing debut in 2024.

“Just seeing that I inspire my younger siblings just pushes and motivates me and seeing what my older siblings do and they push me and make me have that drive,” said Patricio.

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Patricio feels he only completed round one of what he strives to accomplish. He’s now training for the Pan American Games in Mexico City this October.

After that, he’s taking aim at the 2028 Olympic Games.

“(Next year) is a qualifying year so I win the tournament over there then I qualify for the Olympics LA 2028, and then after that I’m going professional,” said Patricio.

Whether he’s competing internationally or just training in his garage, Patricio sees every fight as an opportunity.

“Being able to represent not only Team USA when I go out there, I’m representing Hawaii, I’m representing my family and my city Waianae,” said Patricio.

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