Page 22 - Mid Valley Times 8-15-19 E-edition

Thursday, August 15, 2019
| B10 |
Mid Valley TiMes
BOXING
Continued from B1
Betancourt, who worked with community youth for years, may still return at some point but rumor has it he got a job that leaves very little extra time. But coach David Valenzuela was there that night, of- fering tips and pointers and defining the impor- tance of boxers believing in themselves.
Boxers began to show up as the night pro- gressed. One of them was Khalid Ziadeh, 24.
Many of the young boxers noticed. Ziadeh’s a heavyweight at 201 pounds of solid muscle. “I’m going to go pro,” he said. “I may also drop down in weight.”
And Manuel Manzo Cortes, better known as Chaparrito, also made an appearance, sharing his expertise and trying to stay off his injured ankle but not doing such a good job of it. He pointed out that he, Johnathan Es- pinoza, 17, and Cristal Cuellar, 14, are the three amigos because of similar injuries.
Espinoza wasn’t there. Nor was Carolina Briones, 15, who everybody said is more than ready to fight and make her mark in girls competition.
But Cuellar showed up a little late and imme- diately began pummel- ing the speed bag in the Sanger Youth Center at 818 L St. Early on, some of the coaches had said she hadn’t exactly honed her fighting edge and per- haps wasn’t ready to begin amateur bouts. But Cuel- lar put that to rest.
“I’m ready,” she said. “The confidence is there. Back then, I don’t know, (I thought) ‘I’m not ready.’”
But Cuellar’s ankle still needs time to heal. And, judging by her workout ethic, it won’t be long be- fore she’s looking for op- ponents at other clubs.
Coach Mario Garcia said he’s trying to con- vince Cuellar to register for official fights. “She’s got the eye of the tiger,” he said.
Alex Soto worked out next to her, beating a heavy bag attached to the wall. He worked up a sheen of sweat as he landed combination after combination. He said he’s planning to fight at 72 or 75 pounds.
“I’m getting ready for Salinas,” he said of an up- coming trip planned by the Sanger club. “My con- fidence is pretty high.”
Influencing the young fighters to at least some degree was the continued success of Avenal’s Jose Ramirez, who consoli- dated the World Boxing Council and World Box- ing Organization super light titles by beating Maurice Hooker by tech- nical knockout July 27 in Arlington. Ramirez, who is a fixture in Fresno, has compiled a 25-0 record. He beat Jose Zepeda Feb. 10 at the Save Mart Cen- ter.
In the ring early that evening, Alyssa Samo- rano sparred with several of the up-and-coming girl fighters. She held back. A little.
With Alexis Meraz, 11, she sparred like she meant it. Both wore pro- tective head gear. And
Meraz gave as good as she got. Mostly.
Afterward, she was out of breath but still pumped up. “I’ve been here three months,” she said of her time with the club and boxing. “I actually love it. Mario, he’s a great coach. He treats us with respect. He tells us when we’re do- ing good.”
And he gave tips on technique.
Alexis explained her mindset when sparring. “I just pretend it’s a box- ing bag or someone I don’t like,” she said. “But we’re friends.”
She and Alyssa em- braced after the training bout. No hard feelings.
“We’re setting them up for bouts,” Albert Samorano said, referring to all his fighters who are ready. “We’re expecting a championship belt in Sali- nas. We’ve got at least 10 boxing shows this year.”
Steven Soto, one of the group that piled out of Coach Samorano’s crew cab, and Pedro Lucero did a series of workout warmups that had them dripping sweat by the time they finished. They explained the complexi- ties of the process, which involved pushup combina- tions with jumps and an- other series of step jumps.
“Pretty hard,” Soto said. He’s the relative newcomer in Samorano’s group. He’s only been training six months.
He said he usually spars with Izak Samorano. Garcia’s two sons train at the gym. Alexander “Alex” Garcia, 9, said he’s been at it about a year and a half and is just starting to feel comfortable. He
Mike Nemeth / Mid Valley Times
The Sanger Boxing Club has been visiting other clubs in the central San Joaquin Valley to improve their fighting skills. The club has gotten two new coaches, Mario Garcia and Albert Samorano.
wore bright green shoes. “It’s kind of fun,” he said after getting his hands taped up. “Sometimes.”
His brother, Mario Israel Garcia, 11, under- stood that feeling. “It was tough,” he said. “(But) I got used to it. I trained re- ally hard and got better.”
Mario Garcia said the boys’ mom, Carina Andriz, also helps out with coach- ing duties when she’s not coaching soccer.
Garcia said the kids also get the benefits of having mentors like Chap- arrito and Ziadeh working out with them. And he said he’s been posting videos that show sparring ses- sions between the kids. (See Sanger future stars on YouTube.) “You can check our kids to see how they’re doing,” he said. “How they’re growing.”
The club is also trav- eling to spar with other clubs. The week previous found the Sanger boxers
in Orosi, and this particu- lar week they had trav- eled to Parlier. “We want to get that exposure,” Garcia said. “We’re new coaches, so we want to learn. We want our kids to learn. We’re learning together so the kids know we mean business.”
Chaparrito has a bout Nov. 9 in Bakersfield. “They called me today,” he said. “I’m taking it. It’s a good opportunity to ex- pand and grow.”
Cortes said maintain- ing a boxing regimen is like a second job — but one with dividends even without pay. “It’s a gas tank that fills you up,” he said. “There’s a meaning to what you do. I come here every day. At the end of the day, it’s my dream. My passion. You have to believe in yourself. If you’re not 100 percent, you’re going to get hurt.”
Cortes always offers an encouraging word or
a tip to the young fight- ers of the Sanger club. At about 120 pounds, he’s not a big guy. And he relates to them and what they’re going through no matter what stage of the training process they’re in.
Cortes said boxing is 80 percent mental and 20 percent physical. He said falling and getting up may be one of the best lessons. “Sometimes when you lose, you win because you learned from the experi- ence,” he said.
Coach Samorano said his boxers are improving every day. He said they give whatever he and Coach Garcia ask. “Then they give us more,” he said. “It’s going to get bet- ter, believe me. The kids are here for a reason. They push us.”
The reporter can be contact- ed by email at nemethfeatures@ gmail.com or at (559) 875-2511.
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