MIDDLETOWN—Francis Santiago wants to teach young men boxing. Middletown likes this idea and has given Santiago rooms at the Parks and Recreation Center to build a gym.
The main skill his students will learn at his boxing gym is not the jab or the uppercut but respect. “That’s the main thing: having respect—not just for me but at home.”
Coach Paco, as he is known, teaches the respect, but the skill has to come from within the boxer himself. “I teach them how to stand, how to shadow box, how to throw a right hand, how to throw a left hand, how to bob and weave, and all that, but the skill comes out of them. They’ve got to want it.”
Santiago’s grandson Jose Bonilla wants to reach the top. “I want to make something of myself. I want to go pro.” He already has a Junior Olympics title under his belt.
Bonilla trains to fight as a 115-lb super flyweight. “I have a passion for doing it. I want to hold the belt. With boxing, the possibilities are endless,” he said. On his way to the top, “I want to have my grandfather by my side.”
