Augusta Boxing Club director found his home in gym

Running the Augusta Boxing Club wasn’t at the top of Ray “Stingray” Whitfield’s list of career goals when he was a teenager, but after close to 15 years in that position, there’s no place he’d rather be.

Whitfield was 11 when he started training at the boxing club, which will mark its 50^th anniversary July 27 with a series of amateur bouts beginning at 1 p.m. at the gym at 1929 Walton Way.

The club’s founder Tom Moraetes had his eye on Whitfield from an early age to succeed him, Whitfield said.

 “All those years, he was grooming me,” said Whitfield, who won national Golden Gloves, PAL and national USA Boxing titles, a bronze medal at the 2003 Pan American games and went to the 2004 Olympic Trials in his amateur career. He later turned pro and finished his professional boxing career with a record of 26-2.

His pro career was interrupted by his love of the boxing club, which needed him in 2011. According to media reports at the time, the boxing club received what could’ve been a knockout blow when massive restructuring in Augusta-Richmond County eliminated Moraetes’ position and threatened to send the program to May Park under the banner of the city’s parks and recreation department, shuttering the Walton Way space.

Whitfield wouldn’t let the club close even if that meant putting his own dreams on hold. Under Whitfield a benefactor was found, the club became a separate entity, and the Walton Way gym doors stayed open. Whitfield would return to the ring about five years later, but his heart has always been at the gym.

“I have a passion for it,” said Whitfield whose 21-year-old son, Ray Whitfield Jr., also trained at the gym.

Whitfield said he’s watched children grow in their self-confidence and discipline from their involvement in boxing.

When he was growing up in the club, he felt it was a “safe and structured environment” with a lot of love. It gave him something positive to do. Traveling with the other boxers gave him a sense of camaraderie, and he forged relationships with others.            

Those are the things he seeks to pass on to the next generation of boxers.

And leading it has never been a problem because of Moraetes’ example. Whitfield said anytime he encountered a roadblock, he’d think of Moraetes and realized his mentor already shown him what to do.

 Whitfield said they plan to honor Moraetes at Saturday’s event.

The Augusta Boxing Club is like a family, he said. Currently there are about 80 members of the club with coaches such as Deondre Walker who grew up in the program just as Whitfield did.

Walker said his mom saw the motto of “It’s better to sweat in the gym than bleed in the street” on a banner at the gym and took him inside to learn more when he was about 7. There they met Moraetes and Walker signed up.

“I always just loved sports, being active and learning,” he said. “I knew I wanted to be a professional boxer. It’s kept me disciplined and kept me out of trouble.”

Walker said there’s more to the sport of boxing than sparring with an opponent.

“Some people think boxing is just fighting,” he said. “Boxing is an art. It’s more than just fighting. It’s a thinking game.”

After winning five amateur belts and competing at the Golden Gloves, Walker turned pro. He’s undefeated against 10 opponents, knocking out nine of them. He will compete in his first title bout in September.

He said he hopes to inspire the younger boxers not just to excel in the ring but outside of it as well. He enjoys giving back to the next generation of boxers, some of whom are the same age as he was when he first stepped into the gym.

Gary Thomas is one of the boxing club’s young members.

The 8-year-old Lake Forest Hills student started about a year ago. He was drawn to it.

“It feels like I should just do it. My heart told me to do it,” said Thomas, who admires the boxing style of Mike Tyson and wants to be the heavyweight champion of the world one day. “It encourages you to be better and better every time and to just keep going.”          

Whitfield feels strongly about the value of the Augusta Boxing Club to children. While tuition is $75 a month, no child is turned away for inability to pay. Scholarships are available.

In addition to Saturday’s event, there are two other Augusta Boxing Club event scheduled in upcoming months. The 14^th annual Fight at the Fair will be Oct. 26 and the Turkey Brawl is scheduled for Nov. 23.

Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News and Inspiring: Women of Augusta, has covered Augusta’s news for more than 35 years and is a Georgia Press Association award winner. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here.