The Reeducation of Edgar Nava

It’s another day inside a hot boxing gym located in Pico Rivera, as Rafael Sarabia looks over the stable of fighters training. The veteran boxing man tells anyone who enters that day that the tall kid working the heavy bag can make some noise in boxing, the fighter is Edgar Nava (1-0). Friday night will be the second fight in the young career of Nava who represents his city of Pasadena proudly.

“He’s always in the gym working. He doesn’t waste anyone’s time and he has power and heart. You can’t teach that,” says Sarabia.

As a veteran of the game he has worked with many fighters over his years and recognizes the different styles fighters have or develop.

“The one thing you can’t teach a guy is to be a fighter. You can teach them how to box and correct punch technique but sometimes they have to be willing to stand their ground and take the fight, Edgar has that,” says Sarabia.

Like most 20-year-olds, Nava has dreams. The undefeated junior welterweight wants to be a world champion and test himself against the best in the world. You see Nava is a fighter but unlike many, he fights for himself. Nava has a job and could easily avoid the fight game if he chose to do so but that’s not the way he’s built.

It all started with a gift from his dad in the form of boxing gloves. That made him want to go to a local gym and start using his new gift. With no experience, he walked into a boxing gym in Pasadena and copied what he saw the other fighters doing.

“It was tough because my friend and I would ride our bikes to the gym but we would get into fights with guys on the way to the gym. We would fight guys and get to the gym,” said Nava.

That led to a situation where some guys followed Nava to the gym and demanded to fight him and his friend. Nava being called out in front of everybody was left with no choice but to fight back. After handling himself and beating both guys, the trainers took notice and decided to train him there.

His high school years were difficult because hanging out with the wrong people resulted in fights at school. The trouble started to add up and eventually got him on house arrest. It was during that period that he realized that all those so-called friends weren’t coming around and he now knew he had to change his life.

“During that time that changed me. I wanted to start focusing on myself and boxing really made me focus on something positive. When I won my first fight it made my mom proud and that feeling was good,” said Nava.

His philosophy on boxing is simple. He sees it as an even fight where he has a chance to beat anyone he fights.

“Boxing is a fair sport and we both have two hands so why should I be scared of anyone. They’re human just like me,” said Nava.

An advantage he has is the benefit of training alongside friend and training partner rising star Julian Ramirez (14-0). It was Ramirez who recalls seeing Nava train at his uncle’s gym before the gym closed.

“I like Edgar, he works hard in the gym. There’s lots of boxers in gyms but Edgar is a fighter,” said Ramirez.

Once that happened Nava was left looking for a new gym but the transition to working with Sarabia was easy for all involved. Ramirez sees the type of fighter Nava is.

“I was 16 years old when that fight happen and I only had 15 amateur fights. The reason I left that gym was because Julian’s Grandpa ran into my dad and they invited me to train at GTO boxing which belonged to Mike Ramirez,” said Nava.

As a young fighter himself, Ramirez hopes to influence Nava so that he does all the right things as he builds his record in the professional ranks.

“There’s times I go running with him early in the morning before the sun rises just so we both get our roadwork in. When we’re in the gym I try to give him pointers on things he does,” says Ramirez.

Seeing young fighters working their craft also motivates Ramirez who feeds off of the energy.

“There’s days when I come into the gym and I see Edgar working and it picks me up. That makes me get it going and work harder to keep up with him. So it really helps that we can motivate each other,” says Ramirez.

With a successful debut in February for Nava which ended in a knockout, he has used the downtime to stay busy in the gym and work on his skills. Even when opponents change, Nava understands that the important thing is that he be ready.

“Julian is always throwing me some advice. He looks out for me and I appreciate that. So do the other fighters and coaches,” said Nava.

This Friday Nava takes the next step in reaching goals he set for himself and a victory is a step in the right direction for him and his team. The action takes place at The Quiet Cannon in Montebello, CA and is promoted by All Star Promotions.