Chris Martin & Adrian Melendrez open a Boxing/MMA Emporium

On April 20, 2019, the partnership of Christopher Martin, the former Boxing standout and Adrian Melendrez, the veteran MMA coach was established when the pair celebrated the Grand Opening Celebration of the Azteca San Diego Boxing Club at 4088 Bonita Road, Bonita, Calif., 91902. With this new endeavor it’s likely Martin has officially hung up the gloves and will now devote the majority of his time and effort into developing the future stars of Boxing. Who better to help someone reach that goal but someone who has been there and held several titles.

The benefit to a community like Bonita, Calif.? Boxing/MMA clubs serve the local community as a physical fitness hub, a community organization which helps neighbors become friends, offering local youth an after school activity and most importantly they end up teaching a healthy, wholesome lifestyle.

For Saturday’s Grand Opening event, the popular duo made certain to invite a regular Who’s Who of local Boxing and MMA, plus include demonstrations, delicious food, Live Music from DJ Marcos/Oso Flako and Sir DanielSD, and as you might expect those once in a lifetime golden opportunities to have a one on one meeting with the top professionals, many of whom were set to compete on TV in the upcoming week.

In regards to the thoughts of Martin’s mates, family members and boxing insiders: “#1 has to be, what is Martin’s possible motivation for opening a Boxing Gym in Bonita? Surely it has less to do with making money, and more to do about having an availabile gym that’s ready to help the top fighters prepare for an upcoming Pro fight. Especially since it’s a rare fete these days when someone, anyone, can turn a profit with such a small, local gym and then he’ll be tying himself up with the opening and closing of a gym door at established hours and dedicating the majority of his time to the development of others which can certainly be a major chore and the majority of the time an unrewarding chore.

As a reference for readers, Pro Boxer Christopher “S. D. Kid” Martin, a Chula Vista resident, began boxing in the local USA Amateurs ranks and then turned Pro in 2006. He went on to have an illustrious career winning three titles: the USA California State Featherweight Title, and then he won both the WBO NABO and WBC USNBC Super Bantamweight titles. It goes without saying, nothing is easy in the fighting sports. He also had to deal with the losses at the hands of the current WBA/WBO World Super Bantamweight Champ Danny Roman and the current WBC World Featherweight champ Gary Russell Jr. Of course there were the many highlights along the way. Such as the wins over the likes of Chris Avalos and Charles Huerta.

#1 “Boxing, which is extremely competitive, happens to be a great stress reliever. It will build your self-confidence and nothing will make you feel more alive than a good, competitive, sparring session where you’re going to have to concentrate 100% of your time even when your body might be telling you that you’re tired.”

#2 “Prior to visiting this gym on Saturday, face it, some of the guests didn’t give a crap about eating healthy and they were most likely way out of shape. They were getting into boxing for a good workout and the added bonus of learning how to defend themselves. They had no idea what they were getting into but lucky for them they’ll soon discover, it’s all good.”

#3 “If you are a smoker and you never want to stop smoking, the constant working out will eventually get you to stop the filthy habit. Why? Because of your desire to reach a higher performance level.”

#4 “You’ll also want to start eating better, and a healthy diet means you’ll be starting each day with a good breakfast. Also, when you start working out, you’re going to want to build lean muscle and you’re going need more energy to do your best in training, especially in sparring. So, you’re going have to make it a habit of eating standardized meals with a fair share of fruits and vegetables – which for most people will be a major upgrade.”

#5 “After you start boxing, you’re going start looking more like a human being and your posture will change dramatically. In time, your muscles are going to be more powerful and you’re going to start to look good. As an added bonus, you’re not going to break a sweat when you run up the stairs.”

#6 “While boxing is a confidence builder, you’ll be learning to do it with humility. You’ll learn self-defense without having to beat anyone up. After a year of training, you’ll feel so confident, that you’ll be able to avoid those bad situations more calmly because you’ll now have a choice. At the same time, boxing teaches you to care for others and to know no matter how good you become, you’ll always be able to find someone who is better than you in one thing or another.”

A week from now, on Saturday, April 27, 2019, the 6’2″ tall, former NCAA wrestling champion and four-time NCAA Division I All-American at Penn State University, and now MMA heavyweight Phil “Mr. Wonderful” Davis will be battling Liam McGeary at the SAP Center, San Jose, Calif. There he was on Saturday all smiles and hugs with his former mates from the Alliance Training Center, Adrian Melendrez and Chris Martin. Davis first entered the pro ranks in 2009 as a Light Heavyweight at UFC Contender. In 2015, he parted ways with the UFC and signed with Bellator and the same year went on to win his first title. His record at this time is 19 wins and only 5 losses. These are the type of people that you’re going to run into when you’re a member of a gym like this.

#7. “While boxing you’re going to see and feel the progress. And as you progress, you’ll soon realize the regimen is a lifestyle choice in which you’ll still have a lot to learn. That’s when you come to the realization that boxing is not just a sport you do for a few months, it’s something you should make a part of your life.”

#8. “One of the misconceptions people have about a boxing club is that it is full of low-lifes. Man is that so very far from the truth. I’m sure there are some boxing joints in the world, but I’m also sure that good gyms like the one Chris Martin is opening, are far more plentiful. You will soon make friends and discover that most gym members are really “exceptional” people, just like you.”

#9. “Sparring is not that violent, especially when you’re using the in-house head gear and working with someone who is like-minded. You might be intimidated at first, but you’ll soon learn it’s really not that bad.”

#10.  “Boxing will always have an impact on your mood. The day after a hard workout is a magical one. You’ll discover you suddenly have more energy, you’ll be happier and you’ll be more outgoing.”

#11. “In regards to sleep problems: If you had problems sleeping before, a good workout guarantees you will sleep like a baby, not just after the workout, but all the time.”

#12. “If you are completely out of shape, this sport will take you where you want to go as long as you follow the trainer’s advice. Follow their regimen and after just a few months of giving it your best, you will not be able to leave it.”

#13. “Most gyms, most coaches will recommend that you workout a minimum of three times a week and if possible never, ever skip a training session. The Azteca San Diego Boxing Club posted this provisional schedule. They’ll be open Monday thru Friday 4 p.m. – 8 p.m., Saturdays: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Closed Sundays The Kids Boxing Classes are 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. Teens/Amateur Class: 5 p.m. – 6:15 p.m. Individual routines are given to members depending on what they would like to accomplish and what coaches determine would be the best route to meeting those goals.