Jewelry web blog

Edgardo “Blanco” Del Valle had his fill of the street life.

He was only 15, but the scars from three bullet wounds in buy tiffany his leg bore witness to a violence-prone lifestyle.

So last fall, desperate to change his life, Edgardo tacked a note on the headquarters of the Reading Inner City Boxing Club in Baer Park.

“I want to come here, to get off the street and do something with my life,” he wrote. “Please let me in.”

“It broke my heart,” confessed club founder Joe Ayala, who heralded Blanco as one of the club’s success stories.

On Wednesday night, in a tiny gym that cost $2,000, organizers celebrated the club’s fi rst anniversary.

The spirit of Muhammad Ali permeated the gym as about 100 coaches, pendants young boxers and community leaders paused to take stock.

Mayor Tom McMahon, recalling how he had watched the world heavyweight champ work out years ago, compared the Baer Park gym to Ali’s training camp near Deer Lake, Schuylkill County.

“We have that same dedication and spirit here,” McMahon declared. “This place has been transformed.”

With assistance from the Route 222 Corridor Anti-Gang Initiative, a handful of spirited coaches have created an after-school program for 75 Reading youngsters.

Linking physical training with a code of conduct, the boxing club off ers structure often missing from the lives of inner-city kids.

“We guide them, nurture them and impress on them the need to get a good education,” said coach Lindsay Bates, 47, a former Golden Gloves boxer. “Boxing is demanding, disciplined sport, and it carries over into the schoolroom.”

Participants must bring in their report cards to show academic progress. They must also earrings swear off drugs and alcohol, disavow gangs and promise not to use their boxing skills in street fi ghts.

For many young boxers, the club has opened newfound horizons.

Jason “New York” Melendez, 17, a former gang member, jogs from Reading High every day to work out in the ring. Quickfisted and lean, he recently won his fi rst fi ght.

Perhaps more importantly, Melendez is being tutored to take the Air Force entrance exam. He yearns to become a jet mechanic.

“You see, our kids have dreams,” Bates insisted. “They can achieve anything they set their minds to.”

Hector Rivera smiled as his son, David, 12, sparred with a coach. He wanted the boy to learn respect and develop a sense of pride.

“I’m not worried that he’ll get hurt in the ring,” said Rivera, who works in a Mohnton candy factory. “A lot worse things happen in the streets.”

Blanco watched in awe as professional boxer Harold Cintron, brother of welterweight champ key rings Kermit Cintron, demonstrated his punching ability.

Blanco, who’s dropped 35 pounds in training, took mental notes to use for his fi ghting debut in December.

“These boxers,” Blanco said, “they’re my family.”

Contact Ron Devlin: 610-371-5030 or rdevlin@readingeagle.com.