Antonio Diaz & Indio Boxers in L.A.

Young amateurs fight in Championship Finals!

Last Wednesday Shane Mosley held a media workout showing the world he’s ready for his showdown against Sergio “The Latin Snake” Mora in their upcoming clash taking place September 18 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. At the Fortune Gym in Hollywood, “Sugar” Shane was quickly swallowed up by cameras, flash bulbs and microphones as he was besieged with questions about his next bout being held during the Bicentennial Independence Day weekend.

While everyone was jostling for position, I stepped back for a moment to get some air and chatted with Justin Fortune, Mysti Friedman and Joel Mills, who are all business partners of their spacious Fortune Gym. All three are looking forward to a good battle from the boxers as the watched the huge crowd of media continue to form around Shane. As I then headed back into the Mosley fold, five young boys quietly walked past me and stood nearby with their coaches as they observed the mob scene with everyone around them clamoring to get to Mosley. I recognized their trainer, fighter Antonio Diaz. He is with the Indio Boxing Team, out of the Indio Boys and Girls Club of the Coachella Valley.

Chatting with the team, I learn that this was a very special field trip so the boys could see Mosley on this pit stop before their weigh-ins for the Blue & Gold Tournament in Maywood. This is a four-day invitational tournament with the championship bouts being held today at the Maywood Activity Center.

Meet amateur sluggers Blane Serna, age 8, Dominic Serna Jr., age 11, Jacob Lerma, age 13, Javier Padilla, age 15 and Diego Madrigal, age 19, all representing the city of Indio.

These amateur boxers from the desert were excited to be in the heart of Hollywood and in close proximity to their ring hero. “Who’s gonna win on September 18? Mosley or Mora?” I quizzed the boys. One by one, each youngster answered, “Mosley!” So all five young fighters are picking Shane to win.

“Why do you think Mosley will win?” I ask them.

“Shane will win!” is the unanimous reply. “He’s the better fighter; he’s stronger!” they all chime in.

Mosley and the boys’ head trainer, fighter and former WBO and IBA champ Antonio Diaz, actually squared off against each other a decade ago. Still just in his early 30s, Diaz recently fought Victor Ortiz last December. And while he may have lost his battle with Antonio Margarito during his career, the welterweight can also claim victories against Micky Ward, Cory Spinks, Ivan Robinson, Emanuel Augustus and many others along the way to his 46-6-1 with 29 KOs record.

And the boys all look up to their trainer, whose siblings are also widely recognized in the boxing world. Antonio’s brothers are trainer Joel Diaz (one the the most underrated trainers around), former IBF Lightweight Champ Julio “The Kidd” Diaz (37-6, 26 KOs), and “Shaggy” (Jesus). Team Diaz is a big part of the Coachella Valley boxing community. Joel trains WBO champion Timothy Bradley and Timothy Bradley Sr. also helps train the amateur kids at their Indio gym.

With the boys gathered around me, I want to find out what they admire most about their trainer and pro fighter. “His speed, his power and his footwork!” they say. The youngest, Blane, echoes this and says, “Yeah! All three–that’s what I like about him.”

Fifteen-year-old Javier adds,”I like that he teaches us stuff and pays attention to us.” And of seeing his coach fight on TV, “Oh, I like how he brawls!”

“Is he a tough coach?” I tease the kids.

Jacob replies, “He CAN be tough if we do a lot of exercises but it’s fun!” And since Indio is near Palm Springs, I wonder out loud how they cope with those blazing 110 degree temperatures when they do their running.

“We do roadwork after practice on the track outside,” the 13-year-old tells me. “Or on hot, hot days we run in the gym on the basketball court.”

The boys say, “Our normal weather is 98 degrees!” Their training regimen also takes advantage of the dry desert surroundings as they hike and run through the mountains for great cardio workouts.

While talking to the kids and their coaches it’s obviously a close-knit group with boxing photographer Dominic Serna Sr. and Mark Lerma also traveling with the boys. Lerma, father of Jacob, raves about the enthusiasm for the youth boxing program. “We get great, full support from the Indio Boys and Girls Club; we have their logo on the boys’ trunks!” Mark comments. “Their boxing program has been going on for a while, I think they must have started it over 30 years ago.”

Their team has been very successful through the years and this current crop of fighters are already veterans of multiple Desert Showdown titles, Ringside World Championships, and an arm full of belts, trophies and medals for each child. Most of the boys have been boxing since they were old enough to lace up and really enjoy competing.

The littlest member, Blane, couldn’t wait to turn eight, the magic number when children are allowed to compete in USA boxing matches. His trainer Diaz says with a laugh, “Blane told us, ‘For my birthday, I don’t want a present–I just want my USA boxing license!'”

Antonio continues to tell me how the now 8-year-old got his nickname of “The Natural.” “We call him that because Blane tells us he’s so good, he doesn’t have to train!” explains their friendly coach. “He says his talent is all natural! He’s so funny. Now when we go to the store, he’ll tell us, ‘See? My name’s on everything!'” Diaz says the boy will point out food items that say all “natural” products, just like his nickname. “So he tells us, ‘See? My name is everywhere!'” Antonio says, shaking his head with a grin.

As the group continues to chuckle, the adults begin to round them up to head on over to Maywood. They were only able to see their hero Mosley from a far, as the deluge of media kept Shane busy, but the kids were still thrilled to be there.

After the Shane Mosley workout, I next joined the Indio kids this past Thursday night at the Maywood show, where Jacob Lerma got the first victory for the team. At this time, they’ve still got a busy few days ahead of them and I asked Dominic Sr., Mark and Antonio how their commute’s been going back and forth from the Palm Springs area to L.A. They said Wednesday through Friday they commuted back and forth but will now be staying in town through this weekend. They’ve had bouts every single night against some of the top amateur prospects in the U.S. and international ranks.

Their hard work has paid off; eleven-year-old Dominic Jr. and 19-year-old Diego Madrigal fought today in the championship finals. So far, so good. I just heard from Dominic Serna Sr. and he shares some good news from Sunday’s finals: “Dominic is now a two-time back-to-back Blue & Gold Champion!” Diego will fight later this afternoon as the camp hopes to add one more honor for the Indio Boxing Team.

If you’d like to check out all the boys from Indio, today is the last day of the tournament–so head on down to Maywood to see some these young warriors and future champs in action!

Congratulations to the Indio Boxing Team and to each and every fighter in the Blue & Gold.

2010 Blue & Gold Tournament

Maywood Activity Center
4801 E. 58th Street
Maywood, CA 90270

Photos by Michele Chong/ Additional Photos: Indio Boxing Team/ Mountain Training by Dominic Serna