Jordan Panthen: Red, White, and Blue Boxing

Southern California boxing gyms have a well-deserved reputation for serious training environments with top-notch sparring. Boxers who aren’t sufficiently dedicated get chewed up and spit out.

It is the highest praise when you get compliments for your work from the rest of the fighters who’ve watched you at work or from the sparring partners who’ve taken your shots.

Jordan Panthen's work ethic and results are drawing attention. Photo: Jordan Panthen

Junior middleweight prospect Jordan Panthen (6-0, 5 KOs) is one of the fighters getting attention for his excellent work during training sparring world champions, and it’s paying off inside the ring as he works his way up the rankings. “When I started beating up Olympians from other countries and undefeated fighters, it gave me confidence,” said Panthen.

“I’m doing this now against guys who have been doing it for 20 years. What am I going to do in two years? I’m not even close to my peak!” declares Panthen.

Panthen, age 27, was born in New York and is a longtime resident of Hawaii now living in Southern California. He appears in his first main event on Thursday, February 15, in the Fight Club OC card at The Hangar in Costa Mesa. The card will air live on TrillerTV (formerly FITE) starting at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.

Panthen takes on Adam Diu Abdulhamid of the Philippines (18-14, 9 KOs) in a scheduled six-round fight.

Jordan Panthen Brings Fan-Friendly Action

Jordan Panthen is a fighter in the old-school style, likened to Micky Ward and Arturo Gatti. Photo: TrillerTV

Trained by Julian Chua at Brickhouse Boxing Gym in North Hollywood, California, Panthen is a fan-friendly fighter who likes to bring the action. He’s a volume puncher who threw 600 punches in his last bout, an eight-round shutout in his first fight to hear the final bell. But don’t count on Panthen going the distance Thursday. Be in your viewing seat early.

Panthen resembles a young Micky Ward or Arturo Gatti, both of whom he greatly admires, along with Hall of Fame champion Roy Jones, Jr., as well as Saul “Canelo” Alvarez – but specifically “the 154 pound one,” says Panthen. However, he also admires his way with a left hook to the body.

Former world champion Paulie Malignaggi, now a ProBox TV analyst, calls Panthen “a real throwback with the mindset of the old school greats” who wanted a beatdown in every fight, not just a win.

Trainer Malik Scott is among those who’s watched Panthen spar with cruiserweight Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez and says he has “evil energy,” punching with bad intentions. “He has one of the best boxing minds behind him on a daily basis… he’s on the right road.”

Panthen's Long Path

Panthen started boxing in Hawaii when his father served in the United States Navy. From ages 12 to 18, Panthen won the 2021 USA National Championships and Golden Gloves titles, with an overall record of 26-7. “I took no punishment in the amateurs. I excelled at the highest level,” recalls Panthen.

Panthen decided to pursue professional boxing in 2022, but there were several detours, including training horses and competing in rodeos in the western U.S.

He suffered a motorcycle accident and, upon recovering, decided it was time to get serious about boxing – which also meant moving from Hawaii to seek top-level training and sparring. He found it with trainer Julian Chua at Brickhouse.

Jordan Panthen with trainer Julian Chua and his team.

Nicknamed “The Patriot,” Panthen is moving quickly, committing himself to a boxing lifestyle every hour of every day. He hopes to fight at least six times in 2024 and work toward 20 fights by the end of 2025.

Panthen says the fighters he started sparring with when he first arrived in California are no longer competitive. “Now I’m beating them. I see different levels, I’m excelling in a very short amount of time. I always learn fast.” Panthen says it reassures him he’s doing the right thing and is on the right path.

Panthen says he doesn’t regret the break from the sport, crediting his life experiences to helping him grow “as a person, as a human, as a man.

“I’ve traveled all around our country, and I travel outside the country. It made me have more love for our country. It’s the growing and learning that comes from traveling. Traveling and living so many places in our country has helped me experience so many different things.

“I feel like the best time has come, and I’m not going to hit my prime until I’m 30 because I take care of my body, and I feel super young.”

Panthen says he’s excited about appearing in his first main event. He says he expects resistance from his Filipino opponent at first, “some courage in the first two rounds or so.” Panthen calls his opponent a little wild, and he intends to catch him in between shots early. “I’m going to wear him down, beat him up, get him out of there. All in all, it’s going to be all action,” promises Panthen.

“If I’m boxing, it’s a lot of punches coming if I’m pressing. You can box and throw a lot of punches. Boxing doesn’t mean it’s boring!”

Although with his sparring work, Panthen credits trainer Chua, who he’s worked with for the last year. “Honestly, I think he’s a perfect fit.” Panthen says Chua is adding to his existing skillset.

“He understands my natural abilities, my tendencies, and the fighter in me. But he also sees my boxing skills have grown, the timing. I have speed and counters. He knows how to pull things out.

“I’m like a soldier. I listen very well. I take pride in that. When (Chua) says something, I do it. He forces me to work on all these other skills, but he never forgets about my natural abilities, my strengths. He pulls from every direction. I trust him, I listen to him. It’s perfect, honestly.”

Family Support for Panthen

Jordan Panthen is featured in the main event on Thursday, February 15, for the Fight Club OC card airing on TrillerTV.

Also in his corner, as they have been all his life, is Panthen’s extended family. His mother, Carolyn, is in California, supporting his preparation for Thursday’s fight. “She comes about two to three weeks out. She’s a big help with food and stuff going on in sparring.” Panthen says she never misses a sparring session and gets up with him at 4 a.m. to run the Santa Monica stairs with him, as she also used to run with him in the mornings during high school.

Panthen’s father will be ringside for the fight, as well as his girlfriend Josefina Silveyra, a native of Argentina and a singer who also works out at Brickhouse Boxing. “It’s so important to have people around you that you can rely on,” said Panthen.

Panthen is fighting in a competitive division experiencing a changing of the guard. “I see it very open. I don’t see one standout person. I know my style is tough.

“In the gym, when I do spark 68-pounders, 75-pounders, I’m humble. I’m not the bigger, stronger guy, and then I’m forced to box. It benefits me to do this so that I can do it as well.”

Jordan Panthen said he's eager to fight Vergil Ortiz Jr. in the future. Photo: Golden Boy Boxing

Panthen sees new talent moving up from the welterweight division to make super welterweight competition even more exciting. Pantheon says he can envision a battle someday against another tough-as-nails competitor, Vergil Ortiz Jr.

“I take pride in being nicknamed “The Patriot” because I've always been very patriotic since I was a little kid. The American flag shorts, the American flag headgear, is something that was very meaningful to me. I hope to represent America. People from Kazakhstan or Mexico or Puerto Rico, they always represent their country and they are very prideful about it. I hope to be that person for America.

Jordan Panthen's dream is to win a title fight on the Fourth of July.

“My dream is to win the world title fighting on The Fourth of July in a big show in the United States, I think I can make that happen.”

While Panthen is working toward those goals, he’s putting those risk-taking activities he enjoys to the side for now. “I don’t want the smallest thing to happen. A sprained ankle can take you out for a while. Even when I go hiking, I put ankle braces on. It really means this much to me. I’m not going to put myself at risk.”