Youths learn life's lessons

The sounds of boxers in training fill the Centro del Sur Community Center in a working-class neighborhood in the city of South Tucson. Muscular, sweaty bodies are jumping rope, shadow-boxing, pounding bags and doing floor exercises.

It is a typical afternoon in the center, packed with about 30 youths.

Joe Agredano, 59, a retired property appraiser for the Pima County Assessor's Office, has been teaching life lessons and the importance of an education to youths through boxing for nearly 30 years.

Boxers gravitate toward Agredano once they complete their workouts. He and volunteers, including his daughter, Annette "Netta" Agredano, coach the amateur fighters with their stance and punching movements as part of the Aztlan Youth Program.

Joe Agredano's work includes serving as a USA Boxing team manager and coach in the 1990s in tournaments against Canada, Russia and Mexico.

His involvement with youth, which has earned him national recognition, all began with his son, Mike, who at age 8 became interested in boxing. So Agredano, a former miner, began teaching him what he learned from an old-time Mexican boxer he met in San Manuel. He knew the man as "Pug."

"When we were boys, we would put ropes around the trees and make a ring. Then, we would just beat each other up," recalled Agredano, laughing. "Then Pug saw us one day, and he started teaching us what to do. He taught us body work and inside fighting. We would go toe-to-toe — something I describe as gallego-style because it reminds me of cockfighting.

"Nowadays, fighters punch and run. They call it dancing," said Agredano with a chuckle.

In the late 1970s, Agredano signed Mike up for a county boxing youth program that ran out of a Quonset hut at the rodeo grounds on South Sixth Avenue. Gil Federico ran the program; Agredano became a volunteer and has not stopped teaching the sport since. He has touched the lives of hundreds of youths.

His children — Mike, 37, Joseph, 29, and Netta, 25 — all volunteer at the center. Peggy Agredano, Joe's wife, is one of the program's strongest supporters.

Netta graduated in 2004 from the University of Pittsburgh with a master's in social work. She went to college on a soccer scholarship and became an amateur boxer in 2005 — even though as a young girl she was not allowed in the gym.

The bantamweight ranks No. 5 in the nation in women's boxing with the USA Amateur Boxing Federation and is preparing for 2006 Ringside World Championships in August in Kansas City, Mo.

Netta, whose record is 4-3-0, is paying her own expenses to the tournament. She volunteers at the Aztlan Youth Program.

"I wanted to get involved and continue mentoring and counseling here," she said. "We get tough kids here, many from single-parent homes. We want to teach them that they don't have to be a professional boxer to make it in life. They can make it with discipline, effort, structure and an education."

Also training for the tournament in Kansas City are brothers Hiram Madrid, 18, a bantamweight with a record of 10-3-0, and Bernie Madrid, who turns 14 on Tuesday, a flyweight with a record of 8-6-0.

Hiram, a graduate of Luz Academy of Tucson, has his heart set on becoming a professional boxer, but he also plans on enrolling at Pima Community College and majoring in business.

He began training at age 13 and learned to keep good grades in order to participate in bouts.

"I get a thrill from boxing — just being able to walk up into the ring feels good. I like the training and discipline," said Hiram, who does not mind the daily workouts, but does find running Tumamoc Hill twice a week challenging.

"There are times I don't feel my legs, and I'm just out of breath," he said. "I'm looking forward to Kansas City and winning. I love this sport. It has taught me to work hard and not give up."

Bernie is Hiram's shadow. He follows in his brother's footsteps and learns from him. The incoming freshman at Pueblo High Magnet School also hopes to be a winner in Kansas City. Eventually, he plans on making a living as an architect.

"I think Oscar De La Hoya is so smart. He is a boxer and a businessman. He uses his brain," said Bernie.

● What: Aztlan Youth Program.

● When: Monday through Friday from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.

● Where: Centro del Sur Community Center, 1631 S. 10th Ave.

● Information: Joe Agredano at 870-5976.

● What: Dinner, mariachis and a showing of ESPN's "The Contender," a boxing series featuring Norberto "Nito" Bravo, "El Gallito Bravo," a welterweight who began boxing as a boy with the Aztlan Youth Program. The dinner will raise money to send boxers to the 2006 Ringside World Championships Aug. 1-5 in Kansas City, Mo.

● When: July 18, at 7 p.m. Tickets are $25 per person.

● Where: Knights of Columbus Hall, 601 S. Tucson Blvd.