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DARLENE VINSON
THE MID-COUNTY MEMO
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| At the Olympic-style amateur boxing rumble held last month are members of Knott Street Boxing, from left, Corey Hill, age 15; Narek Tifekchin, age 14; Darius Hill, age 12 and Kwasean Akam, age 11. Corey Hill, a student at Reynolds, recently won the silver medal in his weight class at the Junior Olympics National Championships. Knott Street Boxing members participated and also presented the event. |
there, as did a host of national Amateur Athletic Union champs and Olympic hopefuls.
Knott Street Boxing is alive and well thanks to the efforts of people like Joel Caldera, a Parkrose restaurateur, amateur boxer and coach. (“Mid-County restaurateur puts up his dukes and does it for the kids and community,” Dec. 2002, www.midcountymemo.
com/dec02_boxing.html).
One afternoon last month, Caldera hosted an Olympic-style boxing rumble in the parking lot behind the business he operates, Catalina’s Mexican Restaurant, at 10902 N.E. Sandy Blvd.
The event included fighters from Rottweiller Boxing in Tacoma, Capitol Boxing of Salem, Grand-Olympic Boxing of Northeast Portland, Azteca Boxing in Renton, Wash., West Portland Boxing of Beaverton and Shamrock Boxing out of Eugene as well as Knott Street. With seven bouts on the schedule and boxers from 8 to adult competing, spectators enjoyed a broad range of skill levels, weight classes and styles. The fighters expressed a variety of reasons for taking up the sport.
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| Ramon Villa, left, with Capitol Boxing out of Salem, mixes it up with Jesus Soto, Rottweiller Boxing from Tacoma. Referee is Jarrett Rose, West Portland Boxing. Villa won this bout by judges’ decision. These little men are 11 years of age and compete in the 80 lb. division. |
Caldera’s 12-year-old son, Lorenzo, who fights at 80 lbs., represented Knott Street Boxing on the card. He won his bout against Carson Rose of West Portland Boxing Club to extend his record to 15-0.
The modest Parkrose Middle School seventh-grader said boxing is hard work, but it pays off. He said he is stronger, and the self-discipline he learns from the sport translates well to managing his time for schoolwork. When asked if his classmates know about his boxing success he said, “I don’t brag. If they ask me, I tell them.”
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| (right) Fidel Soto, right, with Rottweiller Boxing, takes one on the chin from Marcos Santos, Capitol Boxing. Soto won this bout. These little men are 8 years old and compete in the 55 lb. weight class. This bout and six other Olympic-style boxing matches were held last month in the parking lot of Catalina’s Mexican Restaurant at 10902 N.E. Sandy Blvd. in Parkrose. |
Another Knott Street boxer, Corey Hill, age 15, earned a silver medal at the Junior Olympic National Championships in Marquette, Mich., in June. Hill, a student at Reynolds High School, said he boxes because he’s good at it and enjoys it. His training includes two hours at the gym Monday through Friday and running for about an hour a day. Parent volunteer Marshal Akam, whose son also boxes at Knott Street, described Hill as a “trustworthy kid who mentors the younger ones and steers them away from trouble.”
Corey’s younger brother, Darius Hill, 12, Kwasean Akam, age 11, and David Douglas High freshman Narek Tifekchin were introduced along with Corey as boxers to watch. Tifekchin cautioned kids who might be thinking of taking up boxing that “practices are grueling. It’s hard work, but worth it.” Each of these young men dreams of turning pro one day. If they stay at it, the legacy of Knott Street will live on.
To satisfy your own pugilistic dreams, check out one of these clubs: Knott Street Boxing Club at Matt Dishman Community Center, 77 N.E. Knott St., 503-823-3673, or closer to Mid-county, the Grand-Olympic Boxing Club at 8333 N.E. Russell St., 503-235-9559.
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| Josh Lopez, left, Rottweiller Boxing, deflects a jab from Marcellino Ponce, Capitol Boxing. Lopez won this bout by judges’ decision. These young men are 15 years old, fighting at 125 lbs. Jarrett Rose from West Portland Boxing refereed this match. |
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| “And the winner by judges’ decision, is...Fidel Soto from Rottweiller Boxing.” Referee Jarrett Rose holds Soto’s arm up to indicate the decision. Veronica Soto, Jesus and Fidel’s mom, also boxes as does her 7-year-old daughter, Giselle. Soto family arguments must be few, if any, and over quickly. |
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| Lorenzo Caldera is declared winner over Carson Rose by referee Harold Pakula, West Portland Boxing, in a close judges’ decision, keeping Caldera’s unbeaten streak of 15 wins alive. |
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| MEMO PHOTOS: TIM CURRAN |
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