In Jose Rodriguez’s boxing gym, most of the words spoken are instructions in the ring. Weights clank against their stations. Jump ropes whoosh through the air, occasionally skipping off of the ground. Leather-clad fists pound away at punching bags with satisfying thuds.
“You come through here, you don’t see nobody talking,” Rodriguez says.
Plant City Boxing Gym is like this by design.
When he’s not busy with his main business, JR Home Improvements, the gym is where Rodriguez goes to live out his dream: using his sport to better people’s lives.
The gym caters to anyone on any level, as it, Rodriguez and volunteer trainer Miguel Flores are all certified by USA Boxing. But Rodriguez’s top priority is to give kids in rough situations the things they don’t have: structure, discipline, encouragement and purpose.
When his young athletes are not busy in school or working to help support their families, it’s where they go to stay in shape, vent their frustrations or, in some cases, seek comfort in having some structure in their lives.
Rodriguez, a native Puerto Rican, was hooked on boxing from an early age and started training at 12. He eventually found his way into the sport, working his way up to a few professional fights before choosing to end his career.
He relocated to Clearwater in 1989 and began transitioning into a career in home improvements. But opening a gym was something that was always in the back of his mind, and Rodriguez knew he would pounce on the idea if the opportunity ever presented itself.
“I’d been trying to do a gym for 15 years,” Rodriguez says. “It was in God’s will.”
Rodriguez and his family settled in Plant City in 2005, to be closer to his brother. He and his wife have two sons, but he says they chose to play baseball over boxing.
He finally found the opportunity once his main business became successful enough for him to cover the costs of the gym. Rodriguez was able to get into a warehouse unit at 607 Hitchcock St., found a dedicated volunteer in Flores and received the support of the community.
“My Town Barber Shop donated money for us to buy bags,” Rodriguez says. “This stuff takes a lot of money. City Cuts, they donated some money. Sherwin-Williams helped with paints … It’s a community effort.”
Rodriguez goes back to the word “community” often. It was in his head since he began planning for the gym, and it’s what drives him to run the gym the way he does. He charges members a flat fee of $50 per month, on a month-to-month basis, but recognizes many who need his services aren’t always able to come up with the money.
“A lot of people don’t pay,” Rodriguez says. “A lot of those kids don’t pay, but I’m not going to kick them out onto the streets.”
Rodriguez would rather see at-risk Plant City kids training hard in his gym instead of fending for themselves on the streets. He cites the Wheeler Street gas station homicide, where man was killed in an armed robbery attempt April 8, as the kind of thing he hopes to help prevent from happening in the future.
“Not only is the guy dead, the family lost a son, father, grandfather, whatever,” Rodriguez says. “Everybody lost in that situation … It’s a shame.”
He estimates there are 75 to 100 kids registered at the gym. Not all of them are able to come every day, as Rodriguez hopes they would.
“If they don’t come, they don’t come,” Rodriguez says. “If they do come, we work. It is what it is.”
Beyond serving the kids, Plant City Boxing Gym works with adults. Rodriguez says many people come to whip themselves into better shape, develop the boxing skills needed for a career or, occasionally, learn new striking techniques for mixed martial arts fights. It’s also where professional boxer and Plant City native Chevelle Hallback likes to train.
The first weekend of May, Plant City Boxing Gym hosted a 20-fight Premier Boxing Champions tournament that brought over 100 people to the warehouse unit. Rodriguez, who was surprised to see so many people come through, hopes the gym’s central location between the Tampa Bay and Orlando areas will make it a destination for more tournaments and local fight cards. He says Premier Boxing Champions will also be back in June to film video packages with boxers to air before future fights.
“This stuff is exciting, man,” Rodriguez says. “It’s awesome. Out of every gym, they wanted to come to mine.”
Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.