Miami Herald - June 2, 2005
Elysa Batista, ebatista@herald.com

The seventh grader is one of several young men training at the South Dade Boxing Gym in Homestead. He is heading to the Southeast Coast USA Boxing Regional Junior Olympic Tournament in Georgia today.

"After school I come straight to the gym," Chris said . "This is a sport of discipline. You really can't miss a day of training, because it's not the same when you come back."

The walls of the gym, at 13600 SW 312th St., are covered with pictures of Muhammad Ali, Evander Holyfield, Julio Cesar Chavez, Oscar De La Hoya and Tito Trinidad.

The gym is part of a drug- and HIV-prevention initiative sponsored by Sembrando Flores [Planting Flowers], an HIV-AIDS ministry for Latinos in South Miami-Dade County.

Behind the ring there is a mural of the Virgin of Guadalupe, along with numerous sayings, including a gym favorite: "It's better to sweat here than bleed on the streets."

Most of the young pugilists are first- and second-generation migrants firmly rooted in the United States. They range in age from 8 to the early 20s, and a devotion to boxing is their common thread. All of them hope to follow in the footsteps of boxing's greatest.

"You have to love this. If you don't -- leave," said Orlando Gonzalez, 17, an 11th grader at Homestead Senior High who's been boxing for four years. "It's dangerous and you can get hurt."

After Corey Pennington's first sparring match five years ago, his grandfather told him he could quit.

"I came home with my nose broken and my lips split," said Pennington, 18, whose first professional fight will be June 28. "The next day I was back. It became a passion."

The young men have to learn how to schedule and set priorities in order to keep up with their other responsibilities.

"It's hard, but school is still No. 1," said Orlando, who works out six days a week for three to four hours.

Coach Gustavo De La Paz, 48, stresses to the youths that they need to continue their studies.

Along with discipline and physical skills, the program aims to steer the young men away from drugs and off the streets.

"It's a very tough and very disciplined sport," said De La Paz, a native of Mexico City. "It's the art of defense and attack. I try to teach them to be good boxers and good students."

He tells them that "the greatness of a true boxer is shown through his humility," not through his endorsement deals. The message is painted on a wall.

"All I can do is set a good example," said De La Paz, who coaches for free.

Many of the boxers' friends have tried the sport, but few stick with it.

"They think it's cool," Chris said. "They watch, but don't stay."

After a long day of school and training, most have the same schedule: homework, dinner and sleep.

The young boxers are determined to make something of themselves, and to make the training pay off.

Retired postal worker Jose Narvaez, 65, said the gym is a place where he can bond with his two grandsons, Pennington and John Todd, 8, a second grader at Peskoe Elementary.

"I'd rather have them here than on the street," said Narvaez, a native of Ecuador.

Narvaez said he considers boxing a good way to learn about what's important in life: perseverance, dedication and responsibility for one's actions.

"Boxing is a good pastime," he said. "If they make it to the top, hallelujah, but if they don't they still have their education."

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