nbc.com

 

Sergio Mora was born in a tiny apartment in East LA where he lived with his mother and three brothers until just a few weeks ago. At 24, he and his older brother have finally moved out... to the apartment downstairs. He is the first to admit that his family lives in the ghetto but bristles at being lumped into the East LA stereotype. Although he grew up without a father, his respect for his mother and the desire for a better life turned him to sports instead of gangs.

As a teenager, Sergio knocked out many of his friends just "goofing around" in the street. He started boxing at the age of fourteen and is currently undefeated as a Pro. When he isn't training, he works with kids at a neighborhood youth gym built to give boys and girls an alternative to gangs. Sergio trains at the same gym and the signage on the front bears his picture and nickname: "the Latin Snake." Sergio's dream is to make enough money boxing to allow his mother to quit her job working at a warehouse and send her traveling the world ... without his brothers.