Joe Ponce a Leader in Amateur Boxing

By Franco Hernandez

December 16, 2013

Joe Ponce Junior remembers how he first got involved in the sport of boxing, "it wasn't a pleasant experience. I was practicing Karate with the famous trainer Pat Burleson, this gave me great confidence in my fighting ability. Winning boxing tournaments would be easy.  I was in for a big surprise.  I literally got an old fashion whipping in the ring." After the humbling experience; Junior fell in love with amateur boxing and became a life-long student of the sport.

Originally from San Angelo, Texas, a self made man, Junior is a successful entrepreneur (Ponce's Transmission), a family man who has been married to his wife for thirty-four years.  Life has not always been easy for Junior.  Raised in poverty, his teenage years were rough.  Junior ran away from home at age fourteen and spent time in correctional facilities, but "somehow I managed to turn my life around, mostly through education and hard work, incredibly by the young age of twenty-two I was running my own successful business," said Junior.

Besides the love for his family (his wife, two children, and four grandchildren), Junior's passion is working with kids in the community to help them develop character, self-discipline, self-confidence, a work ethic, friendships, through the practice of amateur boxing. Junior's boxing team Lone Star Spartans can boast many achievements including the only boxer from all of Tarrant County to win the Silver Glove Nationals: Brandon Rivas. Junior has made a difference in the lives of the many kids that he coaches, some of which have gone from the depths of failure and delinquency to become valedictorians in high school and eventually University students.

Junior isn't alone in the gym, his team includes Jesse "Junkyard Dog" Shelby, a former heavyweight fighter who fought some of the best in his division including Evander Holyfield.  Robert Guy the 1985 National Golden Gloves Junior Welterweight Champion, ranked in the top ten during his pro career. Coach Alfred Henry "Chief" Travesi, originally from South Dakota, a Native American of Sioux lineage.  Coach Alfred has been training fighters for decades and has been close to a world championship with fighters Robert Guy and Ruben Narvarez. Coach Al points out that one of his best fighters was a girl, she won five national championships, but to his great surprise was refused into the US Olympic team because she was a Dreamer.  She was forced to seek opportunities in Mexico where the hardships of life in that nation prevented her from succeeding in Olympic boxing.

Currently Junior is running for President of the USA Boxing Southwestern Association #26.  Junior is concerned with the current tendency of disregarding the importance of safety in amateur boxing, "the strength of amateur boxing is its safety, amateur boxing is one of the safest sports a kid can practice, and this shouldn't change," said Junior.

A true leader, Coach Junior's mission is to initiate beneficial and needed changes in amateur boxing, to support the kids and the coaches who participate in the sport, to preserve the benefits of amateur boxing for future generations.