JOLIET – You never would know it if you see him now, but 16-year-old Jesus Luna said he had a weight issue a few years ago.

“I was kind of big when I was 12 and the main reason I started doing this was to lose weight,” he said last week during a break in a training session at the Luna Boxing facility at the corner of Scott and Ruby streets in downtown Joliet.

“My dad (head coach Jesse Luna) and my uncle (gym owner Miguel Luna) fixed this place up so we would have a gym. My dad used to box when he was younger. I started at age 12, which is kind of late to start.”

He has caught up, however.

Luna competed a few weeks ago in the USA Boxing Prep and Junior Olympic National Championships and Youth Open in Dallas. The Youth Open component was added to the tournament a year ago.

Luna was in the Youth Open 123-pound division, facing top fighters from around the nation. He received a bye in the opening round, then beat Zachary Bram of West Palm Beach, Florida, before losing to Keyshawn Davis of Norfolk, Virginia, in the quarterfinals.

So from his first national competition, Luna can tack a top-eight finish onto his résumé.

“Finishing in the top eight in the Junior Olympics, I felt that was a good accomplishment,” he said. “To be able to be noticed at the national level matters.

“Eighth is not much, but the only real downside is that I have to keep moving toward the top, and I still have a ways to go.”

RAPID RISE

Jesse Luna cited the strides his son already has made.

“He’s 16 years old, only three years fighting and he finished among the top eight in the nation from a 26-boxer tournament,” he said. “Last year he won state and was runnerup in the Midwest Region. This was his first national tournament.

“When we first opened this gym, we didn’t think we would get as far as we have been getting. We never thought we would have our first national competition three years later. Our gym has produced a number of championships in a short amount of time, but this was our first fighter to reach that level. Without a doubt, Jesus can become a national-level fighter.”

Luna is an A-B student in high school. He attended Lincoln-Way Central his first two years and will be a junior at Lincoln-Way West in the fall. He lives in Manhattan, and with the closure of Lincoln-Way North, Manhattan kids are among those switching schools in the district.

Luna’s older brother Jose, a senior at Lincoln-Way West, also trains at the gym. He was a Chicago Golden Gloves runnerup last year. Eric Rodriguez was a Chicago Golden Gloves champion representing the gym in 2014.

“When I was a little younger, I played baseball,” Jesus Luna said. “I did it for a year or two, but I didn’t like it that much.

“The more I box, the more I love it. It’s part of my lifestyle. It gives me the drive to accomplish something.”

Luna’s dad said his son’s overall record is 25-8, so he doesn’t win them all. But Jesus takes something from every fight.

“Definitely, every fight is a learning experience,” he said. “You learn from winning, but when you lose, that’s the most important thing for learning. The day you stop learning, you might as well be out of the sport.”

The preparation for any tournament is something Luna does not take lightly.

“Every time a specific tournament is coming up, I lay my eyes on it and ask myself, ‘What can I work on today to get ready?’ ” he said. “When the day comes, I’ve already put in all the work.”

OUTSIDE THE RING

As focused as Luna is on what happens inside the ring, he is equally dedicated to everything else that matters in his life.

“I make sure school is as important as boxing,” he said. “I am an A-B student. If I don’t do my homework, I can’t come to the gym, and I want to be here. I come here four times a week during school and pretty much the same in the summer, but sometimes the opportunity is there to come in earlier in the summer.”

Luna said he has “very diverse friends. I’ve had plenty of friends come try this out and think it’s great. Some come here and think it’s too hard and quit.”

At the gym, it is evident who the leaders, the role models for the younger kids, are.

“My brother and I and another kid, Adan Rojan, we were here when this all started, so we’re naturally picked out as the leaders,” Luna said. “We take the initiative to show the younger kids what has to be done.”

A big plus for all the 20 or so regulars at the gym is cost.

“We know we can compete at a high level, which is good,” Jesse Luna said. “But we more do this because the kids love it. They pay $10 a month to come here. That’s all.”

Luna Boxing conducted a 22-bout show at the Joliet Park District Multi-Purpose Center at Inwood in February that drew about 500 spectators and another show last weekend in Summit. The name is out there.

COLLEGE THOUGHTS

As for Jesus Luna, as much as he wants to further his boxing career, he also has college plans in his future.

“There are multiple things I want to go to school for,” he said. “Even if I go on and get a master’s, I want to keep working out at a gym. I always find a way to work out regardless. Even if I have an injury, there usually is still plenty I can do.”

With an eye toward college, Jesse Luna said, “We are just finding out there are colleges with boxing programs that are governed by USA Boxing. That’s something we will want to look into.”

Athletes sometimes are described as being the total package. Jesus Luna qualifies. In addition to his success in the classroom and the boxing ring, he is polite and humble.

“I want to thank all my coaches for what they have done for me,” he said.

“Jesus worked out in Phoenix with Robert Miller,” Jesse Luna said. “Thomas Moreno and I have coached him here, and Joe Valerio and Miguel Luna also coach here. Jesus spars with Chico Arambula and Ernesto “Bear” Flores.

“Bear Flores beat my son in Chicago and they became friends. He moved to Colorado and asked my son to come out there and work out with him. He was there three weeks.”

Jesus Luna already has seen fruits from his labor. Down the road, who knows?

“Right now, I would like to be in the Olympics or at the pro level when I’m in my 20s,” he said. “Before I thought of this sport as a way to defend myself. Now I see the potential in training and fighting.”

That goal to lose weight a few years ago was a mere beginning to what is growing into a significant story.