Former champ, renowned trainer Robert Garcia opens boxing gym in Moreno Valley
Robert Garcia, the former International Boxing Federation junior world champion and renowned trainer, officially opened a boxing gym in Moreno Valley on Saturday.
The Robert Garcia Boxing Academy opened its doors at 10 a.m. during an event that offered live music, food, drinks and guided tours of the gym, which is located at 22500 Town Circle.
"My goal is to bring world-class coaching to fighters everywhere, helping them build successful careers inside and outside the ring," Garcia said in a statement. "We've produced champions and we will keep doing it — one fighter at a time, one victory at a time."
The academy will offer a youth program Monday through Thursday every week from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., while Fridays will offer open sessions.
"Moreno Valley is proud and excited to soon welcome RGBA, a place where future champions can emerge and our community can fully embrace the sport of boxing," said Moreno Valley Mayor Ulises Cabrera. "Get ready, Moreno Valley — great things are on the horizon!"
Video from Saturday's event showed hundreds of people outside of the facility when Garcia officially cut the tape for its grand opening.
Garcia, now 50, competed in the IBF's lightweight and featherweight divisions for nearly a decade in the 90s and early 2000s. He captured the Super Featherweight Championship in 1998 and officially retired in 2001 with a 34-3 record.
After his fighting career, Garcia joined the ringside like his father, Eduardo Garcia, who trained him during his childhood at the famed La Colonia Youth Boxing Club in Oxnard.
Garcia has an extensive resume of successful boxers under his tutelage, including his brother Mikey Garcia, who at one point held multiple world champion titles, current World Boxing Council champion Vergil Ortiz Jr., Nonito Donaire, Marcos Maidana and Tony Ferguson. In early-2025, he was named The Ring's Trainer of the Year for 2024.
He previously opened a separate location in Oxnard "with the mission of developing champions both in the ring and in life."