It is often said that it takes a village to raise a child. But what if you were trying to raise 2 young men, who both enjoy boxing, and just happen to live in Minot, North Dakota, not exactly the mecca of boxing by any means.
There have been a couple of boxing legends that hailed from around the Minot area. Most recent was Olympic Gold Medalist Virgil Hill. On any night when Virgil would be featured on a boxing card that was being televised, and available, to North Dakota residents, you could walk through any bar or public venue and see the tv’s tuned to his fight. What happened to Virgil Hill? Well, a bit about that later in this article, and in upcoming articles about a new enterprise in Minot, The Lopez Boxing Gym.
Twin brothers Rafael and Jose Lopez are both very much into boxing and according to their father, Alex Lopez, “it took a while to find their passion, but when they started boxing as a young age, the decision to box was pretty much final. It’s what they wanted to do.”
There certainly isn’t a plethora of boxing gyms located in Minot, but their boxing path(s) would intersect with long-time Minot boxing legend Richard Calavera, owner of Clavera Martial Arts & Boxing Club, formerly located at #500 Central Avenue in downtown Minot. “I got the kids (the Lopez twins) when they were young, and pretty much knew right away that they were headed the right direction” according to Calavera. So, in the village of people who helped mold the young Lopez brothers into boxers was first time coach, Richard Calavera.
Back to father Alex (Alejandro) Lopez. Raising and training a world-class athlete in any sport takes patience, perseverance and of course resources. But raising 2 world-class athletes would be an even more daunting task, especially when there was a need to a training facility, coaches and trainers to bring Rafael ad Jose to the next level, and an even more focused goal of becoming boxing champions.
From this goal came the training facility located at 4715 North Broadway, the Lopez Gym. It’s more than a training facility for Rafael and Jose; it is also a facility where young kids can start to learn and have fun in boxing. From the very beginning the Lopez Gym was not built as a money-making enterprise, instead, it is non-profit with any money made going right back into the facilities and the staff to run the gym, in fact, the Lopez brothers are the managers of Lopez Gym.
With the facility hurdle somewhat conquered, although there are goals to add a concession stand and viewing bleachers, there was a need for some additional coaching. Into the arena, literally, would walk Gureet (Gary) Hundal, a Family Practice Resident at The UND Center for family medicine. Along with his colleague, Dr. Dharam Singh, they stepped into the ring as coaches of the Lopez. For Coach Gary, “I had watched them (The Lopez twins) at the YMCA, and could see there was something different, a lot of potential. With Singh and Hundal in control of their coaching, Rafael and Jose qualified for the U.S. Golden Gloves Championship in Oklahoma City. The competition? “It was tough, with over 400 participants. But these guys, they held their own” according to Hundal. “Being around so many world class boxers gave the twins even more inspiration to excel.”
The teaching and the learning certainly paid off. Even though Rafael lost his match on the first day “qualifying for national to start with is a huge win.”
Jose made it to the quarterfinals, citing once again the competition that he encountered.
So, the village has once again grown with the addition of Singh and Hundal. But there are a couple of more pieces to ad, including a strength coach and even more important, a promoter to bring world class boxing events to the Magic City. The strength training would fall into the hands of Laura Connell from Iron Nation Gym. The promoter would bring back a familiar name and face, one that the Lopez brothers have gotten to know well, none other than Virgil Hill and his wife, Carla. More about the Lopez brothers, their trip to Toronto, and their focus on being boxing champions, next week.
