Boxing Gyms:An Imitation Of The Fighter
Posted: 02 Jan 2008, 18:32
When I was coaching high school football in San Diego,I would take some of the linemen to watch the Chargers practice. Their training camp was on the campus of the University of California at San Diego. Pro football has it all. They had their own training facility:row after row of Olympic weights,dumb bells,Nautilus machines,dozens of whirl pools. They had medical rooms with licensed doctors. Carpeted floors,cases of tape(50 grand on tape alone),therapists,computers,film rooms:It was just for the Chargers.
About 20 years ago J.C. Chavez was going to defend his title against Danilo Cabrera at the race track in Tijuana. Me and a friend wanted to see him train. We crossed the border and drove to a municipal facility called the CREA where Chavez supposedly was working out. I asked where Chavez was and was told that the boxing gym was under the soccer bleachers.
I couldn't believe it. Dark,small,old torn gear. The place had that gym smell where the sweat from the fighters was in the leather and canvas . It was hard breathing. At the time Chavez was the most famous fighter around. I looked at my friend,"Can you believe the best fighter in the world trains in a place like this?" The place filled up pretty fast and made it even more uncomfortale. As we were driving back across the border,I was thinking of the Chargers. Boxing facilities and Pro Football camps are on the opposite sides of the spectrum.
One of the trainers at the Charger camp told me that football players have about 800 dollars worth of gear on. Fighters? Trunks,boxing shoes,and a jockey cup. No protection for their face,arms,stomach. Just the Jockey cup.
In the 50's and 60's Gaspar Ortega was a very popular fighter in Tijuana. I think he lived in Colonia Morelos,a plain modest neighborhood.After a fight in New York or Vegas,he'd drive through town in his convertable,a blond on each side of him.
I heard the city built a boxing gym with his name in one of the city parks. I found it one day. It was about 100 feet from the border in the Zona Norte where Erik Morales has his little gym. There were a few kids in the park. The gym had written on the side Gaspar Ortega Gimnasio. You could see where some kids had grafittied over his name. The gym looked closed. A couple of windows were broken. There were a lot of weeds around the place.
With the exception of a guy like Mayweather,boxing gyms representnt the image of the fighter. Nothing fancy,no complaints,just the basics. I heard Ortega is working with fighters in New York. I hope he doesn't come back to Tijuana to see his gym.
About 20 years ago J.C. Chavez was going to defend his title against Danilo Cabrera at the race track in Tijuana. Me and a friend wanted to see him train. We crossed the border and drove to a municipal facility called the CREA where Chavez supposedly was working out. I asked where Chavez was and was told that the boxing gym was under the soccer bleachers.
I couldn't believe it. Dark,small,old torn gear. The place had that gym smell where the sweat from the fighters was in the leather and canvas . It was hard breathing. At the time Chavez was the most famous fighter around. I looked at my friend,"Can you believe the best fighter in the world trains in a place like this?" The place filled up pretty fast and made it even more uncomfortale. As we were driving back across the border,I was thinking of the Chargers. Boxing facilities and Pro Football camps are on the opposite sides of the spectrum.
One of the trainers at the Charger camp told me that football players have about 800 dollars worth of gear on. Fighters? Trunks,boxing shoes,and a jockey cup. No protection for their face,arms,stomach. Just the Jockey cup.
In the 50's and 60's Gaspar Ortega was a very popular fighter in Tijuana. I think he lived in Colonia Morelos,a plain modest neighborhood.After a fight in New York or Vegas,he'd drive through town in his convertable,a blond on each side of him.
I heard the city built a boxing gym with his name in one of the city parks. I found it one day. It was about 100 feet from the border in the Zona Norte where Erik Morales has his little gym. There were a few kids in the park. The gym had written on the side Gaspar Ortega Gimnasio. You could see where some kids had grafittied over his name. The gym looked closed. A couple of windows were broken. There were a lot of weeds around the place.
With the exception of a guy like Mayweather,boxing gyms representnt the image of the fighter. Nothing fancy,no complaints,just the basics. I heard Ortega is working with fighters in New York. I hope he doesn't come back to Tijuana to see his gym.
