Alec Jacobson

Photographer, Writer

Peleadores: Fighting for Redemption at Mexico's Boxing Mecca

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Daniel Garcia is fighting for r...and come to the gym.”

1 of 21 © 2024 Alec Jacobson

Daniel Garcia is fighting
for redemption. When
he was young, his mom
smuggled him across the
border to Washington. In
school, he got involved
in the Sureño gang. “I
kept getting in trouble,”
he said. In 2010, he was
charged with felony
assault, imprisoned and
then deported, leaving
his mother, daughter and
two brothers behind. His
father and several of his
friends have since been
killed in gang and drug
related violence.
“Boxing, it keeps me
away from all the bad
things. I don’t drink, I
don’t smoke, I don’t go
out,” Daniel said, “I just
work and come to the
gym.”

Fighterss in the ring at Romanza Gym.

2 of 21 © 2024 Alec Jacobson

Fighterss in the ring at Romanza Gym.

Ignacio 'Nacho'...n in his office at Romanza Gym.

3 of 21 © 2024 Alec Jacobson

Ignacio 'Nacho' Betistain in his office at Romanza Gym.

Romanza is named for two of Nac...mp;rsquo;s top fighting talent.

4 of 21 © 2024 Alec Jacobson

Romanza is named for
two of Nacho’s fighters:
two time champion
Gilberto Roman and four
time champ and Hall of
Fame member Daniel
Zaragoza. The gym has
cultivated some of
Mexico’s top fighting
talent.

Peleadores: Fighting for Redemption at Mexico's Boxing Mecca

5 of 21 © 2024 Alec Jacobson

Boxers come from around the wor...hikazu Kodama from Kobe, Japan.

6 of 21 © 2024 Alec Jacobson

Boxers come from around
the world to train at
Romanza like Yoshikazu
Kodama from Kobe, Japan.

“Four years back, Gol...feated as a professional boxer.

7 of 21 © 2024 Alec Jacobson

“Four years back,
Golden Boy
Productions called me
and said that he’d pay
me $50,000 to join
him. Nacho called me
the next day. He told
me, ‘I’m not gonna
give you $50,000, I’m
gonna give you
technique,’” said
Hector Andres Reyes
Anguiano and so he
had packed his bags
and moved to Mexico
City from Juarez. He’s
undefeated as a
professional boxer.

A boxer does a pull-up at Romanza.

8 of 21 © 2024 Alec Jacobson

A boxer does a pull-up at Romanza.

“Everyone here is fro...the better they are.”

9 of 21 © 2024 Alec Jacobson

“Everyone here is from a
tough place,” a boxer
told me, resting between
a set, “the lower the
place they come from,
the better they are.”

Boxers train in the yard.

10 of 21 © 2024 Alec Jacobson

Boxers train in the yard.

“I fucked it up becau... real fight in life.”

11 of 21 © 2024 Alec Jacobson

“I fucked it up because I
fell in with the wrong
crowd,” said Ruben
Orozco, “but now I have
a second chance.” Like
Daniel, his parents
brought him to the states
when he was young. In
2010, he was arrested
with 5oz of cocaine
disguised as a baked
potato. “I had to fight a
lot in prison, probably 20
times,” he explained.
After he was deported,
he came to Romanza to
get in shape. “My day
dream is to see my son,”
he said. His son’s still in
America with his family
and, he explained,
“That’s my real fight in
life.”

Luis Mora grew up in Tepito, on... I work and I train.”

12 of 21 © 2024 Alec Jacobson

Luis Mora grew up in
Tepito, one of Mexico
City’s most notorious
neighborhoods. The
legend goes that it was
the last part of the city to
fall when Hernan Cortes
invaded the Aztec capital
and it now harbors
markets for knockoffs,
stolen goods and drugs.
“I had friends in the drug
business, but they’re all
dead,” Luis said as we
sat in his car watching a
gang lookout signal our
presence on his walkietalkie,
“I don’t drink or do
drugs. I work and I
train.”

Luis Mora grew up in Tepito, on... I work and I train.”

13 of 21 © 2024 Alec Jacobson

Luis Mora grew up in
Tepito, one of Mexico
City’s most notorious
neighborhoods. The
legend goes that it was
the last part of the city to
fall when Hernan Cortes
invaded the Aztec capital
and it now harbors
markets for knockoffs,
stolen goods and drugs.
“I had friends in the drug
business, but they’re all
dead,” Luis said as we
sat in his car watching a
gang lookout signal our
presence on his walkietalkie,
“I don’t drink or do
drugs. I work and I
train.”

