My dad can beat your dad up.

If seventh-grader Chase Calloway of Bode Middle School were to use that phrase, there would be little argument as to who would win. Chase's father is local professional boxer Rob Calloway.

And the apple apparently didn't fall far from the tree.

"I hope Chase goes to college and plays football or basketball," Rob said. "His favorite sport is football, but boxing is a very close second."

When it came to the 13-year-old, 125-pounder becoming a boxer, it wasn't a matter of if he would become one - but when. Chase comes from a boxing family in which his uncle is a boxer, his grandfather owned a boxing gym and his father is a professional cruiserweight and owner of Team

Calloway.

The father and son tandem haven't discussed the possibility of Chase ever joining the professional ranks, but they hold lofty aspirations for the amateur level - maybe even the Olympics in 2016.

And along that amateur route, Chase and four other boxers from Team Calloway are in the process of qualifying for the National Silver Gloves Championships, which will be in Independence, Mo.

Qualifying for the nationals began in November when amateur boxers who between the ages 10 and 15 fought within their respective weight classes in the half-state box-offs. The winners advanced to the state finals and then to the five-state regional competition.

Chase, Kevin Gin, Powell Cornelius, Chris Gan and Bree Montoya, who will compete in the female Silver Gloves competition, all qualified to compete in the five-state regional in Des Moines, Iowa. The boxers face competition from Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska and Illinois in order to finally qualify for national competition.

"I have been training real hard and sparring against guys a lot bigger than me," said Chase, who is 30-7. "I am pretty confident in my chances because I took second in this tournament a couple years ago."

In 2007, Chase lost to Antoine Washington in the championship bout, but Chase has since won the 2008 Junior Golden Gloves.

The National Silver Gloves is Feb. 5 to 7 at the Hilton Garden Inn, located in Independence. The tourney will showcase 300 of the top amateurs from the United States battling for the right to be the No. 1 boxer in their respective divisions.