From Boxer to Lawyer: One Future Attorney's Adventurous Path to the Courtroom

“My words are my weapons now,” said Noe Mendoza Jr., a former collegiate boxer who hung up his gloves to study at the UNT Dallas College of Law. The first-generation college student and future litigator will receive his Juris Doctor degree on Saturday, May 16, 2026, at the Majestic Theater.

To Mendoza, the parallels from the boxing ring to the courtroom are clear. “They both require intense devotion to prepare for competition,” he said. “You have to be a forward-thinker. It translates. Like chess, understanding how one move affects another.”

Moving—quickly—comes naturally to Mendoza, whether it’s throwing a powerful punch to an opponent’s torso or making a powerful argument to a judge or jury. “You’ve got to connect the dots,” he said.

For Mendoza, that process started as a child, listening to conversations his father, a paralegal, was having with clients in the office. “He told me to find a corner and stay quiet,” Mendoza recalled. His dad, he said, “planted in me” an interest in the legal profession.

Mendoza’s interest in boxing also started early, at age 8. He sparred with his dad under their carport in Weslaco, Texas. Mendoza tried other sports, including football, basketball, tennis and wrestling, but returned to boxing. “I won the regional Golden Gloves tournament, which reinvigorated my competitive passion for boxing.”

At Texas A&M as an undergraduate and the University of Texas Rio Grande as a graduate student, Mendoza founded boxing organizations on campus. He competed nationally. In 2024, as a first-year law student at UNT Dallas, he won his third national title. But Mendoza needed to put aside boxing and focus on his legal education, including a different kind of competition where he would later find additional success.

Mendoza credits one of his mentors, Dan McDonald, with encouraging him to box during law school. It was a difficult challenge. “I was juggling two things at once,” he said. Mendoza also credits Professor Cheryl Whatley, College of Law Director of Experiential Education, with valuable advice and a differing opinion. “The weight and precision of her words” had an enormous effect, Mendoza said. “I had to wake myself up at that moment,” Mendoza remembered.

Wake up he did. Not only did Mendoza concentrate more on classes, but he also participated in moot court and mock trial contests and explored internships. The idea was to get as much hands-on, real-world experience as possible. Like boxing, Mendoza thought, practice makes perfect in the legal arena, too. Among the internships he has held:

• Guerrero Law Offices, Attorney Roxane Guerrero
• Fighters First Management, Attorney Adrian Clark
• 195th Judicial District Court of Dallas County, Hon. Hector Garza

Back in the classroom, one of his favorite courses was about evidence, taught by Professor Eric Porterfield. “I met with him, prepped with him,” Mendoza said. “He taught me the rules of evidence are not concrete.” Porterfield also explained how judges score mock trials, held at UNT Dallas and other law schools across the state, and often sponsored by law firms.

Those lessons served as inspiration for multiple moot court and mock trial competitions during Mendoza’s second and third years. “To stand in front of appellate justices” in a moot court and “talk to jurors” in a mock trial were transformational experiences for Mendoza. “You have to anticipate objections the way you anticipate punches.”

Mendoza participated in five advocacy competitions over the past two years, finishing as a finalist in one and the co-winner of another.

• 2025 Kastl Law Mock Trial Competition (Intramural) with co-counsel Katelyn Mitchell; Topic: Murder; Outcome: Semi-Finalist
• 2025 Thompson Coburn Moot Court Competition (Intramural) with co-counsel Katelyn Mitchell; Topic: 4^th & 6^th Amendment; Outcome: Finalist
• 2026 Black Students Law Association Mock Trial Team; Topic: Murder; Shadow Team
• 2026 Kastl Law Mock Trial Competition (Intramural) with co-counsel Celeste Nava; Topic: Capital Murder; Outcome: Co-Champion
• 2026 South Texas Challenge Mock Trial Competition (Extramural) with co-counsel Charles “Chad” Deavers; Topic: Misappropriation of Trade Secret; Outcome: No placement

To be successful, Mendoza said, “You have to drive a forceful message.”

