Rita Valeriano
Co-Founder. USA Boxing Coach. Referee. Assistant Coach
Since the end of her career as a Professional Boxer (2002-2008), Rita has sought out to pour her passion for the sport into helping others realize their dreams, just as she once did. The overwhelming desire to help other women prosper, and passion for the industry was the catalyst for the creation of the Total K.O. Boxing Club. Throughout overcoming personal hardships as well as countless unique situations along the way, Ms. Valeriano has since gained a loyal following and has fostered strong relationships that have continued to grow. The relationships fostered with her clients and members have consistently been spoken of as being no different from that of a caring family.
Victoria Serrano
Coach Victoria pours her heart into making sure she can be a great coach and a positive role model for the young girls of the club. As a young mother in high school, she knew what it felt like to be a young girl struggling to accomplish goals with no one in her corner.
After a 5-year separation due to Coach Victoria parents' divorce, a shared love of boxing helped rebuild the relationship with her mother, Coach Rita. While training together, Coach Victoria realized she wanted to help other young girls find the same empowerment she found in boxing.
“My ultimate goal in life is to be the reason for another young girl's future success story. I am choosing to make a champion of more than just myself! I know what its like to be that young girl with no one to trust. With TKO, I will be that someone. I know some girls do not have a positive influence in their life. I will be these girls’ leader and mentor. Most importantly, I know how it is to be out of shape, with low self-esteem, no confidence, and super self-conscious. I will show our girls how good “strong” can really make them feel!"
Co-Founder. USA Boxing Coach.
Jonathan Saenz
Co-Founder. President
Jonathan Saenz describes the overall Mission of Total KO Boxing Club as making an impact on the health and education of youth through teaching The Art of Boxing. This is combined with the tutoring services offered to collectively combat issues of health and education plaguing Fort Worth’s underprivileged communities.
Saenz, a United States veteran and an alumnus of Texas Christian University, developed the idea for Total KO while earning his bachelors degree at the university. A sustainability class showed him that it is possible to do good in the world while still making a living. Later, a Neeley School event featuring the United Way gave Saenz an opportunity to make a difference by providing seed funding for Social Entrepreneurship Ventures. His mother, a former Professional Boxer, was already running a Boxing Club out of her backyard, but United Way provided a launch pad to create the bigger impact Saenz had dreamed of. He knew he had to make a difference and his program was the solution, so with Valeriano sharing her knowledge of Boxing as the Head Coach, and Jonathan's passion and enthusiasm for youth empowerment, they co-founded Total KO Boxing Club, creating an environment that has positively impacted over one hundred youth's lives.
While in the service, Mr. Saenz received the Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and Iraq Campaign Medal with Campaign Star; a 2017 recipient of Congressman Marc A. Veasey's Congressional Veterans Commendation Awarded for Service to the Community; and, a 2018 Fort Worth Business Press Minority Leader in Business honoree.
Clay Burns
Co-Founder. USA Boxing Coach.
Head Coach. Professional Fighter.
Co-Founder. Creative Director. USA Boxing Coach.
Sarah Galicia
Sarah is the Creative Director for the organization and currently leads our youth programming. She has been with the organization since the beginning serving as a Coach & a Student to the boxing game and her role has expanded tremendously since.
Sarah was one of the 5 students in the backyard gym of Valeriano's home, where this is all started from. With her help, we were able to grow this organization to reach the hearts of our students.
Her passion is women empowerment, teaching financial literacy to the masses, and of course, the art of boxing. Her passion to help others started as a young adult, as she was forced to face the challenges of life by herself. However, this worked in her favor as this allowed her bring light & inspiration to everyone around her.
She understands the importance of leadership and mentorship as she has been involved in World Class Leadership Conventions all around the U.S. with well known World Class Mentors such as Les Brown, Bob Proctor, Johnny Wimbrey, Wanda Webb, etc. Everyday she strives to push her mental boundaries through personal development, goal setting and challenges.
Sarah runs our "Self-Love" Dance Classes on Friday for women of all ages and seeks to be a real force for positive and sustainable impact in our community!
Rocio Sanchez
Volunteer. USA Boxing Coach. Assistant Coach
I'm Rocio Sánchez from Cd. Acuña Coahuila, I started in Boxing when I was 20 years old in a Boxing Gym that my father, Héctor Sánchez, had in Acuña. My father, who has had great boxers like Marco Antonio "Poison" Rubio and is a Boxing Promoter, taught me the Sport. It's been 8 years since I moved to Fort Worth, Texas, where I was given the opportunity to be a Coach at the Golden Gloves Gym, leaving me with good memories and good teammates. Now, I am in TotalKO where I was welcomed with open arms, giving me the confidence to be part of this great team!
At TotalKO, I love working with children because I feel I have a connection with them! My goal is to train them so that they get to experience a Golden Gloves fight and have the satisfaction of having a trophy in their hands! I had the fortune to fight at the 2012 Golden Gloves and win a trophy. The joy I felt is an unforgettable experience and I would love for the kids to experience exactly how great it really is!
Volunteer. USA Boxing Coach.
Sophia Cantu
Nick Fotu
Volunteer. USA Boxing Coach.
Khang Nguyen
Volunteer. Branding