b'Coastal Bend Communitygrandmother and their grandfather. A lot of them live byand dad, because most of these kids dont and he knows hes themselves I got some guys who never had a mother and afilling in for missing parents. Hes a good man.father, you know, and they grow up and always thank meAspiring champions at all of Corpus Christis boxing gyms for what I did for them. Thats the whole thing, take them incanfindinspirationfromthecitysdeepboxingtradi-the right direction, so they can become somebody and nottion, and that professional champs got their start on these just in the streets and all that. streets and in these gyms. Frankie Panchito Warrenre-Chavarria opened his current gym earlier this year, andtired with a professional record of 30-2 and held the USBA along with his daughter, herself a former boxer, other fam- Super Lightweight title for three years, defeating and then ily members and former students who now coach, aspir- losing to IBF world champ James Buddy McGirt.ing champions train free of charge. Chavarria pays the gymJesse Benavides was Corpus Christis most beloved fighter, rent personally, and everyone else donates their time andwinning five national Golden Gloves championships, and effort. Fundraisers are held regularly to pay for boxersgoing 40-5-1 over his professional career in which he won memberships in USA Boxing and for trips to tournaments,the WBO World Bantamweight championship in 1991.but the real need for the kids of Chavarrias Boxing Club is the ability to formally raise funds and to apply for grants While Coach Chavarria hopes to train an Olympic gold med-and that requires an IRS 501(c)(3) designation as a non- alist before his career ends, the role he plays in his com-profit organization. munity delivers the personal satisfaction he seeks, I lived In the 20 years since Chavarria left the military and start- here all my lifethis is my neighborhood and its why I do ed training amateur boxers full time, he has coached someit here, he said. They show up at the door and their moms 100 Golden Gloves champions, two National Silver Glovesand dads bring themand the parents like that they spend champs, three Junior Olympic bronze medalists, and thetheir energy here and not out in the streets. TCBonly female Junior Olympic boxing champion to come fromJesse Benavides Frankie WarrenCorpus Christi.One dad, who has a son and a daughter at Chavarrias, said of their coach, He cares about the kids. Its not just pushing them to be better at boxing, or to get into better shapeall that come with itbut hes really concerned about how theyre doing at home and in school, he continued. My kids are lucky and we tell them thatthat they have a mom 56 THE COASTAL BEND MAGAZINEFEATURED: The Stories that Mattered TheCoastalBend.comTheCoastalBend.comTHE COASTAL BEND MAGAZINEEarly Summer 2018 97'