It’s hard to believe Joseph “Jo Jo” Awinongya Jr. is already a veteran boxer at 12-years old, but that’s what happens when you are raised on a steady diet of boxing, training, and racking up championships along the way as one of the best young fighters in the boxing game today. 

Born and raised in Joliet, Illinois, Jo Jo first picked up boxing at 5-years old after watching his father, Joseph Awinongya Sr., box since he was 2 years old. That’s when the training and journey really started with Jo Jo growing into a six-time national junior boxing champion and ranked No. 1 in the nation within his weight class (90 lbs.). For this 7th grader, boxing has become his life and capturing Gold at the 2028 Olympics and becoming a professional remain his top two goals.

The kid is super quick, has a high boxing IQ, and his roots in the sport run extremely deep.

That drive and dedication are part of Jo Jo’s natural DNA thanks to his father, Joseph Sr., a professional boxer from Bolgatanga, Ghana who was brought to the United States by the notorious boxing promoter, Don King, in the mid-90s. Once in the U.S., Joseph rose to prominence as a cruiserweight (known as the African Assassin) and went undefeated in his first eight professional fights. After an 11-year career, Joseph retired to devote his time and attention to training young boxers in Joliet — including his own son, Jo Jo. Because of his strong ties to Ghana, Jo Jo has garnished headlines from local news and boxing media outlets like Boxing GhanaTV, with the country in West Africa adopting him as their own native son.

With his prowess for training boxers like IBF International Welterweight Champion, Frederick Lawson, reigning French Champ Ahmed El Moussaoui, and IBO International Middleweight Champion Osumanu Adama, Joseph Sr. knows how to work with and develop elite fighters.

The regiment is fierce: daily workouts and boxing sessions, diet monitoring, counting calories, and breaking down video of other fighters (Jo Jo counts WBC Heavyweight Champion, Deontay Wilder as his favorite fighter) all comprise of Jo Jo’s approach to the sweet science.

The results are well-deserved: Along with being a six-time national junior boxing champ, Jo Jo earned the Silver Gloves Champion (2017, 2018) Junior Olympics Champion (2017, 2019), USA Boxing Champion (2017) and Eastern Elite National Qualifiers (2019).

Training out of the Chicago Park District Gyms (Taylor Park, Fuller Park) and MMA Stop in Romeoville, Jo Jo has packaged his training routine and in-ring abilities to become one of the most prepared and brightest young fighters on the national stage. He’s done it all while becoming a straight-A student in school and making it a priority to leave a positive impact on his community. In recent years, Jo Jo has earned the Illinois Athletic Achievement Award from Secretary of State Jesse White, the WGHC Radio 98.3 FM Leadership Award, and when he’s not busy training or boxing, Jo Jo volunteers as an ambassador for Superintendent Eddie Johnson and the Chicago Police Department, where he mentors kids from the Chicago Park Districts.

“He’s better than me when I was his age,” Joseph Sr. said of his son as the two recently appeared on WGN Chicago.

“I learned so much from my time boxing from a lot of people so we just put that all together, so we use that to teach him and making it easier for him when he is fighting.”

Along with Wooter Apparel serving as the official apparel sponsor for Jo Jo, he also counts Joliet Hawk Chevy Auto-Jim Muisenga dealership, Bolingbrook, Enus, and Good Shepherd as his current sponsors. A standout student-athlete. A well-trained and dedicated multi-time champion. A young role model within his community from Illinois to Ghana.

Joseph “Jo Jo” Awinongya Jr. is already showing the world that he is the future of boxing.