Nationwide, the sport of boxing seems to have faded from the radar, but in the Brito family, it's still going strong.
With the sport so prevalent in the home, Jefferson Elementary fifth-grader Marcelo Brito, Jr. and his older sister, Lakeview seventh-grader Maricela Brito, are participants, training with Rick Rivera and Bob Firari at Total Jiu Jitsu in Warsaw."All of our coaching is centered fully on offensive and defensive skills," Rivera said. "Before they're able to get into a ring, they must be licensed and the coaches must be too. What makes the sport great is that everyone needs to be certified."
Rivera and Firari met each other as boxers in the 1980s, boxing for the Fort Wayne Destroyers, under coach JoJo Rashawns.
Now, the two are working with others who want to participate in the sport, be it for sport or just for exercise, with Rivera coaching and Firari training.
It was the exercise that drew Maricela into Total Jiu Jitsu over a year ago, but with a fight coming up a tonight at the Ragtops Museum in Michigan City, she's seems to have taken a liking to it.
"I do like hitting people," the 13-year-old said.
Because there is no ring inside of of the Total Jiu Jitsu gym, Firari takes the two to Fort Wayne once a week, where they're able to sparr with other youths.
There, Maricela gets to sparr with the boys, who learn quickly to take her seriously.
"After about the first 45 seconds, they realize they can't go easy," Firari said with a smile.
Maricela will see her first competition Saturday, but it will be Marcelo's second bout, having fought at the venue last year.
In preparing for his first fight, the 11-year-old wasn't sure what to expect.
"I was nervous, but after the first round, I settled down," he said.
Marcelo didn't win that fight, but just participating in the sport seems more important to him at this point.
He's been working on his boxing skills for 16 months, and has seen vast improvement in his fitness, particularly the jump rope.
"At the beginning, I wasn't too good," he said. "Now, I'm an expert."
He and his sister work the jump rope before each practice, and after seeing them, it's easy to see they're not your average kids with the rope.
With the practice, Maricela recently took a fitness challenge at Lakeview, where she only lost to a boy in two events, including the push-up contest.
But when they're training for an hour in the gym, seven days a week, it's easy to see why they're in shape.
"When we go to Michigan City, we're facing fighters from Chicago and Michigan - areas known for boxing," Rivera said. "When they face someone from Warsaw, they know they're going to be fighting someone who's in shape and has good skills. They definitley know they're going to be fighting someone who's in good shape."
Rivera began coaching Marcelo after working with his cousin Domingo Brito, a junior at Warsaw Community High School.
After seeing his cousin train, Marcelo got involved and then Maricelo liked what she saw, so she joined too.
"One family member came, then another and another," Rivera said.
Tonight, two of those members will hope to get into the ring, where there is estimated to be 15 fights, with boxers coming from Chicago, Indianapolis, Kalamazoo, Mich. and other areas.
