For a boxing gym, The Robert Garcia Boxing Academy sure makes you feel at ease. The aforementioned man after whom the gym is named has had a notable boxing career; with thirty-seven wins and a meager three losses, this impressive winning ratio parallels the success of the Academy. Robert has fortified the skill and conviction of fighters such as Antonio Margarito, Brandon Rios, Nonito Donaire, Kelly Pavlik, and Marcos Maidana, just to name a few in a punch.
Former UFC Heavyweight, Champion Cain Velasquez, has also honed his boxing prowess at the Academy. With all the accomplished star fighters and undefeated Featherweight, Lightweight, Super Featherweight and Super Bantamweight prospects, the Robert Garcia Boxing Academy is clearly a rapidly growing boxing gym to contend with. However, what is most impressive about the gym is the camaraderie and welcoming disposition in which it operates. When I first visited the gym knowing well of its capable fighters and champions, I was completely disarmed by the handshakes and greetings of everyone in my vicinity.
Whether professional or amateur, prominent or your local Oxnard kid, everyone acknowledges each other with the same respect he or she bestows on the sport. There was a group of us joking around with Robert Garcia and Brandon Rios, which Kelly Pavlik later joined upon arrival for training. Robert seamlessly wrapped Pavlik’s hands and transitioned from playful banter to an undeterred and focused trainer inside the ring as easy as a guest is made feel welcomed on the premises.
Calling The Robert Garcia Boxing Academy simply a gym is inadequate though, for the Academy is more like an organism; responding to the need for competent training, every cell doing its part in keeping the Academy in optimum health, and continually growing while developing a good relationship with the Oxnard community and the boxing world at large.
Written by Jose Caballero – Twitter: @Dorktor
