Robert Garcia has trained world champion boxers, from his brother Mikey Garcia to Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez. Now, at his new gym in Moreno Valley, the Riverside resident is training everyone from kids around the neighborhood to tomorrow’s potential boxing stars. Robert Garcia watches Jaykob Salaza r, a 16-year-old Riverside resident, work out with a punching bag at the Robert Garcia Boxing Academy in the Moreno Valley Mall on Monday, March 24, 2025. Garcia, a former International Boxing Federation Super Featherweight champion who has trained world champions, was named the 2024 Ring Magazine Trainer of the Year. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) Manuel Cervantes Wright, an 11-year-old Moreno Valley resident, is reflected in a mirror as he works out on a punching bag at the Robert Garcia Boxing Academy inside the Moreno Valley Mall on Monday, March 24, 2025. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) A young boxer walks towards the punching bags at the Robert Garcia Boxing Academy in the Moreno Valley Mall on Monday, March 24, 2025. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) Alonzo Roman, an 11-year-old Moreno Valley resident, gets a drink of water Monday, March 24, 2025, after training with Robert Garcia, owner of the new Robert Garcia Boxing Academy in the Moreno Valley Mall. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) Angel Gallegos, a 14-year-old Nuevo resident, works out Monday, March 24, 2025, at the Robert Garcia Boxing Academy in the Moreno Valley Mall. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) Michael Garcia, an 8-year-old Riverside resident, practices Monday, March 24, 2025, with Robert Garcia Jr., the son of gym owner Robert Garcia at the Robert Garcia Boxing Academy in the Moreno Valley Mall. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) Robert Garcia Jr., left, and his father Robert Garcia watch boxers work out Monday, March 24, 2025, inside the Robert Garcia Boxing Academy in the Moreno Valley Mall. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) Amateur boxer Jess Whitehawk Rodriguez, a 13-year-old Moreno Valley resident, shadow boxes Monday, March 24, 2025, at the Robert Garcia Boxing Academy inside the Moreno Valley Mall. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) Audelina Ortega, a 13-year-old Ontario resident, works out Monday, March 24, 2025, with Robert Garcia at his Robert Garcia Boxing Academy in the Moreno Valley Mall. Garcia, a former International Boxing Federation Super Featherweight champion who has trained world champions, was named the 2024 Ring Magazine Trainer of the Year. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) Show Caption1 of 9Robert Garcia watches Jaykob Salazar, a 16-year-old Riverside resident, work out with a punching bag at the Robert Garcia Boxing Academy in the Moreno Valley Mall on Monday, March 24, 2025. Garcia, a former International Boxing Federation Super Featherweight champion who has trained world champions, was named the 2024 Ring Magazine Trainer of the Year. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) Expand The new Robert Garcia Boxing Academy is open for business, training youths, amateur and pro fighters alike. Tucked into the Moreno Valley Mall near the Harkins Theatres, the retired boxer’s gym had a Saturday, March 8, grand opening and ribbon cutting. Garcia was named the 2024 Ring Magazine Trainer of the Year and is a former International Boxing Federation Super Featherweight champion. Related Articles George Foreman, 2-time heavyweight champion, dies at 76 Swanson: Pomona boxer Ernesto ‘Tito’ Mercado living up to his own hype Boxing star Naoya Inoue wants to follow Shohei Ohtani’s path after brutal KO win “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 news release. The academy runs its youth program Mondays through Thursdays, from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., with open sessions on Fridays, the release states. For information, click here. ...read more read less