Edgar Ponce is a San Fernando Valley lifer. He is also a boxing lifer.
Born and raised in Sun Valley, the 45 year old grew up learning boxing and the Thai martial art Muay Thai, dreaming to be a championship fighter in part because he (liked) throwing hands. “I was always ready to fight – in the street, anywhere,” Edgar recalled with a slight chuckle.
But after getting smacked around a few times by foes with better skills, Edgar realized that street fighting was not the same as disciplined boxing. He then put in the time and training to be a boxer, but his talents did not take him as far as his dreams had envisioned.
So he did the next best thing for him, becoming a trainer.
He got his license as a trainer in 2010. A year later, he opened his own gym, the 818 Boxing Club in the City of San Fernando, and has operated it for the past 15 years. “I have kids that started training with me at age 5 who are still training with me,” he said with a hint of pride. He and his staff work with men and women, boys and girls, pros, amateurs wanting to become pros, folks wanting to learn how to protect themselves and those simply wanting to rid themselves of excess inches and pounds.
But nothing excites Edgar like watching someone who has put in the time, sweat and tears of pounding the heavy bags, jumping rope, and sparring – the nuts-and-bolts of learning the craft – reach an unexpected peak of potential and be rewarded for it.
He recently witnessed four such success stories. On June 5, Edgar took four male teen boxers – Joseph Rodriguez, Christopher “C.J.” Casanova, his brother Mathew Casanova, and Anthony Edgar, his youngest son – to the South El Monte Community Center for a weekend California Junior Golden Gloves Tournament. All four won regional championship belts: Joseph at 143 pounds, Anthony at 138 pounds, Mathew at 132 pounds, and C.J. at 121 pounds. They each won three fights in three days. All four won their title fight by unanimous decision.
The Junior Golden Gloves is for amateur boxers ages 8 to 17. Competitors typically do not move beyond regional championships at this level. And they are not eligible to compete in the national Golden Gloves tournaments until reaching the age of 18.
But as their achievements are etched into history, this quartet of fighters knows what’s possible.
That working hard and making sacrifices in pursuit of a higher goal can have a positive payoff.
That winning a title belt from a recognized organization like the Junior Golden Gloves as novices is more a big leap than a step forward. And other goals – maybe making an Olympics team, having a professional career – may not be as far away as they first thought on the first time they stepped into a ring.
“I’d always liked physical sports. I played football before moving over to boxing,” said Joseph, 16. “As I started sparring, I liked it more and more. And [boxing has] made me more calm. I handle things better now, with more patience. It’s helped me all around.
“I knew I’d be nervous because for some reason I always fight last. And then I saw all my teammates win so I knew I had to go out there and dominate.”
Edgar said later how proud he felt in watching Joseph’s effort.
“I’ve had him for two years,” he said. “Last year he was a chubby kid; he said he wanted to fight and I told him he wasn’t ready. He had to show me more. But he worked harder, lost weight, got taller and grew into his body and has more skill.”
First Timers
The victories by the Casanovas, who come from a family of nine children, were the biggest surprise. They had come to 818 because they were getting into scrapes at school as well as the natural roughhousing that comes with having seven brothers. C.J. and Mathew were born 11 months apart.
This was their first time competing in sanctioned matches. Everything was The Great Unknown – facing opponents they’d never seen before, how to react if they got hit hard or felt hurt. Other than the sparring sessions against other boxers in the 818 club or on weekends against other valley area boxing clubs, they had no other experience to draw from.
“I was nervous,” admitted C.J, 17. “But by the last fight, I was more comfortable from fighting the two previous days. I tried going in [each day] with the mindset that it was another day of sparring. Almost like a game of tag; you want to tag them and not get tagged back.”
Along with winning his belt, Mathew scored a knockout in his second fight. But the nerves were never far away from him, either.
“I watched [his championship bout] opponent fight and he was good. He was a southpaw and had ‘super’ technique,” he said. “And left-handers give me trouble.”
