Spotlight on the Future Stars

 WHO SAYS BOXING IS A DYING SPORT?

Not the tens of thousands of amateur boxers across the U.S. and beyond who spend the majority of their time sharpening their skills in the sweet science.

The sport of boxing shows no sign of slowing down as evidenced by the droves of young males and females competing at the recent 10th Annual Desert Showdown–the biggest competition taking place in California. Known officially as the 2011 Desert Showdown Lonsdale World Championships, the event preceded the Junior Golden Gloves in Mesquite, Nevada and the Junior Olympic National Championships and U.S. Olympic Team Trials that just occurred in Mobile, Alabama, and the huge Ringside World Championships that will begin this Monday in Kansas City.

With this hot streak happening in amateur boxing, I attended the Desert Showdown held at the Spotlight 29 Casino in Coachella to take a look at some of boxing’s best amateurs, who very well may be our future Olympians or next big superstars in the ring. The 2012 London Olympic Games are fast approaching; this will be the first year women boxers will be allowed to compete. Boxing’s gained a lot of steam with the Desert Showdown breaking attendance records.

Let me describe what the scene was like at these intense duels in the desert. Picture three rings constantly bursting with activity with almost 1,000 boxers competing over the four-day marathon sanctioned by USA Boxing. Bells are sounded every few minutes as the trio of boxing rings rotate the youth, who have come from regions near and far to compete. Waves of loud cheers rumble from the maximum capacity crowd with over 2,000 spectators gathering into the Spotlight Showroom each and every day. It is non-stop activity at all times for ages 8-35 and also up to the spry age of 74 in the Masters’ Division with large video screens broadcasting the action.

I immediately recognized several trainers and faces from the pro scene including champions Hasim Rahman (whose two sons are amateur boxers), Timothy Bradley, Antonio Diaz (fighting this Friday at Fantasy Springs), Efrain Esquivias, Randy Caballero, MMA fighter Manny Gamburyan, female MMA fighter and Olympian Ronda Rousey, along with trainers Robert Garcia (Nonito Donaire, Brandon Rios, Antonio Margarito, etc.), Joel Diaz (Tim Bradley), Rodrigo Mosquera (Gary Russell Jr.), Victor Valenzuela (Rhonda Luna), Edmond Tarverdyan (Vanes Martirosyan), Stan Ward (with amateur star Lisa Porter), Maywood’s Mario Morales (John Molina Jr.), Steve Quinonez Sr., among others.

Chatting with many of the boxing aficionados, word spread quickly about who to look out for–pound-for-pound top talents that are already showing real star power: twelve-year-old Rommel Caballero and teen sensation Julian Rodriguez from back east really had the crowd buzzing.

Visiting with coach Joel Chavez from Fabela Chavez Boxing Club, he and his crew of young charges were celebrating a victory–and a birthday that day. Little Cesar Mercado turned 10 the day of his championship match. Winning was just icing on the cake for the boy.

While talking to the Chavez group, amateur standout Saul Rodriguez stopped by to say hi. The Riverside talent is getting ready for his pro debut and Joel (whose son Isaac fights) says he remembers when Saul was just a small boy. Following the amateurs, I’ve watched the kids get taller and taller while their records boast victory after victory. I asked the guys what percent of the amateur boxers continue on as adults. “Maybe 25 percent,” they think. Making a successful run after an amateur career can be a difficult transition for some.

But there were several pro fighters there that inspired the little champs. Champions Tim Bradley, Efrain Esquivias (who will be vying for the NABF Super Bantamweight title on August 19) and Randy Caballero are three local guys who’ve made it big time. The kids look up to them and clamored for photos and autographs from their heroes. “We have the ‘Desert Storm’ visiting the Desert Showdown,” show founder Ralph Romero said with a laugh.

