At a former Boys & Girls Club in Robstown, a boxing gym is helping teens escape violence, build discipline and fight for a future beyond the ring.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — In a city recently plagued by youth violence, the Robstown Boxing Club has become a refuge for young men searching for discipline, purpose and a way forward. 

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When former professional boxer Robert Vela reopened the gym following the pandemic, he began working with two 12-year-olds who were already drifting toward trouble and saw a chance to teach them to fight with gloves instead of guns.

“Here it’s always been bigger than boxing,” Vela,  who holds a 14-1-1 professional boxing record, said. “Something I learned from my father, Greg, who founded the gym over 25 years ago.”

Vela’s father, Greg Gutierrez, trained Vela and countless others at the gym, always emphasizing that the goal has never been limited to success inside the ring.

“Yes, we’re here for boxing. Yes, we try to make it in boxing,” Vela said. “But the goal is to become a better person outside the ring.”

By many accounts, 17-year-olds Gauge Lopez and Robert Contreras embody that mission. Both are promising southpaws who hope to turn professional and earn their GEDs within the next year.

For Contreras, the gym offered a lifeline at a young age. At just 12 years old, he was working to help support his family after losing his mother to a heroin overdose.

“I was paying my grandma’s bills, working at my tia’s BBQ restaurant,” Contreras, who holds a 29-4 amateur boxing record, said. “But it wasn’t until I found the boxing gym. My friends brought me here, and I just built a father-type son relationship with the coach. I’ve been here ever since. I love to fight, brother.”

That father-son bond is no exaggeration. Contreras now lives at the gym — literally.

“I kind of got into a dark place in my life,” he said. “I was working out of town, and when I came back, I had nowhere to go. I wound up sleeping there in the ring, and I slept too long. Coach opened the gym up at five o’clock, 5:30, and he saw me in the gym. He was like, ‘Oh, you know, you can stay here.’ And he took care of me ever since. God put me in the right place.”

Lopez’s turning point came after a humbling loss at national competition, followed by an unexpected spiritual reset.

“I kind of stopped coming to the gym,” Lopez said. “I was really bummed out. I was talking with my girlfriend’s grandma, and she was like, ‘Get into God, mijo. God does a lot of great things for you.’ I ended up going to church with them, reading the Bible a lot more, and that actually helped me out. Made me feel better inside. That’s when I really came to the gym and started hitting it way harder than I was.”

Still, the road has not been easy.

Contreras learned that firsthand after winning a street fight in November. Days later, while sitting in front of a friend’s house, his opponent returned — this time armed.

“He came back for revenge, bro, and he shot me in my arm,” Contreras said. “I wound up coming back stronger than ever, and I’m just ready to fight.”

Now recovered and back in the ring, Contreras says the grind is worth it every time his name is announced before a bout.

“It feels awesome, bro,” he said. “It feels like my mom is calling my name again, you know what I mean? Like I’m up next.”

For Vela, those moments are the true victories — proof that boxing can still save lives.