The brothers say they are having “a lot of fun.” And like their teammate Joseph, learning the sport and the discipline from training regularly has helped calm them.
“I no longer care how I’m looked at in school or outside the gym,” C.J said. “I don’t care what people say. And now I avoid fights because I know what I’m capable of and I don’t have to prove anything to anybody else. And I don’t think I’m better than anybody else.”
Mathew agreed. “I remember the very first time I sparred, I got kinda beat up. I wondered if I wanted to do this. But you have to beat the fear, you know? And it’s paid off.”
Father and Son
Anthony’s title win was bittersweet. “My opponent was my sparring partner, so I knew it would be hard,” the 15-year-old boxer said. “He knew my style so I had to change things up.”
But there’s more to this story. Not that being the son of a fighter and trainer had a pedigree to excel. It’s also about Anthony representing his father’s gym at all.
Edgar doesn’t have many rules at his gym or in his training sessions, but they are ironclad. “You come here to work and not to hang out,” he said. “I expect the kids and adults who want to fight to be here 5-6 days a week. You do your running, my conditioning classes, your sparring. Even the boys and girls spar 2-3 times a week.
“If you want to fight, I give you a three-month period before a scheduled bout. But you have to meet my standard. You must be a certain weight at certain points. If you don’t make weight, and you don’t get in your sparring, I’m not gonna fight you because you won’t be ready.”
Anthony is the middle child of Edgar’s three children. He, like his older brother and younger sister, has grown up at Edgar’s gym. He watched the sparring sessions, learned how to properly wrap a fighter’s hands, began training and has steadily absorbed the sport’s nuances that separate good boxers from average ones. His footwork and quick hands show his promise. And he was a willing student. “I liked how it was an independent sport,” he said.
But as he grew up, Anthony was becoming, in his father’s words, “difficult.” His grades were sliding in school and, in his father’s eyes, he was becoming attracted to the wrong crowds. Home life was becoming strained. Edgar thought the only way to get through to his son was to take boxing away from him, and he banned him from the gym. But instead of it being motivation, it further widened the gap between them.
“I didn’t know what to do,” Edgar said. “I can’t play favorites at the gym – not even my own son. If he doesn’t put in the work, I won’t fight him. He has to lead by example.”
Edgar sought advice from his good friend Blinky Rodriguez, who grew up in the San Fernando Valley and was a world-class competitive kick-boxer and martial artist in the 1970s and 1980s. Blinky runs the Champions in Service foundation in Pacoima that he established in 1995. The creation of the foundation, which works with troubled youths and in gang intervention, was inspired by Rodriguez tragically losing his son in a 1990 drive-by shooting in Sylmar.
Anthony’s rebelliousness hadn’t reached a point of no return, but it was headed in that direction. Champions in Service helped correct the course.
“In the end, it’s about changing lives,” Rodriguez said. “One of my staff members worked with Anthony here, working to give him a new hope and a new vision. He was able to reach him and get his attention. That’s the formula. [The problem] might be school, anger management, other things going on, the lure of the streets. We got to him in time. But he also had to want it because you can’t want it more than they do.
“The kid’s a good fighter … .other [Valley boxing clubs] wanted to recruit him,” Rodriguez continued. “And there are a lot of fathers who decide it’s easier to make a kid and then disappear. But Edgar was there. He has a stern attitude, especially about boxing. But he was able to show his son he loved him.”
Rodriguez paused for a moment. “It’s precious to see a father and son come to a place where they can agree and not agree. Because mutual respect goes a long way when traveling on the road of life. It’s harder for a father to train a son or daughter; emotions come into the relationship. It’s more personal. What a blessing that they pulled it together and [rebuilt] that relationship.”
It was a thrilling outcome, and – who knows – maybe just a beginning. But there is more to learn. So it’s back to the gym, back to work.
“They all have talent,” Edgar said. “There were others I could have trained for this particular event … but they showed me they were ready. I had them spar at different gyms, some tough sparring, and I felt confident enough to put them in this Golden Gloves competition. And they all won.”