56 THE COASTAL BEND MAGAZINE • Early Summer 2018 TheCoastalBend.com Coastal Bend Community grandmother and their grandfather. A lot of them live by themselves I got some guys who never had a mother and a father, you know, and they grow up and always thank me for what I did for them. That’s the whole thing, take them in the right direction, so they can become somebody and not just in the streets and all that.” Chavarria opened his current gym earlier this year, and along with his daughter, herself a former boxer, other fam- ily members and former students who now coach, aspir- ing champions train free of charge. Chavarria pays the gym rent personally, and everyone else donates their time and effort. Fundraisers are held regularly to pay for boxers’ memberships in USA Boxing and for trips to tournaments, but the real need for the kids of Chavarria’s Boxing Club is the ability to formally raise funds and to apply for grants— and that requires an IRS 501(c)(3) designation as a non- profit organization. In the 20 years since Chavarria left the military and start- ed training amateur boxers full time, he has coached some 100 Golden Gloves champions, two National Silver Gloves champs, three Junior Olympic bronze medalists, and the only female Junior Olympic boxing champion to come from Corpus Christi. One dad, who has a son and a daughter at Chavarria’s, said of their coach, “He cares about the kids. It’s not just pushing them to be better at boxing, or to get into better shape— all that come with it—but he’s really concerned about how they’re doing at home and in school,” he continued. “My kids are lucky and we tell them that—that they have a mom and dad, because most of these kids don’t and he knows he’s filling in for missing parents. He’s a good man.” Aspiring champions at all of Corpus Christi’s boxing gyms can find inspiration from the city’s deep boxing tradi- tion, and that professional champs got their start on these streets and in these gyms. Frankie “Panchito” Warren re- tired with a professional record of 30-2 and held the USBA Super Lightweight title for three years, defeating and then losing to IBF world champ James “Buddy” McGirt. Jesse Benavides was Corpus Christi’s most beloved fighter, winning five national Golden Gloves championships, and going 40-5-1 over his professional career in which he won the WBO World Bantamweight championship in 1991. While Coach Chavarria hopes to train an Olympic gold med- alist before his career ends, the role he plays in his com- munity delivers the personal satisfaction he seeks, “I lived here all my life—this is my neighborhood and it’s why I do it here,” he said. “They show up at the door and their moms and dads bring them—and the parents like that they spend their energy here and not out in the streets.” Jesse Benavides Frankie Warren TCB