Boxing is often thought of as a brutal sport and sometimes it
is.
But it has also saved thousands of underprivileged boys
– and even girls these days – from a much worse fate on the
streets that are filled with so much danger for our young
people.
The sport and its trained and dedicated instructors teach many
skills that can be used in and, more important, outside of the
ring.
Boxing is often thought of as a brutal sport and sometimes it is.
But it has also saved thousands of underprivileged boys – and even girls these days – from a much worse fate on the streets that are filled with so much danger for our young people.
The sport and its trained and dedicated instructors teach many skills that can be used in and, more important, outside of the ring.
Among these are: self-discipline, responsibility, self-esteem, staying physically and mentally healthy, staying away from illegal drugs, tobacco and alcohol – and those who use them.
Hollister has benefited from the positive side of boxing, especially thanks to the Bulldog Boxing Club and its founder Zeke Lopez.
So we are just as outraged and saddened at the theft during the past weekend of the club’s computer, equipment and uniforms.
Plus, this is the second time a theft of the club has occurred, each time at a price of more than $5,000. To make it worse, Lopez donates most of his time to this most important and time-consuming project.
Obviously, the cowards who took the stuff have never been in a ring or know how hard it is to train and maintain a training facility.
We urge anyone who has true courage – as Lopez and his boxers have shown – to turn in the thieves who took everything or at least help get the stolen property safely returned.
The Hollister Police Department, if it isn’t already, should actively pursue this case.
Maybe someone in the community can put up a reward or start a drive to buy more equipment, along with finding a way to make the facility more secure so the losers who keep breaking in will stop or be caught.
Or surely the City Council could step in and find a way to help, perhaps through the city’s recreation department.
Lopez and the members of the Bulldog Boxing Club should be allowed to continue their valiant fight and not be KO’d by criminal bums.
Anyone with any information on the theft should call the Hollister Police Department at 636-4330.
