'Carrying on his legacy:' new boxing club coming to South Lorain

LORAIN — A former furniture store is now home to a boxing club in South Lorain. When Jaime Colon started boxing at 10 years old, he never expected to eventually open his own gym in his hometown. But the grand opening for Legacy Boxing Club LLC, 3015 Pearl Ave., is quickly approaching, after more than a year of behind-the-scenes work. "It's time for a new beginning," he said. Colon began boxing at Freddie's Boxing Club, where his father took him after getting bullied in school. His uncle, Eugene Ruiz, a former professional fighter, taught him everything he knows. Ruiz, 39, was stabbed to death in July 2003. "I went away from boxing," Colon said of uncle's death. "I had to deal with some issues and it took me about three, four years to get back into it. So I went back up to Freddie's Boxing Club and I began competing as an amateur again." When he started working, he stopped competing but kept training at the gym, and eventually began coaching. From there, gym owner Freddie Barreiro taught him how to coach, and pushed him to get his coaching license in 2015. Colon plans to focus on the gym's amateur program, starting with kids 6 and old, though adult classes are available. For the youngest boxers, there's no contact, it's just learning the rules of the sport, he explained, and participants' safety is paramount. "Everyone gets scared like 'Oh, I don't want my baby to get hit' but really, it's kind of a pillow fight," he said. "Eight-year-olds don't get bloodied up or anything." Beyond the fundamentals of the sport, kids learn discipline and responsibility, he said. Amateur fighters learn to be part of a team and support one another. He has enough equipment to accommodate about a dozen students, with three different sections available based on age. He has more bags on order, soon bringing the cap up to 18, while keeping everything socially distant. For those normally in fall sports, he noting boxing is something they can get into competitively, or just as a good workout — Lorain Schools has canceled all fall contact sports due to COVID-19. The gym is open Monday through Friday, with plans to expand to Saturday open gyms as scheduling allows. Beyond boxing, he plans to offer other fitness classes including yoga and Zumba. Classes for children 6 to 12 years old are from 4 to 4:45 p.m. and are $30 a month for unlimited sessions. For teens, classes are 5 to 6:30 p.m. and $40 a month for unlimited sessions. Adult classes are from 7 to 7:45 p.m. and are $60 a month for unlimited sessions. The club isn't about making money, Colon said, but supporting the community. "I'm just teaching these kids what I learned from (my uncle) and passing on his legacy, which is why I call this place Legacy Boxing Club," Colon said. "Just carrying on his legacy." The club's grand opening is Sept. 18. For more information, visit Legacy Boxing Club on Facebook, email legacyboxingclub.lorain@gmail.com or call (440) 370-6804. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.