AJ Rodriguez - Features

As you walk up to the doors of Kingsville’s most beloved local boxing club, the sound of several punching bags emanates through the open windows, the clank of time-worn barbells and the whip of the American flag echoes in the background. 

The door is propped open, the lighted walkway ushers you through boxing memorabilia, newspaper articles, countless trophies, posters of local boxers, and a line of world flags that hang from the rusty rafters. Boxers and athletes train together, students sit at desks finishing their homework, and regular gym goers move about the gym with tunnel-like focus and dedication. The essence of stitched-again leather, hard-earned sweat, and battle-worn hand wraps have seeped into the chipped walls.

The legacy of the boxing club doesn’t hail from trophies or title belts. It doesn’t come from the number of professional boxers the gym has turned out or the coveted Golden Glove titles they have to their name. For owner and boxing coach Jaime Cantu, that only accounts for 10 percent of his gym’s culture and purpose. The remaining 90 percent is dedicated to community building, impacting underserved youth, and “offering them an alternative to the streets.”

Cantu was born in Los Angeles, California. He spent his formative years traveling back and forth between LA and Kingsville. After living between two worlds, Jaime’s family permanently settled in Kingsville when he was 16 years old so his mom could help her sister run her restaurant. Cantu came to appreciate the small town, easy-going attitude in Kingsville. Even from a young age, it was not lost on him how fortunate he was to have escaped the negative influences that life on the streets of LA offered him. Cantu expressed that life in LA can fly by in a fleeting moment of bad decisions, but that Kingsville offered him a welcome change of pace. With that in mind, Cantu has made it his life’s work to give back to the community while giving  people a chance to turn their life around.

“Kingsville forced me to slow down and have a different perspective,” Cantu confessed. “I had more opportunities to make better decisions. I will always give thanks to this city for making me a better person.”

As we walk around the gym, we see young athletes training all around.

“UP! DOWN! UP! DOWN!” yells an Army sergeant from the TV screen as the young athletes count out every push up in sync.

“What’s up, champ?” Cantu says to the kids that are still trickling in. 

Cantu walks around with an encouraging, positive aura. The veteran pro boxers offer training tips to the up-and-coming amateurs. Young kids get their hands wrapped as they prepare for their first day of battle. A father-son duo training together can be seen in the corner. Cantu stands in the center of it all, every wall of the gym mirrors his leadership. Everyone shares the same vision. 

In 1997, after returning from his 23-year tenure with the Army National Guard, Jaime opened Kingsville Boxing Club with the help of our local chief of police and county sheriff.

“I started to notice the negative influences from the city coming into Kingsville. I wanted to give the kids an opportunity to make better decisions,” Cantu said. “Kingsville is a beautiful place. We can lose a good thing if we don’t take care of it.” 

Cantu’s boxing club is unlike most clubs. Their focus is an extensive list of initiatives and programs that make the club unique. They include community service, tutoring, bible study, support for veterans, and drug and alcohol abuse education.

“We produce champions in and out of the ring. Mostly outside of the ring,” Cantu said. “I always try to motivate the kids to sign up for community service. I could very easily get up and go do these alley clean ups by myself, but I don’t because I would be missing an opportunity to teach something to the kids.”

During community service runs, boxers and members of the club don a T-shirt that reads ‘Serve, Lead. Inspire’. 

“I always tell the guys – ‘if not you, then who?’ – for me, I just deal with the you,” Cantu said.

According to Cantu, one initiative that has had incredible success within the community is the character-building programs the club has run since its inception.

One of these programs is the Juvenile Character Development Program, which is run in collaboration with local law enforcement and gives individuals an opportunity to work with Cantu and complete a six-month program to satisfy requirements set by the court. Often, the families that are referred to Cantu end up staying with the club even after the program is completed. Such a story is the one of Iris Rios and her family.

After finding herself alone with her three young children, in a city she was unfamiliar with, Rios began to feel hopeless as she struggled with her mental health. Her two oldest children also found hardships in school. With nobody to turn to, she found it hard to keep it together for herself and her children. The local constable, Jesse Rivera, referred the family to Cantu.

It didn’t take long for the Rios family to develop a deep and personal relationship with Cantu. After a short while, Lila, Iris’ daughter, started boxing competitively for the club. She finished high school and earned her phlebotomy certificate before becoming the legal age to drive. Jay, Iris’ oldest son, is graduating high school this coming year and has already enlisted in the Navy. Iris finished her degree in social work and has also enlisted in the military. She and her son, Jay, leave for boot camp in February.

“Every day I would come in and you could tell I had a bad day,” Iris said. “Jaime was always there to support me and my kids. He was always encouraging and always in a good mood. You could never tell if he was having a bad day.”

Iris reflected on her time in Kingsville and her relationship with Cantu and the people at the boxing club. She and her family have only lived here for four years, and they consider Kingsville their home.

“My kids always ask me if we are ever going to move from here,” Iris said. “I always tell them no; this is home now. Kingsville is our home.” 

What makes Kingsville so special for her and her kids is the sense of community they have found at the gym and the relationships they have built, especially with Cantu.

“Jaime is like a dad to me. I’ve never had someone like him in my life,” Iris said as she choked back tears.

After working alongside his own family for so long and helping each other run small businesses in the community, family has become the cornerstone of what Cantu values the most. As life happens, most of Cantu’s family has moved away after closing their businesses, leaving him to continue building his legacy with a new definition of family.

“I had to redefine what family meant to me,” Cantu said. “This community, the people, the kids, they have all become my family.” 

As he looks to the future, he prays that his club and the people they inspire can “continue to work together as a team to make this community a better place.”

Jaime’s son, Oscar, and his wife Nicole have already established their own traditions of building community and giving back. For 15 years now, Oscar and Nicole have held bible study sessions, called I Am Second, for the athletes and members of the boxing club. Oscar describes community service and giving back as something that is second nature. It began with his grandma, and he has grown up a first-hand witness to his dad continuing those traditions.

“I don’t know who I am if I’m not doing this,” Oscar said adding that the impetus for giving back to the community comes from his pro boxing days and the unwavering support he received that carried him through his career.

“I remember one evening, I was all alone and running down the street during training, and this police officer pulled up next to me and played the Rocky soundtrack on full blast and drove alongside me,” Oscar said. “I don’t know who that officer was but it’s people like that that I will always be grateful for.” 

Oscar and Nicole grew closer together while growing closer to God. Their faith is the solid foundation behind their relationship, their family, and their personal mission. Every other Tuesday, they have bible study sessions with members of all ages. They both said this is their way of creating champions in and out of the ring and passing along the lessons they have learned in their faith and through boxing.

“I tell the kids all the time. I know what you’re going through,” Oscar said. “Whether that is in the ring or just in life. Life happens so fast. It’s important that these kids have this stability they know they can count on. That’s why we are here every other Tuesday. We want to be that consistent thing in their life.”

Before his conversation with Kingsville Monthly, Oscar’s weekly message to the kids was “We harvest what we plant.” He revealed that he wanted to inspire the kids to plant seeds in their life that they know they will benefit from. Following his father’s lead, Oscar continues to plant seeds of greatness that trickle on throughout the community and continue to build on the traditions that his father has created.

Kingsville Boxing Club has established itself as a highly regarded and treasured community hub for everyone. For the past 27 years, Cantu has framed the foundation for a legacy that will continue for generations. From successful boxing careers to giving kids better opportunities away from the streets, Cantu has created a haven for anyone willing to work hard to build a better life and contribute to a stronger, more united community.  With a focus on faith, community service, and character building, Kingsville Boxing Club’s traditions are built on the belief that champions are built both inside and outside the ring.