A young Mexican-American boxer from the East Bay is a model of perseverance as he keeps lacing up to fight while also battling through his own disability.

When Jose Maria Delgado steps into the ring, sometimes his greatest opponent isn't the other fighter -- it's his own right leg.

Delgado lost the limb in a car accident when he was just 6 months old. Doctors were able to reattach it, but it still remains weak, disfigured and in need of a brace during bouts. Still, Delgado has managed to win nine of his first 10 professional contests, fighting mostly in his parents' home country of Mexico.

"People in the crowd are like, 'Oh, he’s going against the handicap. … it’s an easy win for us.' And my mom would be like, 'So, wait, what happened to the handicapped kid?'"

Delgado has undergone about 70 surgeries just to repair the leg. One of the major surgeries occurred when he was around 9 or 10 years old, he said. It left him bedridden and about 100 pounds heavier. So, to get in shape, he took up boxing.

"I never took boxing as something serious at first. I did it to get me conditioned, help me lose weight," he said.

Now a 26-year-old, 126-pound featherweight out of Brentwood, Delgado has two professions: killing bugs for a fumigation company with his dad and exterminating the hopes of any boxer who dares step into the ring with him.

Boxing coach Robert Garcia helped "El Chema" turn pro back in 2017.

"It’s pretty much just fighting on one foot," Garcia said. "The other one is just supporting a little bit of balance. But besides that, it’s not doing anything for you."

Delgado added: "It’s always going to be hard but never going to be impossible to accomplish something you want to do."

Whatever muscle he lacks in his leg Delgado makes up for with the other muscle he’s been building all his life: his heart.

"It’s given me the opportunity to create a story … for people to be inspired by," he said. "I don’t blame anybody for what happened to me. You know, I think I’m blessed to have this as well."