Celeste Cruz/Vaquero Radio
UTRGV offers GX and Club boxing, which promotes health and teaches students self-defense techniques and fighting styles. UTRGV students who take part say the training helps them improve their skills and perform well in academics.
Alejandro Huerta, a GX Boxing instructor and Club Boxing president, explained the difference between GX boxing and Club boxing.
“Club boxing is a student made organization sports club, and that’s more like student involvement, like an actual club and we do different stuff,” Huerta said. “But in GX, is simply provided by the University Recreation Center.”
He said GX boxing is free of charge for students. Anyone is welcome to join since they only focus on the fitness aspect.
“In GX, we try to exclaim fitness overall, just get everyone fit, and we try to have everyone,” Huerta said. “Our experience is [to] just come and get a good workout and this is just to, like, focus on improving their health and wellness.”
His goal in GX boxing is to help students’ well-being.
“To be honest, just improving their health and mentality,” he said. “Because I exclaim a lot of health and wellness, in terms of physical health and also mental health and emotional health,” he said. “Because a lot of people would avoid that, and I try to encourage something positive.”
He provided information about the type of tournaments Club Boxing competes in.
“The tournament that Club Boxing always goes to, and tries to show out and win at is the USIBA National Collegiate Tournament,” he said. “Up to 20 to 30 colleges go and compete and … a total of 200 to 250 college boxers go and compete for the national title.”
He explained the importance of being an athlete.
“The important thing about being a combat sports athlete, like a boxer, is not just learning yourself, but teaching others,” he said. “Because when you teach others you learn a lot more.”
Marketing junior Oscar Lugo, a member of GX boxing, said training improved his health.
“It helps me overcome my asthma, because I’m very asthmatic,” Lugo said. “But I usually train it, I try to push myself without my pump to help me get my lungs stronger without the use of [it]. I take two medicines like albuterol and the flovent, but this kinda acts like the training for it.”
He said Canelo Alvarez and Floyd Mayweather Jr. inspired his boxing journey.
Physics senior Rene Flores, who is also involved in GX boxing and Club Boxing, said training helps him perform better academically.
“Overall, it helps me with my critical-thinking skills, especially its high pace and high movement,” Flores said. “When I’m doing exams for the Physics Department, it helps me think rationally and not be scared ’cause … a lot of times people have trouble thinking rationally.”
He said being part of boxing improved his health in many aspects, such as weight loss.
“I was also suffering from pre-diabetes and high blood pressure …” he said. “I want to be overall healthy for myself and recently I was declared not pre-diabetic anymore.”
GX training takes place at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at the University Recreation Building on the Edinburg campus.
Club Boxing training is at 7:30 p.m. Monday and Wednesday at the University Recreation Building on the Edinburg campus.
This Celeste Cruz for Vaquero Radio.