Peleadores: Fighting for Redemption at Mexico's Boxing Mecca

14 of 21 © 2024 Alec Jacobson

15 of 21 © 2024 Alec Jacobson

2

Sonia Osorio became the Super F...ucrative, wellpublicized fight.

16 of 21 © 2024 Alec Jacobson

Sonia Osorio became
the Super Flyweight
World Champion this
fall. She’s been
training at Romanza
for 12 years and, on
Tin Tan’s advice,
stayed in school the
whole time became a
lawyer.
Professional boxers in
Mexico typically make
only 1000 pesos ($50
USD) per round and
might only fight a four
round match once
ever couple months.
Even a champion like
Sonia can’t live off of
boxing alone unless
she lucks into a
lucrative, wellpublicized
fight.

The gym is like a family.

17 of 21 © 2024 Alec Jacobson

The gym is like a
family.

Fighting isn’t lucrat...at the call center he works at.

18 of 21 © 2024 Alec Jacobson

Fighting isn’t lucrative, but the guys help each other out. Ruben moved to Mexico City from the Yucatan.
First, he stayed with Hector for a little while and then Daniel helped him move into his apartment building a
short walk from the gym and to get a job at the call center he works at.

“I’ve been ...mp;rdquo; Jose says of his son.

19 of 21 © 2024 Alec Jacobson

“I’ve been a single
parent for the last
three years,” Jose
Casarez explained.
He’s been training at
Romanza for seven
years and his son,
Joshua, inspires him
to keep working.
The two train
together sometimes.
“He should know
how to defend
himself,” Jose says
of his son.

“I’ve been ...mp;rdquo; Jose says of his son.

20 of 21 © 2024 Alec Jacobson

“I’ve been a single
parent for the last
three years,” Jose
Casarez explained.
He’s been training at
Romanza for seven
years and his son,
Joshua, inspires him
to keep working.
The two train
together sometimes.
“He should know
how to defend
himself,” Jose says
of his son.

Peleadores: Fighting for Redemption at Mexico's Boxing Mecca

21 of 21 © 2024 Alec Jacobson

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Thumbnail of Daniel Garcia is fighting for re_ and come to the gym.”

Thumbnail of Fighterss in the ring at Romanza Gym.

Thumbnail of Ignacio 'Nacho' _in in his office at Romanza Gym.

Thumbnail of Romanza is named for two of Nach_amp;rsquo;s top fighting talent.

Thumbnail of Peleadores: Fighting for Redemption at Mexico's Boxing Mecca

Thumbnail of Boxers come from around the worl_shikazu Kodama from Kobe, Japan.

Thumbnail of “Four years back, Gold_efeated as a professional boxer.

Thumbnail of A boxer does a pull-up at Romanza.

Thumbnail of “Everyone here is from_ the better they are.”

Thumbnail of Boxers train in the yard.

Thumbnail of “I fucked it up becaus_y real fight in life.”

Thumbnail of Luis Mora grew up in Tepito, one_. I work and I train.”

Thumbnail of Luis Mora grew up in Tepito, one_. I work and I train.”

Thumbnail of Peleadores: Fighting for Redemption at Mexico's Boxing Mecca

Thumbnail of Sonia Osorio became the Super Fl_lucrative, wellpublicized fight.

Thumbnail of The gym is like a family.

Thumbnail of Fighting isn’t lucrati_ at the call center he works at.

Thumbnail of “I’ve been a_amp;rdquo; Jose says of his son.

Thumbnail of “I’ve been a_amp;rdquo; Jose says of his son.

Thumbnail of Peleadores: Fighting for Redemption at Mexico's Boxing Mecca

Public Project

Peleadores: Fighting for Redemption at Mexico's Boxing Mecca

Copyright Alec Jacobson 2024

Date of Work Dec 2019 - Dec 2019

Updated Jan 2020

Location Mexico City

Topics Abuse, Action, Arrests and Prosecutions, Borders, boxing, Celebrity, Combat, Community, Confrontation, Crime, Drug Abuse, Gangs, Illegal Trafficking, Immigration, Incarceration, Latin America, Lifestyle, Poverty, Prison

Romanza Gym is a boxing Mecca in Mexico City where Hall of Fame trainer Ignacio “Nacho” Beristain has held court since 1992. Now 80 years old, Nacho has managed more than 30 world champions, including Joan Manuel Marquez who knocked out Manny Pacquiao in what was billed as the Fight of the Decade. The gym is a spartan space, gritty and stripped down to the essential training equipment. Every morning, professionals and amateurs pack in, filling the small space with the steady slap of speed bags and flurries of sparring. Some fighters come with dreams of being Nacho’s next start. Others just need a fresh start.

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