Generations of boxers returned to Castle Hill on Aug. 22 to honor a coach whose influence extended far beyond the boxing ring, as the intersection of Castle Hill Avenue and Randall Avenue was co named “Coach Carlos Ramirez Sr. Way.”
Council Member Amanda Farías joined former fighters, coaches, students and members of the Bronxchester Boxing Club family for the unveiling honoring Ramirez, who spent nearly three decades coaching and mentoring young people in the community.
Ramirez joined Bronxchester shortly after the gym was founded in 1977 by renowned boxing coach and Florida Boxing Hall of Fame inductee Luis Camacho.
Together, Ramirez and Camacho helped establish the gym as not only a place to learn boxing, but as a refuge where neighborhood youth could find discipline, mentorship and a sense of family.
Ramirez expected his fighters to perform outside the ring as well. He checked report cards, pushed students to take school seriously and taught young people to look out for one another throughout the neighborhood.
Even after being diagnosed with cancer in the mid 2000s, Ramirez continued returning to Bronxchester to coach whenever he could.
His students eventually purchased him a powered mobility chair so he could continue being present at the gym. Ramirez died on Aug. 21, 2015, but that chair still remains beside the ring today.
Fighters continue a tradition of placing their trophies in front of it following victories.
Council Member Amanda Farías, who helped secure the street co naming, said Ramirez had a lasting influence on generations of Bronxchester students.
“Coach Carlos Ramirez Sr. was fundamental to the family and culture that generations of young people found here,” Farías said. “He trained champions, but his legacy is just as much about the young people he kept focused, pushed in school, protected and taught to believe in themselves.”
Among those returning to Bronxchester for the ceremony were Camacho, Coach Angel Alejandro, Joey Rios, Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller, Ofacio “The Sniper” Falcon Jr., Justo Sencion, Cheito Roman, Ismael “Maelo” Villarreal, Rich Burton, Allen Conyers, Eddie Mercedes and “Tricky” Ricky Frazier.
Following the unveiling, members of the Bronxchester family presented Farías with a pair of boxing trunks recognizing her support of the gym and efforts to secure the street co naming.
Nearly 50 years after Bronxchester first opened its doors, Ramirez’s name now has a permanent place just outside the gym where generations of Bronx fighters learned lessons that followed them well beyond the ring.
