THE CASE OF A PARENT: MY GREAT DEBATE
April 28, 2024
Simon Ruvalcaba
Heading into a great weekend and a great couple of weeks of boxing on the fistic calendar you will be seeing fighters compete and earning a substantial amount on national television along with undercard fighters aiming to someday get the spotlight! For many of these fighters, it is a fulfilling accomplishment for where they came from and the road that got them to these moments. For the Father’s involved in the main event Saturday night in Brooklyn, NY, Angel Garcia and Kevin Porter have shown what heights a Son can reach in this game with the blessings and support that they have provided throughout the years for their Son’s Danny Garcia and Shawn Porter. As a former fighter with a young Son that has grown up in the boxing gym and who recently reminded me that he’s 6 months away from turning 8, “So we need to start training hard Dad, for my first fight.” I, as a proud Father, without hesitation had a “let’s do it” attitude. When recently informing a co-worker of the conversation, he eyed me and said, “I’m sorry, but I don’t know how in the world you can want your Son to box with the concussion risks.”
(Click here for a clip of me training when my son was 2 years old)
Perhaps it’s just something in the blood that makes you want to box or participate in any physical activity? With major risks that have been known and with the help of medical science advancements that are bringing to light C.T.E. It is the risk that now has the likes of Pop Warner Football and youth boxing programs struggling to get sign ups. What used to be for generations something that made a Parent proud to see their kid participate in, now has many parents have pause to the idea. Perhaps I am of the last generation where sports was talked about for the challenge instead of the risk, for what it teaches you about team, hard work and discipline? Today’s focus is about ‘playing it safe.’ Long gone are the days of Ronnie Lott, who tore a finger off so that he could get back on the field and compete, as today you are praised for airing on the side of caution.
As a trainer, I remember a conversation with a fighter that didn’t want to go on and I advised him to put his head down and let me call the fight so that it didn’t look like we was quiting. As much as I have or had a distaste as a fighter to quit, thinking that was always the job of a trainer or referee to save us ‘warriors’ from ourselves and the ‘willing to die’ mentality. I now wonder in my Son, if he was ever in danger that I was blind to, would I want him to tell me something in the corner? The answer I am leaning to is yes, but for my mentality that is of debate, I would not stop him from wanting to box or do whatever he wanted to do in his life. I vowed when he was born that I would support him in whatever he wants to do in life.
I suspect that if my Son wanted to continue in his desire to box that in his era there will be less participants, so maybe the path to contender or championship status wouldn’t be as long, and perhaps in the future, for the safety of the sport, their may be a cap on how long your career can last or maybe rules changes to shorten rounds? I don’t know what the sports hemisphere is going to look like around the 2028 or 2032 Olympics, but as a generation carries over the ‘sports is good’ mentality versus the ‘I want to no part of this for my kids,’ it is going to be an ongoing battle off the field or out of the ring that will not end or have a winner anytime soon.
With the much anticipated boxing action and with football season underway that will have fans cheering passionately with excitement. It plays out as a mid evil scene where they all want blood, but don’t want to shed any? If a Son or Daughter makes it to stardom, sure, everyone will praise the athlete and the parents that supported the dream, but if the venture ends in disaster, it would be life’s ultimate fail. Weather a detractor or a risk taker, the thoughts of a parent will continue almost like the great liberal vs conservative debate? A parent will always do what they feel is right, and either way, no one should argue for what all parents want, What is best for our kids!
About the Editor
Army Veteran and former Professional Boxer Simon Ruvalcaba started boxing at the age of ten and Had a 71 fight amateur career which featured a 139 lbs. 1998 8th U.S. Army Boxing Championship out of Camp Casey, Korea and a spot on the prestigious Army Boxing Team at Fort Hood, TX. After a journeyman pro career of 18 fights, which included sparring sessions with many champions and contenders including Julio Cesar Chavez and Pernell “Sweat Pea” Whitaker, Simon started writing and has contributed to many publications and websites including fighthype.com, pound4pound.com, Tahoe Daily Tribune (South Lake Tahoe, CA), Nevada Appeal (Carson City, NV). He has also been the Boxing Instructor for Ken Shamrock and The Lions Den and was MMA and Bareknuckle star Paige VanZant’s first boxing coach!
Born and Raised in South Lake Tahoe, California he now resides in Sun Valley, Nevada and spends as much time as possible with his Sons Gabriel and Oscar! Beyond boxing, Simon is an all around sports fanatic and is passionate about the teams that he roots for. Simon also works as a Sportsbook Supervisor for Caesars Sportsbook in Lake Tahoe.
