At the start of my freshman year, I had a lot of goals. To name a few: get good grades, eat my way through Los Angeles food trucks, and try to remember to call my mom every once in a while. I also made a promise to my best friend: I would learn to box.
You see, my best friend Andrew and I had a childhood dream of opening a boxing gym, and we haven’t let that dream go. Andrew has been in the ring all his life, and I always went to watch his fights. The plan was that I would design and build the gym and then we would train the boxers together. We formulated this idea in the seventh grade, and I didn’t give much thought to it until the beginning of my second semester when I saw a flyer for the USC Boxing Club and knew immediately that I had to check it out.
Squaring up with Andrew and George The Tire-Biter!
I walked into the Physical Education Building on a Monday night in January not knowing what to expect. I’ll admit, at the first practice I was a little intimidated, but as I went to more and more practices I realized that the club consists of fighters of all levels. The head coach, Ramon, assured me that if I put in the time and effort, he would teach me all I needed to know. Sure enough, I was soon invited to practice at the gym off-campus. This garage-turned-boxing gym in Pico-Union seemed like something from a movie. The story behind the gym is that the Pico-Union Housing Company offered to provide USC Boxing with three abandoned garages, which were converted into a gym. In exchange for free rent, the club agreed to open the gym to the neighborhood.
One of the main reasons I love boxing is that in addition to training with USC athletes, I have the opportunity to work with kids from the areas surrounding USC. Another great benefit is that it helps me stay in shape! It’s also nice to get a break from studying and learn a skill that will help me start my own boxing gym someday. Through this club, I’ve discovered something that I truly enjoy, and that I’m really excited to continue in the future, as I hope to compete next semester in intercollegiate competitions.
I hope you enjoyed my view on USC Boxing, and be sure to stop by the gym if you’re interested! Fight On!
-Jose
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