POCATELLO — Despite a snow storm cancelling seven out of the planned 15 matches, spectators crowded the Westwood Mall on Nov. 10 to watch a card that displayed some of the youngest boxing talent in southeastern Idaho. Out of the six locally trained boxers who had bouts, four would win their matches.

    The event was sponsored by Gate City Boxing Club, based in Pocatello. Unlike professional boxing matches on pay-per-view and cable television, the matches only feature three rounds instead of 15, and in matches involving the kids under 17-years-old, each round is under the usual three minutes, depending on the age. The boxers must always wear protective headgear as well.

    Gate City was represented by Orlando Carrasco, Miguel Garcia, Devon Stoor, Raymond Stoor, and Edgar Carrasco. The Carrasco brothers and Garcia won their matches and were presented with large trophies. KC Boxing, another club based in Pocatello, was represented by Daniel Evans, who defeated his opponent Storm Pawson from Gonzales Boxing Club in Burley, ID, in the 130-pound category.

    “It’s interesting to do and it’s fun and you get stronger when you box,” said Orlando Carrasco, 11, who, along with his older brother Edgar, 14, won their bouts for the night. Both said they started to get involved in boxing with their dad, and both have dreams of going professional when they get older.

    Phil Whiting, President of the Idaho Snake River Boxing Association, served as one of the ring judges for the night, and in his career has helped trained numerous boxers, including Idaho Hall of Famer Kenny Keene.

    “It’s not just about boxing,” he said. “We are teaching these kids about discipline, honor, and sportsmanship.”

    The main event was a match for the Rocky Mountain Middleweight Championship, with challenger Brandon Mendoza from Nampa, ID, a former Idaho state champion in the 165-pound category, failing to dethrone the current champion, Jason Galloway, a regional Golden Gloves champion from Salt Lake City, UT, in a hard fought match.

    “The fights are always close,” said Jack Woods, the founder of Gate City Boxing Club, “and when the fights are over these young men usually want to immediately go back and fight them again right there. The little guys are always demanding rematches.”

    Woods has been involved with the local boxing scene for almost 44 years. He started the club in 1983, and announced at the event that he would be retiring as the Head Trainer for the organization and would be passing the reins down to fellow trainer Rob Chavez.  

    “Rob’s been in the role for a couple weeks now,” said Woods, “and he’s brought in new blood and new ideas, and I think he’s going to be a wonderful Head Trainer.”

    According to Woods, Pocatello has had a strong boxing history. Before disbanding in 1961, Idaho State University had a boxing team that was consistently listed in the National Top 5 rankings, and was listed number one on numerous occasions. Woods says that this strong culture is still alive today, as enrollment in the Gate City Boxing Club has increased so much that their training program schedule increased from nine months long to year round.

    But safety, especially among the younger children who box, is always paramount to Gate City, according to Woods, adding that anytime a boxer shows concussion-like symptoms, they are kept from boxing for at least 30 days.

    “Robert Griffin, the quarterback for the Washington Redskins,” said Woods, “suffered a concussion in a game a few weeks ago, and in less than a week, he was back practicing. If he had been in our boxing league and suffered a concussion, he would be on the bench right now, no questions asked.”