Members of the TKO Boxing Club in Santa Ana on the red carpet in front of their Center Street gym before the screening of a documentary filmed there called "Center Street Rising."
Santa Ana boxing club fights against gangs
By ALEJANDRA MOLINA
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
SANTA ANA – John Raya, a Santa Ana businessman, hopes that a 30-minute documentary film about a boxing club he started 15 years ago – aimed at keeping youth off the streets – will help create a larger understanding that gangs are not unique to Santa Ana.
"Gangs are not a Santa Ana problem. If you live in OC, gangs are an issue for you," Raya said. "This is not the OC you see on TV. This is what happens when the lights go out. I hope the outcome is that people quit looking away from it."
The film is called "Center Street Rising" and it documents how volunteers and members of TKO Boxing Club in Santa Ana have struggled against adversity and financial hardships to pursue boxing and academic careers and keep the club open to all at-risk youth.
The film made its debut Sunday at the boxing club in front of an estimated 100 that included children, parents, volunteers, and city leaders.
"It's about regular people doing extraordinary things," said producer and executive director Tracy Sabeti, a Mission Viejo resident.
The film was six months in the making and will premiere at the Newport Beach Film Festival on April 29. It was self-funded and cost and estimated $20,000.
"We hope that this recognition will bring a new awareness to the plight of families in nearby Santa Ana and make a difference for the TKO club and all its participants," Sabeti said.
The club has produced more than 10 national champions. It was founded in 1994 after Raya, who was born and raised in Santa Ana, began attending gang truce meetings.
"I knew we needed an attractive alternative," Raya said. "There's a certain macho appeal to the sport. There's a cultural following of the sport."
TKO is run by volunteers and just recently moved to a new and larger location on Center Street. The new site now has a learning center with computers to go along with the gym.
"We have a bunch of kids who know the difference between this and what the streets have to offer," Raya added. "We're competing for the same kids gangs do. Not every kid that's in here is at risk of joining a gang but every kid is at risk from gangs, violence from the influences."
The most-recent FBI statistics show that Santa Ana had the highest rate of violent crime in Orange County in 2007. And according to the film, there are 5,000 gang members with 90 active gangs in Santa Ana.
Luis Ramos Jr. and Ronny Rios are two club boxers featured in the film. They both narrowly missed making the U.S. Olympic Boxing team last year and went on to make their professional debuts.
"I probably would have been like any other kid. I think I would have been in trouble without the gym," Ramos said.
Ramos said he's excited about the film as others will now get to experience what "this little gym can do for everybody."
Contact the writer: amolina@ocregister.com or 949-454-7360
"Center Street Rising" producer Dot Leach and TKO Boxer Luis Ramos Jr. after the movie screening Sunday afternoon.
"Center Street Rising" director Tracy Sabeti and TKO Boxing Club owner John Raya talk after the movie screening Sunday afternoon.
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