Student boxers get ‘real’ in show

Boxers on this college’s boxing team work on jabs, parrying, balance and defensive stances while paired with teammates April 9 in the dance studio of Candler. The boxers prepared for the SAC Boxing Show April 16, an intersquad competition 11 a.m.-1 p.m. in the mall. Thomas Macias

Governing body for Olympic-style amateur boxing sanctioned the event.

By Thomas Macias

sac-ranger@alamo.edu

“It’s the real deal,” is the way head coach Hector Ramos of this college’s boxing club describes the SAC Boxing Show, an outdoor event 11 a.m.-1 p.m. April 16 in the mall.

The SAC Boxing Show will be a series of boxing matches, or a “fight card,” that will pit members of this college against each other in exhibitions open to the public, Ramos said in an April 10 interview.

The event provides this college’s student boxers an opportunity to showcase to their peers the skills they have been honing, he said.

Ramos said the event gives participants the experience and thrill of competing in a public venue.

Fighters will be within 5 pounds of each other’s weight and will be matched according to skill level, Ramos said.

Ramos said each boxing match will consist of three 1-minute rounds.

USA Boxing, the national governing body for Olympic-style amateur boxing, has sanctioned the event and will provide the ring and referees from San Antonio and throughout South Texas, Ramos said.

Referees know to keep the fights safe, he said.

Boxer safety is the highest concern for Ramos who said he would rather a boxer emerge unhurt than victorious.

Ramos said coaches from his family’s San Antonio South Side boxing gym also will be providing the “corners,” the personnel who advise fighters from corner stations during matches and provide water.

Ramos said the SAC Boxing Show has been an annual event since 2010, and he has headed it since 2011.

“We always draw a nice crowd,” Ramos said.

Ramos, a former professional boxer, said in his boxing career, he was a member of the All-Air Force, All-Armed Forces, and U.S. Olympic boxing teams and held a No. 1 amateur ranking three years.

To determine who will compete in the match-ups, Ramos said he noted which boxers are attending training and how they are progressing through workouts and sparring sessions.

“I see their reflexes, see that they keep their guard up, don’t close their eyes, don’t turn their backs,” he said. “If they stay within those things, they might have an opportunity for someone to have a good match for them.”

Ramos said he refereed a series of simulated boxing competitions the week before the showcase. These simulations in a controlled and safe environment allowed him to see how the student boxers perform under pressure.

Based on the student boxer’s performance and demonstrated skill levels, Ramos said he determined the pairings for the fight card.

Ramos said there is a process students undergo as they become serious about competing in the boxing show.

Boxing may begin as a diversion or stress relief for classes, Ramos said.

In the course of undergoing boxing workouts, students find they are losing weight or putting on muscle, and then decide to proceed to sparring and competing in the ring, Ramos said.

“Some of the boxers start to work out; they like the excitement,” he said. “It’s like a roller coaster or bungee-jumping. And the next thing you know, they’re up in there, they’re performing, and next they know, they’re smiling because it’s over, and they say, “‘Wow, I did it.’”