Saturday night fights
Boxing is big again in OKC, but it lives and dies in small gyms around town.
The metal building at 29th Street and Lindsay Avenue looks like a bloated storage shed. Or abandoned.
A couple of miles to the north sits Chesapeake Energy Arena, where on Saturday night, ESPN’s Top Rank boxing will stage a show that includes Oklahoma City’s latest ring hope, Alex Saucedo, and WBO world champion Gilberto Ramirez.
But it’s here on OKC’s hardscrabble south side, mixed along auto shops and Hispanic businesses, that Oklahoma City boxing lives. And in the nondescript metal building, barely big enough for a ring and a few punching bags, is Saucedo’s Azteca Boxing Club.
“This is where it starts,” said famed trainer Abel Sanchez. “Without the gyms, without the coaches, we wouldn’t have any superstars.”
Sanchez is one of America’s most successful trainers. Among his clients is the 24-year-old
Saucedo, who is 27-0 and fights Lenny Zappavigna on Saturday night, hoping to stay on a collision course for a shot at the 140-pound world title.
Sanchez trains Saucedo in Big Bear Lake, California. But this metal building, which sports various national flags hanging from the wall and sweat dripping down every back, gets Sanchez’s juices flowing.
“Not fancy,” Sanchez said. “Just a work environment.”
Oklahoma City has a limited pro boxing history. Sean O’Grady, you remember, fought 60 professional bouts in his hometown, most at the old Red Carpet Inn, and in 1981 famously beat Hilmer Kenty for the WBA world lightweight title in Atlantic City.
Back in 1971, Cushing’s Brian Kelly Burden fought champion Bob Foster at State Fair Arena for the world light heavyweight title.
And in 1911, Kansas import Jess Willard, having just learned the sport in Oklahoma, six times fought in OKC. In 1915, Willard knocked out Jack Johnson for the world heavyweight title.
But those sporadic events soon give way to anonymity in OKC boxing. The sport reverts back to the clubs, where volunteers train restless boys who need to release a lot of energy.
“You have a lot of kids from the south side,” Saucedo said Wednesday in his gym. “It’s growing.”
Saucedo hopes this fight card ignites some popularity with boxing, which has been on a steady decline in America for decades. The threat of injury has caused many to abandon boxing. Many of the competitors and fans still drawn to the fighting culture have migrated to the UFC (ultimate fighting).
But Top Rank publicist Lee Samuels said his group’s audience has drifted to a younger crowd, 18-35, since it aligned with ESPN, after decades with HBO and Showtime. Samuels said boxing is outdrawing UFC in some demographics.
And as for injury, football has commandeered the scare factor from boxing in terms of potential head injuries.
Boxing seems to be on the upswing in Oklahoma City. Saucedo and Azteca’s volunteer coach, Scot Salsberry, estimate that the number of boxing clubs has risen from two 15 years ago to eight today. Sanchez on Wednesday was headed over to Rival Boxing Club on 25th Street to deliver a pep talk.
Still, boxing is not an easy sell. Salsberry owns a forklift company and volunteers four nights a week at Azteca, training boys. The club asks families to help with expenses for things like electricity and headgear, but some aren’t able. Getting the families just to commit to bringing the boys is difficult, especially for non-Hispanics.
Saucedo said he sees boys of all ethnicities in his gym, but Salsberry said the Hispanics are most committed. Hispanic fathers will bring their boys, then sit on the bench ringside and watch Salsberry train them.
It was in a gym like this that Saucedo entered 15 years ago. At age nine, he excelled in the ring immediately. His father brought him back again the next night, and the rest is history. Saucedo was given a $50,000 signing bonus to turn pro at age 17.
“You come in here, it’s a mecca to keep these kids off the streets,” Sanchez said. “It’s unbelievable what the guys do here. I’m humbled by the persistence of some of these coaches.”
And now one of those kids who found a mecca is an ESPN darling, able to convince Top Rank to bring a show to Oklahoma City, with plans to bring more. Saucedo is the biggest thing in OKC boxing since O’Grady almost 40 years ago.
But the real future of OKC boxing is not how many ticket-buyers show up at Chesapeake on Saturday night. It’s how many kids walk into those non-descript metal buildings on the south side and start chasing a dream.
Berry Tramel: Berry can be reached at (405) 760-8080 or at btramel@oklahoman.com. He can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including FM98.1. You can also view his personality page at newsok. com/berrytramel.