Boxing renaissance? Growth of gyms show sport making comeback along the coast

Boxing in Corpus Christi has seen a recession over the decades. However, its turbulent economy appears to be making a slow comeback.

The 1980s and 90s heralded the golden era of boxing in Corpus Christi. Local legends such as Roberto Elizondo, Jesse Benavides, Frankie Warren and Lupe Suarez made their way to the worldwide stage of televised events.

Benavides says the heyday of 3,000 fans cheering for their hometown hero are gone, much like the legendary Memorial Coliseum on Shoreline Boulevard that once held them.

Enthusiasm for the sport faded in the early 2000s, said 67-year-old Lester Bedford, a longtime boxing promoter based in Plano and president of the Texas Boxing Hall of Fame.

As older coaches and fans died, gyms closed, the talent pool ran dry and the next generation didn’t pick up the torch.

“Maybe it’s because they didn’t see it as consistent,” he said. “It’s not their fault.”

Promoters moved fights to casinos and Las Vegas seeking more attractive offers including free venues and lodging. Corpus Christi couldn’t compete.

Much has changed with the local boxing community since Benavides began his career around five decades ago, but his journey to the ring is still reminiscent of today’s amateur boxers.

“It was real humble beginnings,” said Benavides, now 59 and a Corpus Christi native. “It (his first gym) was just carpet and walls.”

In the mid-1970s, Benavides found his way to Bobby Garza’s boxing club by following his older brother and friends who he saw walking out of their neighborhood, in the housing authority, without him. He decided to tag along when they told him they were headed to the local boxing gym.

The gym was really a room attached to a barber shop off Ayers Street with two punching bags, two speed bags and fist holes in the walls.

Against his coach’s advice, he faced his first opponent in Alice after a mere week of training.

He lost.

Later Benavides went on to have one of the most successful amateur careers in Corpus Christi, winning three straight National Golden Glove titles in different weight divisions.

After just missing out on qualifying for the 1984 Olympics, he became a professional boxer, winning the WBO Super Bantam Weight Title, the USBA Super Bantam Title and the NABF Super Bantam Title.

He retired with with a record of 40-5-1.

Benavides said he thinks Corpus Christi can still be a good place to grow hometown heroes in the sport.

Amateur boxing has seen an increase in popularity within the past five years, according to Sabrina Luis, secretary at the South Texas Boxing Association (STABA).

There are currently 29 gyms and more than 400 active boxers and coaches in the Coastal Bend and Victoria.

More gyms means more competition, which is “a blessing,” said Richard Rodriguez, head coach and founder of Gollihar Neighborhood Boxing Center.

It also means more opportunities for Corpus Christi boxers to rise to stardom.

Julian Delgado, a 22-year-old out of the Corpus Christi Police Officers Association gym, recently won the National Golden Gloves championship. He was the first local to do so since Benavides.

“You got to be a really good fighter to win at that level of amateur boxing,” Bedford said. “That talent pool will help bring more televised events in the future.”

So why have more gyms recently sprouted up in South Texas?

"I've been asking myself that same question," 31-year-old amateur boxer Jenelle Leal said.

According to Rodriguez, most boxers make their way to the gym through word-of-mouth.

That’s how Leal originally found her way into the Gollihar gym’s unique quonset hut 19 years ago. She is the first female fighter to be trained by Rodriguez.

Leal said she thinks organizations such as STABA have also played a role in growth locally by advertising events.

Nationally, social media accounts and live streaming events have helped promote the sport, according to Bedford. Even MMA has a surprising part in generating interest in boxing by promoting combative sports.

Interest in boxing has waxed and waned over the years, however, Corpus Christi has remained a “great fight town,” according to Bedford.

On September 15, Mexico's Luis Alberto Lopez will defend his IBF featherweight title against Joey Gonzalez at the American Bank Center. The Top Rank show will be aired on ESPN.

Winning the Top Rank bid was a big step towards reviving community enthusiasm the sport, according to Bedford.

“Hopefully that’s the start of Corpus Christi’s (boxing) revitalization,” Bedford said.

This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Growth of boxing gyms show sport is resurging in Corpus Christi