Rising Star: 10 year old giving ‘girl power’ new meaning in the ring

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - There’s few 10-year-olds across the nation that you will find with a work ethic such as the one you’ll find at the Alley Boxing Club in Wichita. There’s even less of those 10-year-olds that you’ll find that look like Addison Kenney.

“Just unassuming, you know, [she looks like] a regular kid,” Addison’s dad Jason Kenney said. “She’s a sleeper. They’re not the ones that you expect. She’s got a lot of fire, that’s for sure.”

Addie the Baddie as she’s called is the youngest of four sisters and comes in at only 65 pounds, but she packs a punch. She’s won three fights already in only six months of competing in the sport.

Jason Kenney said he always knew his daughter had a little more to her and now she is proving it in the ring.

“She was always just a little more intense,” he said. “A little bit more physical than the other kids and she’s a lot smarter.”

“Yeah I definitely think I’m tough,” Addison said. “Tough enough to win.”

With boxing being such a male dominated sport, Addison is forced to practice, and in some cases such as this past weekend, compete against the boys.

“It’s no different,” she said. “It’s just like fighting girls, it’s no different.”

“Now that Addie’s been in the ring with a boy, I feel like everybody sees it now,” Addison’s coach Edwardo Lira said. " Everybody had a chance to see that girls are just as good as boys.”

With that win under her belt, Addison hopes that she can keep climbing and providing a path for women’s boxing to continue to grow.

“I hope other girls join the sport because it sure is a good sport.”

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