Editor’s Note: This is the first part of a three-part series covering boxing in El Paso.
Every punch is one step closer to victory. Every knockout solidifies a fighter’s name. Every hour of training in the gym, filled with sweat, tears and resilience, gives boxers the confidence they need to step into the ring and show off the skills they accumulated.
Local fighters are preparing to stand in the ring as a part of the Chuco Classic event on Feb. 15. Among the fighters, several new faces will grace the ring, including 18-year-old, “Poison” Ivy Enriquez. Additionally, it will be a stage for fighters who are looking to cement another win on their records.
Pro fighter Alec McGee will be going on his 15th professional fight on Feb. 15. With an 11-2-1 record, McGee said the confidence built throughout training camps propels a fighter into potential victory.
“Just having that confidence in yourself and that confidence comes from getting beat up in the gym, it comes from the hours and hours that you put in the gym,” McGee said. “It comes from you waking up not wanting to go [to the gym] and go run like at 5 in the morning, it comes from doing that multiple times and numerous times to build that level of confidence.”
McGee said his childhood shaped the fighter he is today. Due to his Hispanic/Irish blood, kids would pick fights with McGee, which he said led him to being troubled in his youth.
“I got a lighter complexion, so I would want to be with like ‘my kind’ but because I was white, they [the other kids] wouldn’t let me hang out with them, be part of them,” McGee said.
Now, fighting for 18 years, McGee said pursuing boxing professionally turned him into a strong person, both mentally and physically.
“You have to have a clear path, you set out in your head and know that it’s not always going to go [good], but you got to have a plan A, plan B, and plan C, and the number one thing is you got is your reason why,” McGee said. “[My reason why] is I grew up from nothing. I see boxing and [see] my one opportunity to show the world that I am somebody, and that I can be somebody.”
The main event of Chuco Classic, Dewayne “DJ” Bonds, is another fighter who has been boxing for 18 years. Bonds has a 13-4-1 professional record, with a 61% KO rate.
Preparing for his 19th professional match, Bonds said his biggest support system has been his family.
“Keep your family close, this is a combat sport where you never know what can happen,” Bonds said. “So, you just want to surround yourself with the best people who love you.”
Throughout his boxing career, Bonds said his most memorable fight showed the lengths to which support can encourage someone.
“My first time I won the belt, I had to go to Mexico, I was in his [the opponent’s] backyard, and I came home with a belt, it was kind of a scary experience going over there and actually beating someone for a title,” Bonds said. “Just getting that title and coming back home and being here from El Paso, somebody had told me I’m like the first African American to win a professional title here, so I feel like that’s an accomplishment.”
With the vast array of accomplishments that McGee and Bonds have in their fighting career, the theme of home and origin has helped these fighters step into the ring and show off the hard work they put into training.
Chuco Classic will be held on Feb. 15 hosted by Empire Promotions, at The University of Texas at El Paso Memorial Gym.
Sofia Sierra is the sports editor and may be reached at [email protected].
