Victor Fights to Make a Comeback After Learning a Valuable Lesson

Victor, a 12-year-old aspiring athlete from Houston, is known for his competitive spirit and love for sports.

Victor trains daily as a boxer under the guidance of Olympic silver medalist Rocky Juarez. He has already built a name for himself in youth boxing circles, traveling across states like Mississippi, Kansas and Virginia to compete. When he is not in the ring, Victor runs cross country for his school, plays soccer for fun and recently completed a half-marathon. His average mile time is an impressive 6.5 minutes.

But in early 2025, Victor’s path took an unexpected and painful detour.

With nearly 5,000 followers on Instagram, Victor often shares his training routines and boxing achievements. In an attempt to create a captivating promo video, the middle schooler decided to replicate a social media challenge he had seen: riding his bike through flames over a burning bottle of rubbing alcohol. After purchasing rubbing alcohol from Walmart and borrowing a lighter from a neighbor, Victor set up the stunt. However, when he picked up the bottle, it exploded, resulting in burns covering 28% of his body.

In those chaotic moments, Victor remembered what he had learned in science class, his favorite subject at school. He instinctively dropped to the ground and rolled in the grass. His mother, Maria, was home at the time. The moment she saw her son, she called for an ambulance. Victor was initially rushed to Memorial Hermann Hospital but was transferred a few hours later to Shriners Children’s Texas in Galveston to receive specialized pediatric burn care.