Recently, Mendoza had the opportunity to step into a real courtroom but declined. He received a jury duty summons from Dallas County but asked for a waiver because of his heavy workload. Mendoza looks forward to fulfilling his civic duty at a later date.

With that duty and responsibility of a future attorney-at-law come dedication to community service. It is a major part of the mission of UNT Dallas College of Law. Faculty, staff and students regularly engage with residents through two Community Lawyering Centers. They also hold clinics to provide free legal guidance, such as assisting with wills, trusts and estates, property taxes, and housing and zoning issues. And Professor Whatley runs the Joyce Ann Brown Innocence Clinic, which advocates on behalf of Texans who believe they have been wrongly convicted. “Sometimes it’s hard to see in the classroom,” Mendoza said, referring to what he witnessed by meeting community members and touring spots such as the historic Forest Theater (now undergoing renovation) and Bon Ton Farms, which grows produce and operates a restaurant.

All those efforts are part of the College’s commitment to making the law accessible to anyone. Breaking down barriers, supporting the underserved, offering a public service to neighbors in need. “Accessible law means explaining it” in ways that people can understand without being intimidated, said Mendoza.

He plans to continue volunteering and giving back to the community after he passes the bar exam and secures employment. He hopes to open a boxing gym in Dallas where kids will receive free lessons for showing report cards with good grades. Mendoza also wants to donate to the College of Law mock trial teams to support the very same programs that benefited him so greatly.

Along with accessibility to the legal system, Mendoza is also passionate about accountability. He plans to specialize in personal injury law, fighting for clients who are victims of big rig wrecks, faulty products, or other cases involving liability claims. “I want to help them understand the weight of a settlement or a verdict,” Mendoza said.

His services will include financial advice for those who need it. “I want to help clients manage their money better. They receive a sum and I can advise with planning” on how the funds should be spent, saved or invested, Mendoza said. That’s a switch from Mendoza’s earlier plans to work in sports and entertainment law. “You find out more about yourself over time,” he said.

What has also changed over the past three years of Mendoza’s law school journey is the explosion of AI. It is changing the legal field, as it is many other professions. “AI is a tool, like any other,” he said. “I push it to its limits and it gets things wrong. That shows I’m asking the right questions. I would never use it from a blank slate. There are serious ethical consequences,” Mendoza explained, relating to case preparation and the improper use of AI for research.

The human touch is important, Mendoza believes, whether in court, the community or in life. Skills learned in boxing translate to the law and life. The big three, he believes, are:

• Respect (for yourself and others)
• Resilience (internalize loss, learn from it, and move on)
• Prudence (think consequentially, game it out)

Mendoza needed a dose of his own advice (resilience) when he ran for president of the law school’s Hispanic Law Student Association and lost. “It hurt,” he said. But at the same time, it was rewarding. “I became empowered by all the eyes on me.”

Recently, eyes were on Mendoza again when he spoke during a testimonial video played at the UNT Dallas 15^th anniversary gala at Union Station. Mendoza and fellow 3L classmate Kristi Lichtenberg talked about the impact the College of Law has had on each of them. “Unlike a championship belt that can be taken away from you, an education cannot be taken away.”

Mendoza’s immediate goal is to prepare for the Texas bar exam in July and to serve as a clerk for a federal judge, which he is actively trying to secure. He might even have time to coach his future fiancée, who recently won a collegiate boxing tournament herself in a beginner category.

As Mendoza reflects on the challenges and opportunities of his law school journey, he is mindful of current challenges to the U.S. Constitution and opportunities to defend it and evolve it. “It is the supreme law of the land. We take an oath to uphold it,” Mendoza said. “It’s a living, breathing document that can adapt to modern times. We must understand it, cite it, and love it.”

Timely words, indeed, from a Trailblazer who has traded one ring for another — and is ready to come out swinging.