By Cynthia Hubert

August 26, 2025

Growing up in south Sacramento, Janelle Gonzales endured poverty, saw family members abuse drugs, and witnessed violence in the streets. 

But she also received frequent affirmations of love.  

“You’re so beautiful,” her parents, friends, and mentors told her.  

“You’re very smart.” 

“You’re going to do great things one day.” 

Gonzales began to believe those words of support and grew confident that she would be successful regardless of her circumstances. After graduating high school as a teenaged mother, she became the first in her family to attend college. Sacramento State played a key role in helping her fulfill her dreams.  

Today, her life has come full circle. As a social work manager and founder of a boxing gym in Sacramento, Gonzales uses her two passions to inspire and motivate youths who face some of the same challenges that she did as a child. A two-time graduate of Sac State, she also is a coach for the University’s Combat U boxing program. Her daughter, Ayahna, is a rising star in the program. 

“I love advocating for youth,” said Gonzales, who earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Social Work from Sac State and works as a program analyst for the county.  “Who is going to speak for kids who don’t have a voice?” 

Gonzales used her fists to protect herself from bullies as a child. Later, she sought out training gyms in her neighborhood and became an accomplished boxer, gaining confidence and focus as she mastered the sport. 

In 2016, she and her then-husband Brandon, a former professional boxer, founded Flawless Boxing & Fitness, which they view as far more than just a training facility. They see the gym in Sacramento’s Upper Land Park neighborhood as a way to empower underserved youth.  

“Brandon and I have both seen how valuable boxing can be in terms of giving us confidence, grounding us, helping us overcome challenges,” she said.  

Their associated nonprofit group, Flawless 4 Youth, offers scholarships to teach boxing technique, promote proper nutrition and help young people who otherwise might be lost to the streets develop crucial life skills. As a social worker, Gonzales connects families with mental health and other programs to increase their chances of success. 

“We never turn away a kid or a family if they need help,” she said.  

Gonzales can relate to the challenges that some of her young clients face.   

Both of her parents were drug addicts. She was raised mostly by her grandmother, in a home with nine people and one bathroom.  

“It was a very disadvantaged area, and we were poor, with a lot of drugs on both sides of the family,” she said.  

No one woke Gonzales each morning to get ready for school. No one helped her with homework. No one told her when to go to bed. “People were up at all hours of the night. I was responsible for myself, but I did feel love,” she said. 

In her neighborhood, she fended off youngsters who singled her out for her light skin, green eyes and curly hair, reflections of her mixed race.  

She became pregnant at 16 and gave birth to a son, Seneca. But even as she faced life as an impoverished teen single mother, she found a way forward. 

“Because I got positive affirmations I always thought highly of myself, even though I didn’t have a lot,” she said. “I have just always been optimistic, and that allowed me to create a different path. I knew that I did not want to be what I was seeing. I wanted nothing to do with how people around me were living.” 

Boxing and Sac State helped keep her on the right track. 

After graduating from high school, Gonzales became the first in her family to pursue higher education. She enrolled at Sacramento City College, but because she had to work full time to support her child, it would be years before she could finish her associate’s degree. She spent her limited free time at a local boxing gym, learning to “punch with a purpose” rather than fight in the streets. 

Then, tragedy visited her family.  

While she was a student in community college, her father was shot to death.  

“I got a phone call, and I saw my father’s body being carried away,” Gonzales recalled. “I was devastated.” 

Yet even in her grief, Gonzales persisted in her education. She enrolled at Sac State, earning her undergraduate degree in 2014 and her graduate diploma two years later.  

“I knew my dad would be really proud of me and would want me to keep going,” she said.  

Boxing had taught her to channel her energy and stress in a positive way. She became an accomplished amateur while sharpening her focus on her academic and personal goals. 

“The intangibles of boxing are extremely valuable,” Gonzales said.  

She found another supportive, diverse community on the Sac State campus.  

“At Sac State, I always felt supported and included,” she said. “I knew that everyone there had my best interests at heart.” 

Today, Gonzales works as a program planner for Sacramento County and uses her skills to motivate and uplift youth at her boxing gym.  

She and Brandon also serve as coaches in Sac State’s Combat U program, which offers competition and instruction in boxing and other combat sports to students while offering them a pathway to a college degree.  

Ayahna Gonzales, Sac State’s first women’s boxing All American, calls her mother an inspiration. 

“I have only seen the successful side of her,” Ayahna said. “When I hear her tell her story, I truly understand everything she had to overcome to give me what I have.” 

After graduating college, Ayahna intends to enroll in medical school. Her mother’s goal is to continue to give back to her community and her alma mater. 

“Sac State gave me a path forward,” Gonzales said. “I always had someone relatable and supportive to talk to when I needed something.  

“Coming back to Sacramento State is a full circle moment for me,” she said. “I have a lifelong connection to Sac State. I want to carry on that legacy.”