Great Bend has a new youth boxing champion now that 13-year-old Rocky Montanez has won a match at the Kansas-Oklahoma Golden Gloves Regional Championship. The USA Boxing event was hosted by the Reno County Boxing Academy on April 1 at the Sand Hills Event Center in Hutchinson.
Montanez faced James Daine in the lightweight division and improved his boxing record to 9-1.
Silverio Garcia started the Silver Boy Boxing Club in Great Bend with a goal of providing a positive, structured activity for youth.
Boys and girls 8 years of age and older can sign up for the boxing club, which meets from 6-7:30 p.m. Monday through Friday at 2810 8th St., near 8th and Jefferson. Some are just learning the basics, but Alfredo Valensiana, Yaviel Zapata and Eddie Godina have advanced to matches outside of the club.
Boxing as a youth sport can be misunderstood, Garcia said.
“It’s not just punching people in the face,” he said. The sport teaches discipline and provides an incentive for kids to stay in school.
“I know this makes a difference in their lives,” he said. It made a difference in his own life.
Garcia said he used to get in trouble for fighting when he was in high school, but boxing changed his life. Now he wants to pass on to others what he has learned.
He said kids need to set aside social media and video games and get active. Youth boxing enthusiasts say parents may notice several benefits after their kids start boxing. These include learning goal setting, focus, respect for authority and their peers, self-defense and confidence.
In addition to boxing, he credits a caring community member, the late Jean Cavanaugh, who inspired a young Garcia, along with many other youths, to become the best he could be. “Jean Cavanaugh taught me to help other people,” he said. He does this in honor of her.
Helping area youths is also good for the adults who get involved, Garcia noted. “I’m not perfect,” he said. Helping others reminds him of the lessons he learned from Cavanaugh. “Even today these kids are keeping me out of trouble.”
Likewise, he hopes community members will support what he is doing for Great Bend youths. There are membership fees for the club and Garcia said all of the money is going for rent and equipment. Donations of cash, water, gloves and other equipment are welcome. For more information about the club, call Garcia at 620-282-1836 or email Judy Hernandez at judyhernandez868@gmail.com.
Plans for the future
Garcia said he would like to bring a boxing event to Great Bend this year, so his kids can face amateurs from other towns. He’s even considering making a comeback as a professional boxer himself. He’s doing some training but isn’t sure if he’ll be ready for that. “I’m 35 years old. If I feel good I will make a comeback to be an example for the kids.”
Meanwhile, members of the Silver Boy Boxing Club are preparing for the Nico Hernandez Invitational, May 20 at the Wichita Parisi Speed School in Wichita.
Rocky Montanez’s goal is to make it to the nationals and beyond, perhaps to the Olympics or professional boxing.
“Why not?” asks Garcia, who has a similar goal: “My plan is to make a national champion out of Great Bend.”
