Local boxers aim for titles

Not everybody who walks into the R&C Boxing Club is there to be a world champion in boxing.

But they can be champions in other areas.

Many of the young men and women who enter dream of having more confidence or finding a safe place to escape from the gang violence that exists in the Tri-Cities. Some are there for a sense of family, while others are there for respect — to properly give it and especially to learn how to earn it.

Of course, if you walk through their doors within the Carniceria 3 Pueblos grocery store at 2203 West 4th Street in Kennewick, the dedicated coaches — Roy Castillo Jr., 42; Jesse Orlando Mercada Retana, 39; and Martin Zambrano Jr., 46 — will make you work, probably harder than you ever have in your life.

But there are lessons behind the labor at R&C — Righteous & Chosen — where a vision for a strong and safe community is just as important as the grueling physical training.

“It’s not just about the talent. We are building these kids so they can go back into the community and do for others,” Retana said. “We want community leaders to see the success we’ve had so they can realize we try as hard as anyone else.”

While not all of the members are there to pursue a career in boxing, a few of them do strive to achieve greatness in the ring.

Friday and Saturday, five R&C fighters — Luee Alvarado (132 pounds), Eric Mendoza (152), Jeremy Morales (114), Arturo Uriostegui (142) and Alexis Vega (142) — will represent the Tri-Cities at the 68th Golden Gloves tournament in Tacoma. The preliminary bouts will be held Friday at the Al Davies Boys & Girls Club, while the finals will be held Saturday at the University of Puget Sound Fieldhouse.

General admission is $16, while a floor seat will be $28.

Another R&C boxer, 14-year-old Faustino Romero — who finished third in his 114-pound bracket at the National Junior Golden Gloves tournament last July — will compete at the Junior Golden Gloves event for Washington state in February. He is ranked No. 1 in his class.

While a boxer from the Tri-Cities has never brought home a Golden Gloves championship, R&C coaches believe there’s a good chance that several of them could make history.

“I like our chances very well. We know the opponents, and we’ve got a few secret weapons,” said Zambrano, who studies over 40 hours of boxing film each week to give his fighters the best chance to win. “We’re very well known for our technical expertise.”

Alvarado, a 22-year-old Tri-Cites native who has fought in the Golden Gloves tournament twice before, is confident he can bring home a title.

“Every time I’ve gone to a Golden Gloves, I always lose in the first round to the guy who takes the whole thing,” Alvarado said. “I’m just ready for whatever comes. I just have to be the best me I can be. I’m going to be technically sound.

“I think I could be the fighter of the tournament.”

Morales, who won a Golden Gloves state title in Virginia last year and was a national Golden Gloves quarterfinalist, will make a run at his second consecutive state crown.

“I just moved here, so I don’t know any of the (opposing) fighters. I’ll just go in with the mindset of a championship,” Morales said. “I like working hard, outworking a guy and outsmarting him. I want to mentally beat him, and physically.”

Another fighter intent on making a name for himself is Uriostegui, a 26-year-old instrumentation technician at Energy Northwest. Not too long ago, he was a powerlifter who owned the state record for bench press in his age class. Now, he’s putting his efforts into boxing, a sport he’s admired since he was a child.

The Pasco High School graduate thinks his unique blend of speed and strength — along with an unbelievable work ethic — could make him a fighter to beat.

“Boxing was probably the only sport I can go pro in. I was too small for football or basketball,” said Uriostegui, who is 3-0 with a pair of knockouts, including an eight-second KO in his last fight. “You can come in here and cheat yourself, or you can come push yourself beyond your own limits. I do that every day. I’m fast, quick and really smart in the ring.

“If somebody is going to beat me, it would have to be by knockout. But for sure it won’t be by decision.”

Vega, a 20-year-old lefty, is as ferocious in his drive for knowledge as he is in the ring and will be a strong contender at 142 pounds. He has become a defacto coach, helping out the younger members at the club in any way he can, earning major respect from his trio of coaches.

Castillo describes Mendoza, 21, as “a natural. His body shots, man, you can hear them snap. I love body shots. We have a saying, if you win a fight with a body shot, I’ll buy you a steak dinner.”

Retana hopes the next step for R&C is to get a bigger space — their two combined training rooms allow for limited membership — and to look into getting some sanctioned fights in the Tri-Cities. The club starts the year with an operating budget of around $1,000 and takes in monthly dues of $20, but yearly travel costs alone can reach $20,000 or more.

Faith has been a big part of the club’s staying power — “This is God’s gym,” Castillo said — but coaches hope more community exposure and sponsorship would help its growth (they’re on Facebook under ‘R&C Boxing Club’).

Bringing home a Golden Gloves championship or two would be a great step in putting R&C Boxing Club on a much bigger map.

This story was originally published January 21, 2016 at 6:08 PM with the headline "Local boxers aim for titles."