“And Randy was our very first BCR Champ,” the Desert Showdown founder proudly told me while we watched Caballero greet the fans. The Coachella fighter has an unbeaten streak of 12-0 and is already a WBC Youth Intercontinental Super Bantamweight Champ. His brothers Ryan and Rommel Caballero are amateur rising stars as well. Romero still remembers Randy’s sizzling performances from previous years at this epic tourney.

And his prestigious tournament may expand in the next year. While we chat, Ralph reveals that he has big plans for the next showdown.

“We are thinking of having competitions in Fresno, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, and the Solvang circuit,” the Thermal Boxing Club supporter says. ” And then all the winners will fight here–and we’ll see who is really the best of the best.”

His four-day event boasted over 10,000 fans who all came out to cheer on the future stars of the fight game. And the number of boxers has also ballooned through the years especially since they’ve merged with Ringside.

“We had almost 1,000 entries from all over,” Ralph shares, “including the U.S. plus Mexico, Puerto Rico, Canada, Florida, Texas and more!” Romero and Angel Ochoa from the World Boxing Council’s Legends of Boxing Museum presented the special brand new Bert Colima Romero (BCR) WBCares belts (“Give it to him, Colima!”) to three victors showcased during the weekend, in association with the WBC’s Jose Sulaiman, Mauricio Sulaiman and Jill Diamond of World Boxing Council Cares nonprofit. Xavier Montelongo Jr. claimed his very last victory as an amateur in this BCR final. The teenager will now turn pro in his debut soon.

And as I can tell from these various competitions, boxing shows absolutely no sign of slowing down–IT IS THRIVING.

In fact, I noticed this year an even larger number of little girls lacing up. With their pigtails and pink satin robes, the female fighters are coming on strong too.

For these small sharpshooters, while other kids are playing soccer and T-Ball, they are choosing the fight game as their sport of choice. And they all have dedicated families behind them. Boxing’s not for the weak of heart as long, long hours are put in at the gym and while waiting around at weigh-ins and fights. Through the triumphs I also see plenty of heartbreak and tears as they sometimes suffer defeat inside the ropes.

Eating a steady diet of “knuckle sandwiches” is not for everyone. The parents must watch their children hit other kids–and get hit–while growing into skilled disciples of the sweet (or bittersweet?) science. But it is a way of life for many.

And along the way, I’ve met so many “championship families” who are dedicated to USA Boxing. Official Delilah Rico’s kids, Denise and Damien, are well-known in the ranks; Damien just won a silver medal at the National Junior Olympics. And fellow officials Henry and Kathy Garcia’s young sons Ryan and Sean are already multiple amateur champs.

And the Serna family with eight kids are also familiar faces in the circuit. Michelle and Dominic Serna Sr. (a ringside boxing photographer) and their sons, Dominic Jr. (Lil D) and Blane are amateur champions too who train with Antonio Diaz at the Indio Boys & Girls Club. The Sernas even opened up their home to the three fighting Morales brothers (Fabian, Martin and Aaron) from Oklahoma and Alfredo Escarsega from Arizona who came out to battle in the Desert Showdown–and took home championship belts for their efforts. “They’re all about the same age and weight class so they got to spar with each other too,” Dominic Sr. tell me. “Their fathers and I became friends through Ringside. So the boys came out here for the summer to train with the Diaz brothers. They all got along great; it was a big honor to have them live here with us. And when we weren’t training we had fun at beach. They trained hard–and then played hard!”

Next up will be the Ringside tournament as the kids all travel to Missouri.

These tournament proves to be worthwhile–whether or not the miniature combatants win or not. Teaching discipline, sportsmanship and hard work while keeping the kids off the streets is one of the best assets of amateur boxing.

World Boxing Hall of Fame’s Josie Mejia summed it up best. “Win or lose,” said the boxing coordinator from the Bell Gardens PAL Boxing Club, “they did their very best.”

As the amateurs continue their winning ways, here’s a salute to our future in boxing–with some exclusive pics from the showdown.

See you at the fights!

Photos by Michele Chong