Gym Rat on Power and Glory Boxing
Story by Gerardo Martinez
Photos by Jose Leon Castillo
According to Steve Garcia, head trainer of Power and Glory Boxing team, boxing is about having heart . . . and conditioning. Garcia has been involved in the fight game for about 15 years. He began with kickboxing and trained under both Tony Sigala and Melcor Chavez, both well known instructors. After winning titles in kickboxing, Garcia decided to give boxing a try and after taking a stab at the professional level, he had to stop fighting after suffering an injury.
He decided to coach, and has been doing so since 1997. First out of a makeshift gym in the Adobe Acres area of the South Valley inside a friend’s car garage and later he assisted long time trainer Henry Anaya Sr and finally, Bernie Sanchez at TUFF.
“I then decided to start Power and Glory up because my daughter was interested in boxing and it was time for me to do it on my own,” said Garcia. Besides coaching, Garcia works full time as a salesman for Kraft Foods.
His daughter, Jordanne Garcia, will be heading to Pasadena, Calif. in January, along with fellow teammate Santiago Giron to participate in the Regional Silver Gloves Championships. They both earned their spots in the regional tournament by winning their division for the State of New Mexico. Jordanne has been involved in boxing her entire life, but it wasn’t until recently that she decided to take it seriously. “I used to be a dancer at school and now I want to do both,” said the 13 year-old. Garcia who plans to turn pro eventually.
As for 10 year-old Santiago Giron, he plans on boxing for a while and continue winning state, regional and once he’s old enough national championships.
Besides Garcia and Giron, Power and Glory has a few other amateurs in their stable and pro welterweight Freddie Cisneros (1-2-1, 1 NC). Cisneros is originally from Cheyenne, Wyoming. He has been with Steve Garcia for close to three years and is looking to fight again soon.
Coach Garcia says that it’s the prayer and faith that keeps his team going. In fact the team name says it all: “Power of the fighter for the Glory of God.” He also stresses the importance of an education to his pupils.
“In boxing only one in a million make it and school is what gets you everywhere,” says Garcia. You can find his team training on a weekly basis at Jack Candelaria Community Center in Albuquerque’s San Jose neighborhood.
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