Meet DFC Team Member Ryan Schoenlein.
Previously training at another facility before coming to the Dallas Fight Club, Ryan and I had some flaws to work through, most specifically related to range and distance, so that early on we would suffer a few losses.
Having said that, Ryan is now one of our most promising talents who can if he chooses easily transition to professional boxing.
That is because he has totally turned things around to in style win his last several fights to include racking up a 2-day tournament win.
Not a knockout puncher but possessing decent power, Ryan’s hand speed, maneuverability, his defensive prowess and just as importantly his durability allows him to mix it up with the best of them.
A young adult, Mr. Schoenlein is in the gym everyday and although he doesn’t master a new skill, combination, or movement sequence right away, his perseverance is unmatched so that in time he’s not only able to execute advanced technique or tactics during practice, but execute under competitive circumstances.
Combine that with the fact that he is quite coachable and follows instructions in the heat battle and I don’t see him losing a boxing match anytime soon.
Meet DFC Team Member Agustin Reyes.
Undefeated at 4-0, Agustin is another one of our young prominent adult athletes that is in the gym everyday improving in all departments.
That’s not good news for boxers contesting in or around the 156-pound division because with excellent power in both hands Agustin already has a couple stoppages to his credit, this over more experienced as well as much lengthier opposition.
Quite the box office draw, Mr. Reyes keeps fans riveted in their seats as reminiscent of a go forward buzzsaw he with good head movement, defense, and foot speed to match is able to close the gap and let loose inside to both head and body in punishing fashion to have so far dominated those who he’s encountered.
Also quite coachable, if I even hint at the fact that Agustin is behind or that a match is close, he will change gears without hesitation to leave his opponent behind.
Meet DFC Team Member Patrick Rusk.
A barber by trade, Pat could just as easily cut up an opponent in the ring as he has serious stopping power in both hands.
This is quite evident as once the action is underway his counterpart not only tends to back down, but as well fold up so that things don’t last long at all.
Not in the gym as much as I would like, he’s currently undefeated at 3-0 picking up skills at the drop of a hat because he not only has complete trust in the coach who is quite well-versed, but confidence in the overall process which allows him to execute on command and it’s paying off big-time.
Although he has another career going, Patrick, alongside a few other DFC members is one of our fighters who can make the transition to professional boxing without a hitch because of his ability to learn rapidly and adjust on the fly.
Expressing the fact that professional boxing does in fact appeal to him, only time will tell what’s in the cards for Mr. Rusk.
Meet DFC Team Member Martin Calugay
Me. Calugay is an indispensable part of the Dallas Fight Club because not only does he soak up the skills and drills taught to execute in the ring under competitive circumstances only coming up short here or there due to stamina issues, but he is well on his way to mastering the art of coaching under the tutelage of Head Coach Nick.
In other words, when Coach Nick has fight duties that take him away from running group classes or working with individuals, Martin fills in the gap to keep the ship directly on course.
Instilling in recreational boxers the fundamentals that will provide for the best most varied workout possible, Martin at the same time drills team members to cover the movements and sequences that have proven most effective in the ring so that once again he’s an integral part of our operation.
Meet DFC Team Member Adedoyin Obisan
Mr. Obisan at 250 pounds is our largest team member and much of that weight can easily be attributed to the size of his heart.
As the head coach I can’t teach the aggression part but I don’t need to in this case as Adedoyin possesses that aspect many times over. In fact, in the beginning we had to calm this young man down in an effort to focus that aggression on skill building.
In the gym every day, those skills are becoming apparent as Adedoyin has built up a record of 9-1 mowing down many an opponent on his way to capturing the 2024 Dallas Golden Gloves Title earlier this year.
Only having suffered a loss on paper to the #3 ranked heavyweight in the United States, Obisan gave this particular opponent all he could handle so that he should have in the opinion of many gotten the win.
It was at this juncture that we decided to stay busy and shoot for a national title based not only on the fact that Adedoyin is cutting the opposition down to size, but he’s doing such while not even having developed the skills and drills to perfection.
That only signifies there’s much more room to grow so that the prospects of becoming #1 are within our grasp. Keep on grinding.
Meet DFC Team Member Julian Medrano.
Julian is currently putting in the work in advance of what we hope will be his first amateur match under the tutelage of the Dallas Fight Club to take place this coming August 17-18 in Irving, Texas.
With already one boxing match to his credit under the direction of another gym, we do have to work through some flaws he’s developed along the way but Overall Mr. Medrano has good boxing instincts, sufficient stamina, and better than average athleticism while he’s a go-getter for sure.
However, focusing on the little things that make great fighters great we need to get Julian to throw punches up and down and as well he must tighten up his defense on the other side of that to add in the movement sequences that will set his opponents up to contribute to their own demise.
Once that happens Mr. Medrano will become a force to be reckoned with.
Meet DFC Team Member Victoria Holt.
Victoria Holt is another one of our team members who’s made a second home at the Dallas Fight Club. That’s to say, in the gym daily she’s grinding away learning the craft to the point she’s starting to execute a variety of skills during sparring and on command no less.
With one competitive match on her résumé, she captured an all female tournament win in early 2024 to receive a belt award and along with her son Preston who would do much the same a month latter this mother son tandem is the only one I know of to capture successive tournament victories.
Otherwise as any coach in the amateur ranks knows, matching up females is no easy task, especially when that female is in a heavier weight category while getting up there towards masters division age, two of the exact burdens Ms. Holt is strapped with at this time
However, Victoria is happy bidding her time as she patiently awaits her next opportunity to compete. Happy because not only is training at DFC totally fun with our motto being “we don’t get ready we stay ready,” but she enjoys expanding her repertoire while handing out a bit of punishment to some of our male athletes who she gives the business to routinely.
