The lure of the ring beats the lure of the streets
By Meredith Goncalves
meredith.goncalves@gmail.com
Photo by Meredith Goncalves
Pedro Laspina works tirelessly to keep kids off the streets. As he perches on one of the weight benches in the small storefront home of Juan Laporte’s Boxing Gym and El Maestro Cultural Center on East 167th Street to welcome visitors, no one would ever suspect that this quick-talking, jovial man was once a victim of those same streets himself.
His friendly demeanor does not hint that he was once a rough and tumble kid involved with drugs and gangs. Pedro and his brother Ponce are open about their past. Both ran with gangs, used drugs and did time.
Now both work for the New York City Housing Authority. Pedro is a substance abuse councilor and also finds housing for recovering addicts; Ponce is youth and community organizer who runs athletic programs.
Ponce owns the gym, and the brothers believe the boxing ring can save young people from the mistakes they made.
As a child, 53-year-old Ponce dreamed of being a boxer like fellow Puerto Rican Juan LaPorte, the featherweight champion of the world, who won his crown in 1982. In prison, Laspina continued to train as a boxer, and from 1997-2002 ran the only gym operated by the Housing Authority.
Seven years ago he finally was able to open his own gym, with the blessing of Juan LaPorte himself, fulfilling his dream to create a place for kids to build a better future for themselves.
During a recent visit, Pedro proudly introduced Jose (Lefty) Rodriguez, 29, who is now a professional boxer. Rodriguez won early notice at the Daily News Golden Gloves tournament, where LaPorte had begun his rise with a championship in 1976. When he is not training, Rodriguez spends his time at the gym helping others get their lives on track. “I was lost when I came to the gym. They took me in, and I return the help,” he said.
In addition to his recent success as a boxer, Rodriguez is also the proud father to Jaralee, nine months, and husband to Naralie (Tuffy) Pacheco, 21. He and his wife met at the gym, and both have fought in Golden Gloves tournaments.
Naralie, who is working for her GED at Monroe College, spends whatever free time she can spare from school and raising Jaralee at the gym. She wants to get back to her fighting weight.
At a table tucked next to the coat rack, the gym’s self proclaimed star, Hunts Point resident Eddie Gomez, 16, sees Rodriguez looking at him and quickly finishes the fried chicken he picked up next door. “It’s a good thing you are not in training right now.” Rodriguez teases.
Although he’s been boxing for eight and a half years, Gomez didn’t qualify for this year’s Golden Gloves. He’s too young. But in addition to looking forward to next year’s tournament, he says his years of training have paid off in other ways. “People here want to work hard instead of being in the street.”
In a small area with a bar and table, next to the six heavy bags swinging wildly from blows, boxers as young as eight years old help wrap one another’s hands. “Some kids pay; some don’t,” says Ponce of the 30 or so kids around the gym. One boy lives in a homeless shelter. Ponce and Pedro make sure he has clothes and food and support. The coaches and trainers volunteer their time.
The brother’s dedication shows in kids like Jonathan Diaz, 17, who is participating in this year’s Golden Gloves after less than a year of boxing. A senior in high school, he is one of the 15 kids from Juan LaPorte’s Boxing Gym, ranging in age from 17-25, competing in this year’s tournament.
When Ponce and Pedro walked into the 369th Regiment Armory in Harlem for the 141-pound weight class competition of the Golden Gloves tournament, they were met with a soldier’s welcome from organizers, trainers and spectators.
After a long round of greetings, the brothers took their seats in the last row behind the officials to watch Jonathan Diaz in his first match in the tourney. The brothers screamed and shouted in Spanish as Diaz rained powerful punches on his opponent.
It’s not enough. The judges call the match in favor of his opponent.
But for the Laspinas, winning isn’t everything. The gym struggles financially, and has been forced to move several times in search of lower rents. But Ponce says, “I would stay open 24/7 if I could.”