Here are the news and events happening around Arizona sports.
Summer is here in Arizona, and there’s plenty of activity. Phoenix Rising FC's USL Championship soccer and Arizona Rattlers seasons are in full swing, along with the new women's soccer club Desert Dreams FC.
Here are the news and events happening around Arizona sports.
Fighter, boxing community step up for vandalized gym
The storied Central Boxing Gym in downtown Phoenix is getting a helping hand from locally based fighter Trini Ochoa at a back-to-school event and fundraiser on July 26.
The WBC USNBC junior welterweight champion from Mesa will join the boxing community and families at the gym (1755 W. Van Buren) from 9 a.m. to noon, signing autographs and taking pictures. There will also be free backpacks and school supplies, plus a complimentary breakfast for children and free haircuts from Evolution Barbershop of Glendale.
A 50-50 style raffle is planned to raise funds for the gym's recently vandalized mural that pays tribute to dozens of fighters from the Phoenix area and Arizona who became champions and had good boxing careers, as well as trainers and community boxing advocates.
The mural is like a Phoenix boxing hall of fame, and also features paintings of famous fighters from other places who have trained there.
“Boxing has always taught us discipline, resilience, and pride in our community,” Ochoa said in the announcement of the event. “Now it’s our turn to give back, not just to prepare kids for the school year, but to protect our history and the spirit of this neighborhood.”
The gym is active and continues to be a place for people of all ages to train. It has long been an epicenter of what makes the Phoenix area a haven for the sport and is the home facility for some of the area's top youth fighters.
"The Central Boxing Gym is where generations of champions learned discipline and life skills,” said Mary Rose Wilcox, former chairperson of the Arizona Boxing Commission and community leader. “This place continues to shape our youth into strong, contributing members of society."
“We are looking for assistance from the community to restore the beauty of our mural," Central Boxing Gym general manager Michael McCain said. "It’s been tagged a couple times over the past two years, and we want to keep the mural well maintained and continue to honor the great fighters that represent our state so pridefully.”
— José M. Romero
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Mesa's Trini Ochoa, boxing community coming together for famed gym
Category: General Sports
