Bruno Escalante, a former professional boxer and the co-owner of Aloha Time Boxing, runs two gyms with trainer Mike Bazzel. They have an original location in San Mateo, and a second gym in Pleasant Hill which opened this year. The gyms were the brainchild of Escalante’s late manager and friend, Herb Stone, who passed away in 2017.
Escalante’s current focus is on his young fighters, particularly welterweight Steve Canela, who is scheduled to fight on October 12 at Stockton Arena in California.
“Herb always said, ‘I’ll do my best to look out for the fighter,’ putting the fighter’s best interests first,” Escalante recalled. “Bazzel and I adopted this philosophy, making it our guiding principle in managing and training fighters.”
Bazzel, a respected cutman in the boxing world, has already made his mark on the sport. “Bazzel was always great to me,” Escalante said. “When I first met him in 2009, he was very nice and supportive.”
The two bonded while Bazzel was a strength trainer for Nonito Donaire, with Escalante a protege of the Filipino future Hall of Famer.
“From the start, we clicked,” Escalante added.
Escalante’s career saw highs and lows. After early setbacks, he teamed up with Stone, who helped guide his boxing journey. But when a conflict arose involving another fighter that Stone managed, Escalante faced the fallout and had to take the show on the road as it was harder to get local fights. He suffered a controversial loss to Oscar Cantu in Texas and later endured a tough loss in his next fight against Michael Ruiz Jr. in West Oakland. Stone passed away suddenly in 2017, leaving Escalante and Bazzel to rebuild.
After a hiatus, Escalante returned to the ring and won key bouts, including victories over Javier Gallo and Diuhl Olguin in 2018. He then faced Alexandru Marin on the "Superfly III" card, losing a split decision that still stings. One that many felt Escalante should have been credited for one or two knockdowns, but neither were called.
After his last career defeat, Escalante focused on the gym and the young fighters coming up – Canela was one of them.
Canela began boxing at age 22, which Escalante notes is “relatively late for a boxer.” Despite this, Canela has shown remarkable progress.
“When I first met Steve, he was less experienced compared to other fighters. But his commitment and passion for the sport have been impressive,” Escalante said.
Canela, a former wrestler who transitioned to boxing after dabbling in MMA, described his shift to the sport stating: “I started with MMA, focusing on wrestling and jiu-jitsu, but after realizing my hands weren’t strong enough for MMA, I shifted my focus to boxing.”
Initially, Canela thought he’d eventually return to MMA, but boxing captivated him.
“I found myself sticking with it due to the great people I met,” he added.
Canela commutes from San Jose to train in both San Mateo and Pleasant Hill, making a roundtrip drive of more than two hours four to five times a week. His dedication to boxing is evident, as is his respect for the tough sparring sessions early in his career.
“Early on, I sparred with tough people like Kristin Vazquez, Charlie Sheehy, and Arnold Dinong,” Canela recalled. “That made me realize that if I could take the punishment, I could give it back one day.”
Despite being relatively new to the sport, Steve Canela has already faced top competition in national tournaments under USA Boxing. Reflecting on the experience, Canela said, “The nerves were there, but my main concern was not letting anyone down.”
Now, he is set to make his professional debut on October 12, a moment he has long anticipated. Training under Escalante and Bazzel, Canela feels connected to a rich boxing tradition.
“I’m blessed to be part of this system. Bazzel trained Bruno, and now Bruno trains me, along with Arnold, who came up through the same system,” Canela said. “It feels like a family tradition, and I’m grateful for the guidance.”
