by FRANK CONTE
(EAST BOSTON- December 15, 2024) His dedication to boxing all began after a baseball game at Al Festa Field in East Boston. Elijah Garcia’s team had just won a tournament and his teammates were celebrating, so was his father Ricardo a self-professed baseball dad and his mother Rachel. But both parents noted that his son was a bit melancholy. “’I was like, ‘what’s up? And he was like ‘kind of just want to do boxing.”
At that point Ricardo didn’t know whether to be happy or sad since he was the kind of parent who liked to cheer on his son from the stands. The father was already a boxing fan so it was easy for him to say, “OK let’s hone in on boxing.”
Thereafter, young Elijah approached the sport of boxing with all the rigor of an adult throwing a solid left. Few youngsters at the age of 12 know what they want and what it really takes. Elijah, a 12-year-old who attends Excel Academy, speaks with distinction about his approach to the sport, a distinction way beyond his years. Elijah’s been boxing for a few years now and recently competed in Rhode Island where he notched a milestone: a victory by capturing the New England Silver Gloves Championship in November. That makes him the Bantom weight Champion of New England. His success is due in part to his membership to the Private Jewels Boxing Club in Lynn.
“I felt like kind of boxing chose me,” says the younger Garcia, an articulate seventh grader as you will find. “It was different from any other sport, and ever since, I first learned about I fell in love with it.”
He adds,” My dad would set me on his lap while watching the big fights on the TV. I would just start mimicking the boxers on the screen and we started doing mitt work.”
The Garcia family has lived in East Boston for about 25 years now. Ricardo grew up in Mattapan. “I’m a Bostonian.” The elder Garcia is a laborer with Local 22 out of Malden. He comes from a family of tradesmen and is proud of his upbringing. Rachel grew up in Brockton. Rachel is a paraprofessional at Excel High School in South Boston.
Ricardo and Rachel are working class. A family of four, the Garcias live in the Orient Heights section of East Boston. To some. Elijah is known for working out at Constitution Beach with his dad on some days and completing a five-mile run around Jeffries Point on others. His 50- year-old dad keeps pace on a bike alongside his son.
If there’s anything you can learn from both parents and son is that all demonstrate a determination to weave their way into competition in the state’s small boxing community. Rachel also plays a big part.
The first example of that drive came with the need to slim down made much easier since his mom Rachel is a dietician. Elijah weighed about 110 pounds which was too heavy for his class. “His trainer said `If you can get him down to 80, I can get you a fight’,” recalls Ricardo. And down to 80 pounds went Elijah no small feat in a world where too many kids get their enjoyment sitting down eating snacks.
Elijas overhauled his diet. “It’s definitely really hard, you know, because growing up overweight, I was eating anything so it was definitely a big switch. But I think right now, it’s not as hard, because, you know, being on a diet doesn’t really have to be like, just eating vegetables, or it’s not as bad as people think. You know, being on a diet is actually pretty fun, because you get to experience new foods that are healthy and will benefit you.” On his grocery list: chicken and side vegetables. “I try to up my protein and really go low on carbs, carbs. I try to stay away from carbs, that type of stuff. Oh, and drinking a whole lot of water too.”
Elijah’s been working out of Private Jewels in Lynn, a gym that cultivates young fighters and is tied in with USA Boxing which has a direct line to the Olympic trials.
“Elijah’s a hard worker and disciplined, “says Alex Sepulveda, head coach of Private Jewel Boxing and President of USA Boxing New England. “What he’s accomplished is above and beyond. It’ s an honor to have him in my gym.”
It takes the kind of structure that’s hard for a youngster in these times. After his dad picks him up a school, Elijah hits his homework has a quick meal and fights traffic to get to the Private Jewels gym in Lynn.
Elijah’s describes his weekly routine in greater detail. “Usually at the gym I’ll train like two hours a day, every day throughout the week, except for Sundays. Sundays are like my rest days. We have a different body part which we on every day of the week. For example, on Mondays, it will be like a leg day. On Tuesdays, it will be mid-body, or like core work. Wednesdays will be upper body, and Thursdays will be speed and agility. Fridays will be open gym, where we spar. And on Saturdays, my dad and I will go out to the Memorial Stadium– down there, we’ll do a whole lot of cardio work.”
