Countywide : Youth Boxing Club Will Open Saturday

An after-school boxing program for Santa Ana boys and girls that will also offer study rooms, peer counseling and possibly arts and crafts is ready to open and will register children on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Community activist and mayoral candidate John Raya has been working on TKO, or Turning Kids On, for more than a year and a half, since the Santa Ana City Council first committed $25,000 to the project and negotiated a $1-a-year lease with Raya for a building at 1416 Bristol St.

Cubanito Perez, who boxed for the lightweight world title in 1986, is volunteering as trainer.

“When I was young, coming up, I was real hyper. I got into boxing and it took all my energy,” said Perez, 36, who has lived in Santa Ana for 15 years. “A lot of times kids get into trouble because they don’t have anything to do. This club has the potential to be one of the best around. Everything is set up so nice.”

The club offers a boxing ring and set of bags, weightlifting equipment and a study hall.

Participants must be of ages 8 through 18 and enrolled in Santa Ana schools, Raya said. They should also demonstrate an eagerness to take part in community affairs.

The club opens for boxing Monday and will be open during the week from 4 to 8 p.m.

Youths who join will commit to help clean the facility and grounds.

“Athletics provide some real life lessons. If we can get kids in there, help them with their homework, kind of broaden their expectations and show them they have the skills and the heart to succeed, to compete, then the obstacles life challenges them with won’t seem so insurmountable,” Raya said. “They’ll know they have the fight to push themselves.”