The Any Body Can Youth Foundation hosted a USA Boxing-sanctioned amateur boxing exhibition with 14 bouts at the Ramona High School basketball gym on Saturday.
Founded in 1957 by legendary boxer Archie Moore, Any Body Can promotes positive lifestyle choices to steer children away from being involved with gangs and drugs. Terence Shigg, executive director of the San Diego-based ABC Youth Foundation, said that providing kids with a positive outlet helps them succeed in life.
“The more things that kids are able to plug into that are positive, the more positive the outcome,” Shigg said.
Saturday’s event kicked off around noon. Attendees were treated to a musical guest who performed original music from the boxing ring and tossed merchandise out to listeners in the bleachers. The San Diego High Steppers Drill Team performed a brief dance routine.
Ahead of the boxing bouts, Billy Moore, son of Archie Moore and CEO of ABC Youth Foundation, took to the microphone to address the audience.
“What this is all about is teaching youngsters how to step up in life with their best foot forward, without cowardice but with courage and dignity,” Moore said of the foundation. “My dad, Archie Moore, told me over sixty years ago that the United States was heading toward a gang and drug epidemic. He said that right here in Ramona.
“We all are aware of what’s been going on in this country, and if we don’t all take a stand to do something about it, your kid…and every other kid is going to fall into the same ‘bs’ that’s going on. We care about our children, and this is something that my dad stood for.”
In addition to operating as a boxing gym, ABC also offers tutoring and counseling to its participants, as well as food assistance for families that are struggling with food insecurity. Shigg estimates as many as 50 food boxes are distributed weekly through the organization.
“These kids know that when they come in here, somebody is going to care about them, somebody is going to ask how their day was…they know it comes from a place of love,” he said.
This tenet of being a home for students was perhaps best exemplified by two of the fighters featured in Saturday’s event, Cesar “Bulldog” Rodriguez and Chance Johnson.
Rodriguez, 19, nicknamed “Bulldog” for his ferocity in training and sparring, boxed in his first event at the exhibition. He joined ABC at the age of 17 due to being bullied, he said.
“ABC is a home,” Rodriguez said. “It’s a place that makes you feel like you’re part of a family. ABC saw something in me that I never knew someone would recognize.”
ABC team captain Chance Johnson, 24, who competed in his fourth match overall on Saturday, echoed the same sentiment.
“I bring my son with me to the gym and everyone looks out for him while I work out,” Johnson said. “I never truly appreciated when people say ‘it takes a village’ to raise a child, it really does. They help me out a lot. I’ll be sparring and he’s running around but someone always has a hot eye on him.”
One of the more noteworthy alumni of the organization is San Diego Deputy District Attorney Martin Nuñez, who said the foundation gave him the skills to achieve in his professional development.
“I got in a lot of trouble in middle school and ended up dropping out of high school,” Nuñez recalled, “but the one thing that was always consistent was that boxing gym. No matter how much I failed outside of that gym, I always had a safe haven to go back and to strategize. A lot of the skills I was implementing in the boxing ring I utilized in my personal life, and I was able to get out of the hole I had put myself in.”
Nuñez, who also acts as president of the San Diego Metro Chapter of National Latino Peace Officers Association (NLPOA), joined Moore in the ring Saturday to award him with the NLPOA Presidential Badge for his work in the community.
“Billy has been at the forefront of gang prevention in San Diego,” Nuñez said, “and his gym is right in the center of where it’s needed in Southeast San Diego. I grew up in that community and I know the power that Billy has in that gym. When it comes to saving lives, when it comes to gang prevention, there’s no one that does it better in San Diego than Coach Billy Moore.”
At one point, Archie Moore, a boxing light heavyweight champ, owned 100 acres of land in the Ramona area. On Saturday, his son announced ahead of the bouts that the organization was looking to open a gym in the community.
“The reason that we’re out here is because of the tremendous history here in Ramona,” Moore told the audience in the high school basketball gym. “Cassius Clay started his career out here in Ramona before he was called Muhammad Ali. Preferably what’s going to happen, is we will be able to start an ABC out here in Ramona.”
A total of 14 three-round boxing matches were hosted at the exhibition, with participants from the ABC Youth Foundation’s boxing roster, as well as athletes from House of Boxing, The Arena boxing gym and Rhino Boxing, to name a few.
Chance Johnson squared off in the sixth bout against Aaron Hardin from The Arena boxing gym. Masterfully switching his stance throughout the match, Johnson was able to throw shots from different positions and kept the pressure on Hardin. Ultimately, though, Hardin was declared the winner after the two athletes battled it out for the full three rounds.
In the ninth bout, Rodriguez’s first match with ABC, the young “Bulldog” came into the ring with a full head of steam. His opponent from Azteca Boxing was taller and had a longer wingspan, but Rodriguez was able to land a few body shots when he got within reach.
Rodriguez started out the match defensively, utilizing his head movement to slip under hooks and jabs. In the third round, he got in close with his opponent against the ropes, and unleashed a flurry of unrelenting body shots. Despite his impassioned competition, he lost his debut match.
All 14 matches displayed young talent and technique, with each blow and dodge accompanied by audible reactions from the bleachers. At the conclusion of each match, competitors hugged one another and shook hands with their opponents coaches out of respect. Win or lose, every boxer stepped out of the ring with their heads held high.
Director Shigg says the foundation was able to raise somewhere between $3,000 and $5,000 toward their goal of opening a Ramona gym from the event. Their fundraising goal for a facility, to cover leasing and equipment, is targeted at $200,000. Shigg says he plans to fundraise for at least three years to ensure financial stability before they settle on a facility.
Joe Stupar, executive director for the Ramona Chamber of Commerce, said an organization like ABC would be a positive addition to the community, particularly for their youth program.
“A lot of people don’t know that Archie Moore trained Muhammad Ali up here, and I think that would bring a lot of historical value back to our community,” Stupar said. “I think there’s always a need to keep the youth busy and teach them something positive. There are a couple of buildings on Main Street that are up for rent, and I think it would be a really good youth program to have.”
The ABC Youth Foundation is gearing up to showcase some of their athletes at the California state boxing championships on June 23 and 24. “Bulldog” Rodriguez said he plans to compete in as many amateur matches as he can, and hopes to enter the field of criminal justice. Chance Johnson said he has aspirations to box at the professional level.
