Outdoor Community Event in Pasadena
The 2024 Centennial Square Boxing Show was a big hit in the City of Pasadena. This yearly Southern California event takes place in August and brings out a huge crowd of all ages.
It’s one of my favorite summer shows and the perfect way to spend an evening under the stars while watching some competitive amateur bouts. There were 12 matches taking place on August 23 with boxing clubs coming in from various cities to take place in this exciting show hosted by the City of Pasadena Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department. The host gym was the Pasadena Boxing Club with longtime trainer Fausto De La Torre of the Villa Parke Community Center. The well-respected boxing coach continues to train the youngsters, teenagers and young adults as he has for the past 27 years and their program continues to flourish.
The historic Pasadena City Hall made a beautiful backdrop behind the large boxing ring in the center of the square. There was a red carpet as the athletes made their way to the canvas. Accompanied by their coaches, each fighter walked out to music and smoke effects as their friends and family cheered them on.
Both male and female boxers of various ages laced up, going toe to toe against their foes. Many close matchups were witnessed and every participant won a belt or a medal. And whether or not the evening ended in a victory or a defeat, the combatants earned respect from the audience. Boxing is a great outlet to keep the youth off the streets and away from crime. The boxing trainers often mentor the kids and teens while the amateurs also learn self defense and skills that will give them confidence as they learn the ropes. Some amateur fighters have Olympic dreams while others hope to someday turn pro like their famous heroes.
But for now, these USA Boxing-sanctioned shows are a way to learn their craft and earn each and every “W” after training and putting countless hours in the gym.
This 9th annual Centennial Square Boxing Show in the “Crown City” is always a highly anticipated event. There was a live DJ and the atmosphere makes it a spirited outdoor bash. And, best of all, the City Hall show is FREE for all the attendees. It was a great evening watching some outdoor boxing.
And the hordes of fans lined the ring and applauded for their favorites. Besides the host club (Pasadena Boxing Club), there were also amateurs from Palmdale YAL, Stockton, Ontario, Durango, New Era, John’s, The Shop, Showtime, Tryad, Prevail, Immortal, Undefeated, All Hands, City of Angels, and more. SoCal has a lot of talented punchers; amateur outings such as these are a way for fans to catch these future champs as they punch their way to glory.
The spectators were treated to some very entertaining matches as the young sluggers came out to win. I also caught up with a couple of pro fighters in the red and blue corners with their protégés. Christian Camarena trains out of the Pasadena Boxing Club and is unbeaten with nine wins as a professional prizefighter; he was in the corner for a few of the matches. Also cornering was Adam “Blunose” Lopez, who has 17 victories as he rises thru the pro ranks. Both men watched their boxers win their matches as the night continued.
I also caught up with some of USA Boxing’s best including Dick Jones, Joe Zanders, Delilah Rico, Pat Zanders, Stella Livingston (whose son DonYil Livingston is a former amateur champ and pro fighter), Sonya Livingston, Sam Larios (whose son is amateur boxer Sam “Bam” Larios III) and more.
Check out some of the highlights from the 2024 show and congrats to all the fighters!
Photos by Michele Chong