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I am a high school teacher in the area (ie, Oxnard/Ventura/SantaBarbara) closest to Robert Garcia's gym. My students are over 95% Hispanic and MANY of them box, although the only former student of mine who trains at Garcia's gym is Francisco Santana from Santa Barbara. I can't believe some of the unprofessional behavior coming out of his gym, no matter how much I like the idea of non-boxers finding out the hard way just how tough the sport is. If I EVER found out one of my kids was beating up on an untrained dude off the street, practically for "fun" in the ring, I would be outraged, and it is absolutely indefensible...no matter how short the "sparring" session is, unless the trained fighter is literally just gonna tap the other guy...not actually throw hard blows.
What kind of message are these guys sending to the numerous socioeconomically disadvantaged Hispanic youth in the area, many of whom are at-risk of joining gangs or getting into other trouble when one of the supposed top trainers in the world is encouraging this kind of stuff? One of my students last year has like and 84-4 amateur record and is the epitome of a hard working, clean living teenager. The school he attended is rather "thug" and there are lots of fights on campus. I asked him in front of the whole class several times what he thought about all that and whether he would ever consider lighting up one of these supposed "thugs" who would be totally gassed out after 15 seconds of heavy exertion, and if not, why? I already knew what his answer would be and I was correct. It was a firm "NO" and he went on to explain to the class that as a trained boxer he is not supposed to do stuff like that. What Garcia does at times in his gym has about 2 degrees of separation from the kind of trashy behavior I expect of a bullying gang in the area...not a professional boxing trainer participating at the highest level of the sport.
That being said, at least guy didnt get hurt, but there is really no defense for that type of behavior. Like it or not, you are an influence on teenagers in your local community and they look to you for guidance.
What kind of message are these guys sending to the numerous socioeconomically disadvantaged Hispanic youth in the area, many of whom are at-risk of joining gangs or getting into other trouble when one of the supposed top trainers in the world is encouraging this kind of stuff? One of my students last year has like and 84-4 amateur record and is the epitome of a hard working, clean living teenager. The school he attended is rather "thug" and there are lots of fights on campus. I asked him in front of the whole class several times what he thought about all that and whether he would ever consider lighting up one of these supposed "thugs" who would be totally gassed out after 15 seconds of heavy exertion, and if not, why? I already knew what his answer would be and I was correct. It was a firm "NO" and he went on to explain to the class that as a trained boxer he is not supposed to do stuff like that. What Garcia does at times in his gym has about 2 degrees of separation from the kind of trashy behavior I expect of a bullying gang in the area...not a professional boxing trainer participating at the highest level of the sport.
That being said, at least guy didnt get hurt, but there is really no defense for that type of behavior. Like it or not, you are an influence on teenagers in your local community and they look to you for guidance.
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