'The Bronx needs this': New gym offers youth a brighter future through boxing

THE BRONX, N.Y. (PIX11) -- A new gym in the Bronx is offering kids more than just a place to work out—it is giving them a fighting chance at a brighter future.

Inside the Bronx Legends Cops & Kids Gym on opening day, 12-year-old Ivan Rivera bounced on his toes, throwing fast jabs as his father, an NYPD officer, looked on. For Ivan, boxing is more than exercise—it’s a way to chase big dreams.

“I was jump roping and shadowboxing just warming up before I get into my boxing training,” Rivera said. He hopes to one day become both a professional boxer and a Major League Baseball player.

“I just like to be in boxing to train and know how to protect myself when I get older and maybe one day make it to the pros, and the community is very good and I like it a lot because I get to learn new people,” he added.

The Bronx Legends Cops & Kids Gym, which officially opened its doors Saturday, is the first free boxing and fitness facility for young people ages 12 to 21 in the borough. Beyond athletics, organizers say the gym offers mentorship, discipline, and a safe haven for teens at risk of being pulled into violence.

That mission is personal for participants like 17-year-old Luilly Gomez.

“Right now I’m learning to be patient, become, in such a sport that’s so aggressive,” he explained. Gomez, who dreams of becoming both a professional boxer and a detective, has seen firsthand the dangers young people in his community face.

“I personally witnessed people being stabbed, shot, other things, drug dealers,” Gomez said. “Seeing all these people make bad decisions makes me want to be a better version of myself.”

Helping guide kids like Gomez and Rivera are mentors, including NYPD Detective Hector Lopez, captain of the department’s boxing team. “The Bronx needs this right now,” Lopez said. “I’m a mentor, I’m here to train kids.”

Lopez says the program teaches kids how to prove themselves through hard work instead of violence. “They face nothing but trouble, and that’s what we want to get them out of… in here we’re going to show them how to prove themselves in a different way,” he said.

Behind the program is NYPD Sergeant Pat Russo, the longtime director of the Cops & Kids initiative. “It’s going to be a positive alternative to the streets for these kids in the Bronx, and the whole idea behind Bronx Legends is not to create world champions but to create neighborhood legends,” Russo said.

Russo noted that kids who train at the gym could one day join the wall honoring past participants who went on to become professional athletes, police officers, or firefighters. The project is made possible, in part, thanks to the support of landlord Mario Procida, CEO of Construction Corp, who provided the gym space rent-free and utility-free.

“The space is terrific and they put it to great use, and we’re proud to be a part of it,” Procida said.

For Ivan Rivera, the gym is already where he sees his future taking shape. With his fists back up and his focus locked on the bag, he summed up his excitement simply: “I’m very excited, this is just the beginning.”

The Bronx Legends Cops & Kids Gym is free and runs on donations. Kids interested in registering can learn more by clicking here.