Maybe it’s the work ethic. Maybe it’s the long, cold, dreary winters.  Maybe it’s the tough street life anytime of the year.  Or maybe it’s just that there are people in Pittsburgh who care about the kids.

            Whatever the reason, Pittsburgh is fertile training ground for tough boxers.

            Rayco “War” Saunders is one of those boxers, who knows firsthand how hard the world can be on a kid.  Raised in Beltzhoover, a neighborhood south of Downtown, Saunders was forced to confront the drugs, violence, and other aspects of inner city life.

            Saunders began boxing as a teenager in places such as Downtown’s Third Avenue Gym owned and run by his promoter, Jimmy Cvetic.  “War” made his professional boxing debut on August 3, 2002 against Wayne Holloway of Youngstown Ohio, at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh.  The match was a great hometown initiation into professional boxing!  Saunders aggressively attacked Holloway, dropping him for an eight in round one.  Referee Rick Steigerwald stopped the match at 2:20 of the first round, giving Saunders a technical knockout (TKO) victory.

            Saunders by far isn’t the only Pittsburgh boxer who has made headlines in and out of the region. Many have earned fame through the gloves, suck as Fritzie Zivic, who fought in the 1930s and 1940s and was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, notorious for using his head, elbows, and thumbs as effectively as his fists.  Another Pittsburgh champion was Homer Robertson from the Hill District, nicknamed “the Black Ghost” in the 1920s because of his speedy, elusive style.  More recently, Paul Spadafora, the International Boxing Federation lightweight champion from McKees Rocks who also trained in Cvetic’s Third Avenue Gym, has helped to generate a renewed interest in the sport.

            “I feel I’ve helped a lot of kids out,” Spafadora said of his effect on local boxing.

            And helping the kids is what Cvetic and others like Jim Kobert and Mike Olson of the James 5:16 Center are trying to do.  Through local matches often cosponsored by Iron City Pro Boxing and the Western Pennsylvania Police Athletic League, Spafadora, Saunders, and other locals are given unique opportunities to showcase their boxing talent, while kids are exposed to the sport of boxing and introduced to the gyms that can help them live out their dreams.

            “Right now, we’re trying to keep five gums open,” said Cvetic, also a former county detective and longtime participant in the Western Pennsylvania Police Athletic League.  “We’re trying to keep the gyms open, and we’re doing it.  The kids are in there; they’re not in trouble.  And these kids will graduate to the point they’re not afraid of any venue.  It’ll be an easier transition for them.”

            Kobert and Olson have a similar goal for the James 5:16 Center, providing kids with an alternative to change their lives for the better.
            “The Olympic Training Venter tells us we’re the only place in America doing this for boxing,” said Cvetic.  “The kids just need a guardian angel looking after them, and that’s what we are.”

            But it wasn’t Rayco that needed a guardian angel on February 28 when “War” dominated Frank James of Miami, improving his record to 10-1-1 and capturing the cruiserweight division title.

            Saunders says prior to the match, he mentally prepares himself by only concentrating on getting the win. “My strategy is the attack, I do what I gotta do, which is to go forward and make it happen,” he said. 

            “War” 29, only takes his background with him whenever he climbs into a boxing ring.  A professional cruiserweight at 6 feet 1 and 185 pounds, Saunders has a 9-2-1 record and is a former state Golden Gloves champion.

            At an early age, Saunders was forced to confront drugs and other types of inner- city violence.  He lived with his mother in the South Side of Pittsburgh during the winter months and his grandmother on the North Side during the summer months, Rayco’s mother died when he was 11 and Rayco became a permanent fixture on the North Side, raised by his grandmother.  There, he grew up idolizing such boxers as “Marvelous” Marvin Haggler, Michael Sphinx and Sugar Ray Leonard through their legendary televised bouts. 

            Wherever he lived, though, Saunders was constantly defending himself against neighborhood bullies that jumped him daily.  “I never started the fights, but I knew I had to defend myself.” By the time he was in the first grade, Saunders had received 45 days out-of-school suspension for fighting. 

            During the mid-90s, Sanders, then 21 years-old, was pulled over by a Pittsburgh Police officer at 2:30 a.m.  In Saunders eyes, the traffic stop appeared unwarranted and he grew very wary as the officer approached Saunders’ vehicle and tapped the cars window with a club.  A confrontation started and other officers surrounded the car.  Rayco fled the scene, prompting a car chase that, according to Saunders, ended with his escape only after being shot at from the pursuing officers.

            The day after the chase, he was located and informed by his lawyer there were 10 counts of various charges against him.  In the end, Saunders was found guilty and served four years in prison.  Saunders life has been a constant battle, which explains why he chose “War” to be his nickname in the ring.  He stated, “Many boxers choose a name that fits their character, but I chose a name that describes my life.”

            After getting out of prison, he decided that he wanted to give back to his community by starting an afternoon boxing program for kids in the neighborhood.  Cvetic first met Saunders while a teenage Saunders was preparing for the Golden Gloves Tournaments.  Several times Saunders approached Cvetic about helping him to start the program; they finally sat down to discuss the specifics of the program.  “He’s a man that cares about kids.  He’s gonna make a difference in them.” Cvetic said.

            Approximately six children ages 10 through 15 report to the gym from 5- 7 p.m., Monday through Friday to learn how to conduct their behavior “in the jungle”, also known as the neighborhood, learn the basics of fighting and teaching them to be confident about themselves. Saunders’ son, 10 year-old Rayco Jr. is the youngest member of the group.

            “Parents need to educate their kids about how to deal with confrontation,” he stated.  Saunders’ added that since he’s never had a male role model in his life, he’s had to learn everything he knows on his own.  He and Rayco Jr. have a very close relationship and encourages him to do his best.

            In the past, Saunders has survived being shot, stabbed and near death due to street violence, although he was never involved in gangs, alcohol or drugs.  He theorizes that inner-city children turn to gun violence because they see it as their only line of defense.  “They don’t want to fight with sticks, because their heart isn’t in it. They need to go see the Wizard of Oz to get some courage.”

            When Saunders was growing up, he and his friends thought nothing of jumping off of a high fence and onto a mattress laying on the ground for fun.  “While I was growing up, kids were always getting taken to the hospital for stitches and in high school brass knuckles were the weapon of choice, but now kids don’t want to get their hands dirty.” Saunders believes this all goes back to today’s type of parenting, single over- protective mothers raising their children and not teaching them how to fight.

             By Cvetic’s count, the kids that he and Rayco have taken on are competing in the Golden Gloves Tournament against 175 other children from Erie to Uniontown in the same age and weight categories.  The event is sponsored by Western Pennsylvania Police Athletic League and Iron City Professional Boxing.  “When the kids go to the tournaments, they carry themselves as gentlemen,” stated Cvetic. 

            Cvetic, he has worked with children for the past 30 years.  A former detective in the Allegheny County Police Department, he has worked with some troubled kids who have turned their lives around and have become lawyers, police officers, West Point graduate, etc.  His students have won the national title six times at the competition.

            The organization’s motto is; “Building champs in and out of the ring.” Cvetic, always the consummate cornerman, takes pride that, “although not every student will become a boxer, it gives them an opportunity they may otherwise never get.”