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Boxing Program

UCC Boxing: Empowering Strength In and Out of the Ring

 

Group of UCC Boxing Students and staff standing outside UCC BuildingOver the past 54 years, UCC has built a world-class program, founded by Israel “Shorty” Acosta, a former member of the U.S. Olympic Boxing coaching staff and a representative on the 1984 U.S. Olympic Boxing Team.

The UCC Boxing Program program continues to be one of the most successful athletic and youth development programs in Milwaukee. The program not only trains participants to be champions in the ring, but also champions in life. Through hard work and dedication our athletes not only learn the fundamentals of boxing but develop positive work ethics and improved self-esteem. *The UCC Boxing Program is sponsored by Catholic Financial Life.

 

 

 Interested in a UCC Boxing Membership?

Schedule a meeting with a coach today!

 

Please review updated membership details and policies below.

Membership Information

Membership Details

PRICING

Youth (Ages 7–17)

· Day Pass: $5 per day

· Monthly Membership: $30

· Yearly Membership: $300

Adults (18+)

· Day Pass: $8 per day

· Monthly Membership: $45

· Yearly Membership: $450

CURRENT MEMBERSHIP NOTICE:

 All current memberships will be honored. Once your membership expires, the new pricing will apply.
Example: If you renewed in July 2025, your current rate will remain valid until July 2026.

REGISTRATION & PAYMENTS

All registrations and memberships are managed through LeagueApps.

Card payments are accepted. Please note: a 5% card processing fee applies to all card payments. Registrations are handled by Coach Angel Avillareal and Athletic Coordinator Oscar Garduno.

MEMBERSHIP & FACILITY ACCESS

· All members will receive a UCC Boxing ID and must bring it daily.

· Membership payments should be made one week before or on the day of expiration.

· Front desk doors remain locked; membership confirmation is required.

· ID access opens only the bathrooms to the right of reception and the left door into the elementary gym.

For Membership Inquiries, please contact:

UCCBOXING@unitedcc.org

Boxing Gym Operating Hours

GYM OPERATING HOURS

Monday – Friday | 4:00 PM – 8:00 PM

AGE GROUP TRAINING TIMES

· Ages 7–13: 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM

· Ages 14–17: 5:15 PM – 6:45 PM

· Adults (18+): 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM

*Training times must be respected by all members.

FACILITY RULES & ARRIVAL POLICY

Elementary gym equipment is off-limits unless authorized during designated times.

Do not enter restricted school areas or bathrooms under the boxing gym.

Boxer bathrooms are located to the right of UCC reception.

No entry before 4:00 PM. Members may only be in the building during their scheduled training time.

*Adults may only enter at 6:30 PM.

Policies

ELEMENTARY GYM USE POLICY

The elementary gym may only be used from 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM, once all school athletic programs have fully cleared and the gym is completely empty. Please stay out of the gym if school athletes are present. For safety reasons, no non-school participants may be in the gym at the same time as UCC school students.

VOLUNTEER COACH POLICY

Volunteer coaches may arrive with their children. Coaches who wish to assist younger boxers are allowed to do so. If not actively helping, coaches and their children must wait until their designated training time.

Coach Contact Information

Meet Head Coach, Angel Villarreal, Jr.

Photo of Boxing Coach Angel Villerreal sitting in a boxing ring

Angel Villarreal Jr. is an amateur, collegiate, and professional boxing coach from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is currently the Head Coach of both the United Community Center Boxing Club amateur program and the Marquette University Boxing Club collegiate program. Angel joined UCC in 2010 as a volunteer and then became the assistant coach to the gym’s founder Israel “Shorty” Acosta. In 2021, Shorty, a two-time USA Boxing Olympic coach (Sydney, Rio de Janeiro) decided to retire and passed the torch to Angel. 

In his 13 years as a boxing coach, Angel has worked with several national champions and Olympic-qualifying boxers who have gone on to fight professionally including Luis Feliciano and Javier Martinez as an assistant to Shorty, and Javier Zamarron as head coach. His most prominent amateur boxer, Violet Lopez, has won 10 national championships and recently earned a spot on Team USA’s youth high-performance team and will be competing in the World Championships in October 2024. 

Villarreal Jr. holds an AIBA 1-Star Level certification, allowing him to coach internationally with Team USA. He was part of the training staff for the 2015 USA Boxing for the Pan American Games. At the professional level, he has a coaching record of 10-0 with UCC Boxer Javier Zamarron and the two have competed on nationally televised fight cards including Top Rank Boxing on ESPN, Overtime Boxing on DAZN and Gamebred Promotions on UFC Fight Pass.

Email Head Coach Angel Villarreal 

Phone: (414) 389-4759 

 

Facts at a Glance

Facts at a Glance

Group of UCC Boxing Students and staff standing outside UCC Building

  • UCC Boxing is currently the third most winning amateur boxing program in USA Boxing history.

  • The program was founded by Israel “Shorty” Acosta, an Olympian (1984) and two-time Olympic coach (Sydney, Rio de Janeiro). He began the boxing program with Angel Villarreal Sr. 40 years ago, making UCC Boxing one of the oldest programs at UCC. 

  • Currently, four of UCC’s five competition boxers are ranked as top 5 boxers in the country: Violet Lopez (#1, 119lbs), Aldo Blancas (#2, 147lbs), Alan Blancas (#2, 138lbs), and Leonardo Blancas (#5, 114lbs).

  • UCC boxer, Violet Lopez is a 10-time national champion and a member of Team USA's Youth High Performance Team. She will train with USA Boxing's Olympic coaching staff in September 2024 and will compete in the World Championships in October of 2024.

  • UCC Boxing currently has six active professional boxers: Javier Zamarron, Daniel Blancas, Javier Martinez, Luis Feliciano, Luis Cuba Arias, and Prince Xilla.

  • Marquette Men’s basketball standout and senior guard Kam Jones began training with Angel in October 2023.

 

UCC Boxing In the News & Media Inquiries
For Media Inquiries, please contact our Media Relations and Marketing Manager: Leah Wesbteberry, lwestberry@unitedcc.org

Health & Athletics