Ricardo adds his own take: “He got down to 85 eventually got down to 80 pounds, and he’s really been undefeated as 80-pound fighter. And he carries the weight of a 100-lb fighter in his punching power, so he’s a pretty balanced fighter. He goes to the head, and he’s stopped some kids and sparring with body shots.”
Sepulveda sizes up Elijah’s uniqueness. “He’s got his own style and he’s still developing. “
Getting hit in the head isn’t what you want to happen in the ring. Does Elijah still feel butterflies in his stomach? “You know, I’m still a little nervous, but that’s just something that always happens, But I think it’s really fun just like to do such a sport that not a lot of people do. So, it makes me feel like special.”
And of course there are the distractions of the digital age. Both parents and son know how to keep focus “Well, it’s definitely something that you will learn over time. You know, time is always the best teacher, so I guess it’s just about keeping your mindset straight.”
How does he take losing? “I don’t really take losses as a loss. I take them as a learning experience. I don’t believe in losses, you know? I think losses make me stronger, not only in boxing, but also as like a person. You know, it teaches me how to stay disciplined while winning. Winning is about going on to the next tournament, you know, it’s still, you’re still learning either way.”
Sports always instill character and boxing is no different. “It helps me with my discipline, helps me stay humble as a person,” he says. “You know, it just helps me be the best version of myself that I can be, Boxing is a really big aspect of my life.”
Elijah is wise enough not to brag about being tough. In school he says he’s low key. He notes: “I’m just a quiet and humble kid. You know, I don’t really like talking too loudly, because I already know that the lack of humility is one of the worst things to experience.”
“My dad always taught me to be respectful and I think that it’s always good to keep that friendly relationship between other people, because it’s never good, like to burn bridges or get on the wrong side of somebody, because they can always help you all to be a success in your career.
In the local boxing community, relationships matter.
Since it isn’t a major sport on par with basketball, football or soccer, boxing evolved into its own tight in New England which could use a few more boxing locales. “We push our kids a lot and we expect a lot from our athletes,” notes coach Sepulveda.
“You’re going to see a lot of the same kids. There are not a lot of gyms that do this,” says Ricardo who like other parents are trying to bring more attention to the sport. “Its helpful to the inner city kids, those communities hard hit. We really focus on self-discipline, confidence, and we also teach never to be the aggressive. Never be the aggressive. Where we teach that you can defend yourself. But you know, we take our aggression out on a heavy bag or on a speed bag or shadow box, things of that nature.”
He adds, “Kids think they come in and it’s just throwing punches. No, you’re 85 to 90 percent of the time working out. Yeah, conditioning is, is a major part of it, learning the skill. But you’re not really hitting each other until later, later on.”
One of the toughest things Ellijah faced was having to fight his best friend, something that worried him. “My wife and I had the fear that one day they’re going see each other, and it happened in silver gloves bout.”
And sure enough, it took place.
After the fight they cried and hugged it out. Ricardo asked his son what they said to each other after the fight. Elijah said the win felt good but it was also sad but in the end there was a lot of mutual respect. “That’s part of the culture you know.”
Elijah sees himself continuing in the ring. “I see myself like competing in higher ranking tournaments, I see myself being one of the, you know, most, staying humble. And I see myself being one of the one of the best fighters, amateur fighters in the USA.”
“We’re aiming for the 2028 Olympic team headed for Los Angeles,” says trainer-dad Ricardo. He’s got a good head start since Private Jewels is a pipeline to the trials. But long before that will be an upcoming major tournament in January in Danvers.
Elijah can’t forget about his studies at Excel Charter. To be the team captain at the gym he has to keep a grade point average of above 2.8. His favorite subject is science, particularly physics, he says. “I think physics is really crazy.”
Asked if he knows that boxing is known as the sweet science, the ever-knowledgeable 12-year-old replies with a smile, “Yes I do.”
Folks at ringside would be wise to watch Elijah grow into a champion in and out of the ring.
Frank Conte is Editor and Publisher of EastBoston.com, established 1995. He can be reached at editor@eastboston.com.
Originally posted: December 15, 2024
