Amateur boxing in New Mexico will receive a mighty blow on December 5^th if the County of Socorro has its way with shutting the doors of the Socorro Boxing Club. The boxing club received a 30-days notice eviction notice on November 5^th that said the club’s lease was being terminated.

The County Commission say the reason for evicting the club is a financial one, but underlying politics and recent incidents involving the club appear to be the primary motivators in this new attempt at ridding the town of the boxing club.

The eviction notice might not have come as a shock to Victor and Gerri Savedra, the club’s husband-and-wife owners, but it was certainly a surprise.

“It’s a big political time right now,” says Gerri. “We kinda thought it might happen but not like this. We’re not political people, and we never wanted to be. Now, we have no choice.”

Two incidents have seemingly damned the club.

In June, a group of men had started a fight with some of the boxers in front of the Savedra’s home. Victor Savedra was reported to come out of the house with a gun, threatening to shoot if the men would not leave.

“Two grown men were hitting Adrian, a 16-year-old boy,” says Victor. “I did what anyone would’ve done.”

After the incident received play in the local paper, El Defensor Chieftain, City Councilor Gary Jaramillo canvassed the City Council to pull the plug on funding the boxing club, but nothing was decided upon.

Then, in October, the local paper ran a story that reported the club’s owner, Victor Savedra, 20-year-old Chuck Pablo, a boxer from the club, and three unnamed juveniles were now facing criminal charges after beating up a Socorro city employee, Abie Baca. What the newspaper failed to do was contact Savedra for their side of the story—which had Savedra and Pablo’s actions looking more defensive than offensive.

The article only fueled the club’s adversaries and it was just two weeks later that the Savedras received their eviction notice.

The Socorro Boxing Club has also had trouble related to a cross-town rival boxing club dating several years back. The club, Showdown Boxing, was run by Ernest Pargas, an ex-professional fighter (0-7). The two clubs had shared the city gym before it had closed down, causing the Socorro Boxing team to move into the empty county building it is now being evicted from.

While the two teams occupied the city gym, the Savedras refused to share their personal equipment with Pargas, so he went to the city council. Since then, he’s written letters to the local newspaper and campaigned against the SBC.

When the city gave the SBC $3,2000 earlier this year, several people complained to the city council—many of the naysayers were related to the now-defunct Showdown Boxing Club. (“It’s a slap in the face of all taxpayers,” Ernest Pargas told El Defensor Chieftain in April.) In response, the city proposed to set up behavior guidelines for the club before any further money could be funded.

Right now, the SBC is paid entirely out of pocket by the Savedras, although the county charges them the economical rent of $100 every three months. Utilities, equipment and the expenses of competing are on the club.

“We pay just about everything out of pocket,” says Gerri. “We have minimal lights in the gym and don’t use the heating system. How we manage, I don’t know. But everything in the gym we’ve paid for, or it’s been donated to us.”

In fact, the boxing ring used in the gym was donated by Johnny Tapia.

NewMexicoBoxing.com has received a lot of emails from supporters of the club . . . but we’ve also gotten emails throughout the year from a few people complaining, too.

One e-mailer claimed the boxers were “acting like gangbangers,” and that they “caused trouble all around town.” This person also swore that the boxers all shared a common tattoo that they showed off.

There is no evidence seen in Socorro to support this. Although a few of the older kids in the gym have tattoos, they are the typical tattoos most teenagers seem to have these days. Only a couple of the boxers have inked boxing gloves on their bodies—and there are no tattoos with the words “Socorro Boxing Club” to be found.

The Savedras do not claim to run a 24-hour babysitting service—but they assure the city that there are no gang members in their gym. They invite anyone to drop in on their gym anytime to see for themselves.

“We teach our kids to walk away from anything until they are pushed into a corner where they have no alternative,” says Gerri. “Then they do what they got to do. And if they consider our group of kids a gang, then hell, then any group of kids out there is a so-called ‘gang.’ Are groups of football or soccer players also gangbangers?”

Whatever evils the boxing club have been accused of, one cannot ignore the good.

Victor Savedra was an amateur boxer at the time he took over the club in 1995, when former owner Joseph Gonzalez moved out of town. Enlisting the aid of his wife, Gerri, Victor turned the disorganized club into a solid force for amateur boxing. The Savedras became USA Boxing-certified coaches and judges; and they started putting on five to six shows a year. They have also been committed to taking their kids to fight in shows in other parts of New Mexico and surrounding states.

Victor is the vice-president for USA Boxing in New Mexico; Gerri is the registration chair. Both titles carry a four-year terms. In addition, the Savedras were voted “Coaches of the Year” in 1999 by USA Boxing.

The Savedras say their mission is essential to athletes looking to turn pro after a successful amateur career.

“We’re trying to bring back what boxing’s been like,” says Gerri. “It’s all too-common to see boxers turn pro without much of an amateur background. We’re trying to give these kids more skill, more style, before they make the jump into the pro ranks. The only way to do that is to have a strong amateur scene.”

Club members fluctuate between 20 and 45, depending on what time of year. Gym dues are nonexistent—the only time the boxers pay for anything, it’s for meals when the Savedra’s take them on the road to fight out of town.

Many of the fighters at the club rank among New Mexico’s best amateurs.

Adrian Lopez, 17, is a two-time national Golden Gloves champion in the junior division; he is also a multi-time state Golden Gloves winner. Several others from the club have placed nationally, including Andrew Silva, William Griego, Alex Rodarte and Adrian Benavidez.

Last year, 33 kids won state titles; 23 won regional titles; six won national titles. This year has seen similar accomplishments: 30 state titles; 19 regional; and 8 national.

So what happens now? What happens if the gym closes?

“If we shut down, what happens to all these kids?” asks Victor. In addition to keeping the club going, the Savedras have also taken kids into their home. Besides their two girls and 9-year-old son, there are three teenagers living with the Savedras.

“They are really out to get us,” says Savedra. “But the sad thing is, that amateur boxing in New Mexico will die if they close us down. We won’t let that happen.