R.I.P

                 KO BY DRUGS

                NOT KINGS OUT OF THE RING

As I heard the news from Oscar de la Hoyas (39-6, 30KOs) having to go to rehab for a coke addiction, I start to think what drug have done to people who are or were important in my live .Boxer’s I admired in and out of the ring that have lost to this disease., I have seen what that junk can do to an athlete career, lives, and specially love ones. I have personally experienced it and lost my brother to it and boxers I admire as well. Wilfredo “bazooka” Gomez (44-3-1, 42KOs ,Alexis ‘El Flaco Explosivo” Arguello (77-8 62KOs), Hector ”macho” Camacho (79-6-3, 38KOs) Samuel “el Torbellino ”Serrano (50-5-1, 17KOs) Iron Mike Tyson (50-6, 44KOs), Pernell “Sweet Pea” Whitaker( 40-4-1, 17KOs), All those men were great Champion’s and loved by many, but one of there hardest battles was against drug.

WASTED TALENT

   There are two people responsible for me falling in love with boxing one of them was my brother Francisco Joel Garcia fought amateur with a record (43, 12, 15KOS) and second the first professional boxer I meet José Luis “Aguja” Alejandro. When I meet Aguja he had beating Felix Trinidad sr (8-8, 5KOs) UD 10 rounds and José Cheo Aponte was getting him ready for his next fight. On his next fight he lost to Rafael Solis (30-13-2, 20KOs) by 9TKO. Aguja I can say was the first boxer I followed threw training to the day of fight. He taught me and my brother a lot, he lived close to us on the Jose Gautier Benitez projects in Caguas P.R , we ran thousand of miles, went to the gym together but what bounded us was we had the same dream. He also helped my brother with the transition of amateur to pro. But back then we were young and we couldn’t see it yet but he too was battling that demon of addiction.

                       R.I.P FRANSISCO JOEL GARCIA

 On Jan 23, 2003 I lost my hero the person I fallow to the gym everyday wanting to be like him, a 10 year battle he had with a demon I learned to hate! After all those wars threw Caguas gyms, all the sacrifices to make his dream come true he lost his life to that sickness too. That disease not only took his live, it left 6 kids without a dad. After what he saw it do to Agujas career, after we cried together when Esteban “Vita” DE Jesus (58-5, 33KOs) was dying of Aids in P.R and Roberto Duran (103-16, 70KOs) came to visit him and hugged Esteban on his dying bed, he died 05-11 1989, and last reading about his favorite fighter dying of an over dose Edwin “Chapo” Rosario (47-6, 41KOs) on 12, 1 1997. All those men meant a lot to me and they lost there lives and dreams to drugs and alcohol. May they rest in peace.