Saturday, October 4, 2008

Heart, not gear, gives Socorro boxers success

Nat Holland El Defensor Chieftain Reporter, nholland@dchieftain.com

Not everyone is cut out to be a boxer. It takes a balance of speed, power and skillful movement to make the grade.

Those skills — and a mean left hook to the liver — are just a few of things veteran boxing trainer Eddie Padilla hopes to pass on — not just to the young boxers he works with, but to the two coaches assisting him as well.

"We're trying to take the pressure off (Padilla). He's teaching us to be coaches as he's teaching the kids," Carlos Arellano said.

Steve Santillanes, a former student of the 79-year-old Padilla, is also helping out as a coach.

Padilla maintains his sharp wit as he continues to train through an ongoing bout with cancer.

Arellano's and Padilla's paths crossed at Wal-Mart two years ago when Arellano's son, Leo, wanted to start boxing. The training has helped out Leo more than giving him skills with his fists.

"This one used to fight a lot in school," Arellano said of his son.

But not anymore — "I haven't fought (at school) in two years," said Leo, age 14. "Eddie is real strict. If he catches you fighting in the street, he is done with you."

Leo won his first amateur match in August of this year and lost a second fight in September by split decision.

"I was a little bit nervous," Leo said of the first fight in the ring. "I was moving around before I got into the ring. Then when I started I was calm."

The school-aged boxers have to bring in their report cards to show that they are doing well in school. If they don't have grades of at least a 'C' or better, they get expelled from training for a week.

"The first time it was so bad I had to expel almost all of them," Padilla said. "The second time it was pretty good."

Currently the boxing team is using a storage shed in the back of Santillanes' mother's house. It was there that Santillanes, also under the tutelage of Padilla, used to train in the late 1980s, and a cluster of trophies of his achievements decorates a corner of the room.

A large American flag decorates one of the rough, unfinished walls of the shed. The floor is a bare concrete pad. A pair of punching bags hang from the joists and a new speed bag decorates one wall.

"Like I keep telling these boys, the gym and the equipment don't make the champion," Padilla said.

"It takes heart," Padilla often says.

Currently about a dozen boxers intermittently train with Padilla and his two coaches, with three or four dedicated ones working out daily.

"We started this small, but it's getting there," Arellano said.

"When they start learning and we start taking them on trips, that's when they don't miss a day," Padilla said.

One of the trainees, Will Griego, is a veteran boxer with over 50 fights under his belt. Griego started training under Padilla at age 9 and is now in his 20s.

"I'm trying to get to the pros," said Griego, who had three Silver Glove Championships, two Junior Golden Gloves championships and a second place finish at nationals to his credit.

Padilla plans to turn Griego pro after the Gold Gloves Championships this coming November. Also, in the near future, Griego is scheduled to fight former boxing champ Danny Romero. A date has yet to be finalized.

Pros have a better chance at pulling in a big paycheck for fights, but it's not for everyone.

"If you lose six fights in a row as a pro boxer - you're out (of the sport) in New Mexico," Padilla said.

Boxers interested in working with Padilla and his coaches should call Padilla at 575-838-0133 or Carlos Arellano at 575-418-0259.

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