Meet DFC Team Member Preston Robbins.
For all of the talk of skills development as well as relating the trials and tribulations of boxers depicted herein, at the end of the day our mission is to improve the physical and mental condition of the individual, as well as build the confidence and character of team members, this while providing an outlet to reduce stress and at times keep or put individuals back on the straight and narrow.
Preston Robbins is closely associated with the latter as confrontations seemed to find this young man outside of a boxing setting which put him in the crosshairs of others and vice versa so that in short he was headed down the wrong path.
This put his caring mother on edge, but with her making the decision to put him in our boxing program, things have turned around for the better so that the only confrontations Mr. Robbins is involved in take place in the ring under the supervision of police officers and the like who mainly serve as coaches and mentors for troubled young men and women.
From street fighting to actually learning the craft of boxing and the regular disciplined process which comes with that, this young man has been quite humbled and has no energy outside of the gym for past times that were once detrimental to his health and well-being.
Besides being great news for the household, Preston is striving forward with great interest, learning a style that may advance him to the higher levels of amateur boxing should he hunker down and follow the advice being given.
With a record of 2-2, the two wins have peaked Mr. Robbins interest to continue forward while the two losses, mostly from which the biggest lessons are drawn, have taught Preston that perseverance in the face of adversity and or setbacks are the key to reaching the highest levels of achievement in whatever pursuit you choose to follow.
Meet DFC Team Member Clyde Murchison
Clyde Murchison has been with us since day one and he has come a long way since ripping his headgear off during an anxiety attack related to his first sparring session where he claimed he couldn’t breathe which wasn’t the case at all.
Much more poised and quite at ease since that fateful day, along with Coach Martin Clyde has become an integral part of our program. That’s because he has soaked up the skills and drills to the point that he’s also one of our certified USA Boxing coaches.
Able to take over the gym and disseminate fundamental technique and tactile training to students under his tutelage, this allows the head coach to prepare competitive members while as an organization we are still able to offer our recreational services to the general public without fail so that the bills are paid and the doors stay open.
More than that and although he has just one fight due to his managerial commitments at his day job, Mr. Murchison no doubt perhaps the furthest along in the skills department as compared to the remainder of our team is in the ring practically sparring on a daily basis.
A supreme athlete in top condition he gets all of our mid-weight fighters ready, taking on all up-and-coming boxers as well as those with experience to exploit their shortcomings and show them where their deficiencies lie.
In essence once a boxer exits the ring after dealing with Clyde, he or even she knows exactly what they need to work on outside of the ring after being worked over in it.
Meet DFC Team Member Fabian Ávila.
Fabian by virtue of witnessing first hand the success of other DFC competitors is starting to understand the value of what we’re passing along in terms skills development.
Coming up slightly short in his first endeavor in the ring most recently it was upon reviewing the tape that he was shown the disparity of what we teach in the gym compared to what and how he executed in the heat of battle. In other words he came to an understanding.
Having said that Mr. Avila made a few adjustments to follow the game plan in his second tilt so that victory after 3 rounds was the end result. Out of that came the most crucial aspect of all which is that Fabian has bought into our program hook, line, and sinker.
Looking forward to this young man’s steady progress because although he’s juggling work and school he’s a gamer.
Meet DFC Team Member Johnathon Mendoza.
Now 16, Jonathan Mendoza in only his third amateur match would capture the Texas State Silver Gloves title at 15 years of age so that the sky is the limit for this young phenom who is one of if not thee most promising of our athletes.
Picking up skills almost immediately because of his trust in the coaching received combined Twith his athleticism, he’s now settling in to add power so that he’s well on his way to be becoming the total package.
Having said that, there’s so much more room to grow as he’s learning multiple fight styles while tightening up his defense to acquire counterpunching skills.
Now 8-2 with two tough losses on his resume, one suffered at the regional Silver gloves tournament while the other came at the hands of the 2024 Texas State Silver Gloves champ in a back and forth battle, and these losses have only served to strengthen Johnathon’s resolve to become a much better boxer so that I can’t wait to see what the future holds for Mr. Mendoza. Only time will tell
Meet DFC Team Member Brando Mateo
Meet DFC Team Member Omari Jahi
Meet DFC Team Member Michael Murphy
Meet DFC Team Member Noe Mendoza Jr.
Not long ago Noe Mendoza Jr. was a two-time National Collegiate Champion. However, making the transition to become a DFC Team Member I most recently had the privilege of working the corner alongside Noe Mendoza Sr. in Houston where upon in early 2024 Noe Jr. would capture his third National Collegiate Championship.
No small accomplishment, Noe when arriving at the Dallas Fight Club had already developed a certain style and it’s sometimes difficult when changing trainers especially when that trainer would like to add on to what that particular boxer brings to the table.
Nevertheless, Noe being receptive adapted without an hitch recognizing that what we were proposing in terms of expanding his repertoire would be to his benefit so that not only did he pick up on skills we teach at DFC, but he was able to use those new skills to his advantage in the ring.
An avid boxing fan as well as practitioner, Noe as a College Champion not to mention USA Boxing Official, is nothing short of a pioneer, having started the boxing program at not only Texas A&M, but then transferring to the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley he would repeat his efforts there to start a secondary college boxing program which is well off the ground and thriving.
It doesn’t stop there as the reason Noe stumbled upon our fiefdom of fisticuffs here in Dallas is because he’s finishing up law school in the area to become a sports and entertainment advocate so as to help those athletes who on a professional level are in need of understanding the law as it relates to their profession.
Meet Team Member Melanie Quezada