New Mexico fighters say combat sports changed their lives
Fighters like Josh 'Pitbull' Torres said he wants to inspire his community with the sport he loves
Fighters like Josh 'Pitbull' Torres said he wants to inspire his community with the sport he loves
Fighters like Josh 'Pitbull' Torres said he wants to inspire his community with the sport he loves
From fights in school to everyday struggles, professional fighters in Albuquerque have seen it all.
They're fighting for something more. They want to share their message on how combat sports changed their lives.
In Albuquerque, fighting is everything to some athletes. For others like Josh Torres, Diego Sanchez, and Jordan Gregory, they said it's a way of life.
Fighters like Josh 'Pitbull' Torres said he wants to inspire his community with the sport he loves.
“I was born and raised in Albuquerque in the South Valley, went to Rio Grande High School, started fighting in school and ditch banks, stumbled into boxing, fell in love with it,” Torres said.
As a native growing up in the South Valley, he said, “There was a lot of gang activity and there weren't a lot of positive people to look up to.”
“We looked up to people that weren't great characters,” Torres said.
The WBC Latino champion is on a mission, with a few other fighters to shed some light on an outlet.
“What we got out here in Albuquerque, New Mexico, is fighting and it's what we're damn good at too,” Sanchez said.
“It instills values in you, you know, and you carry those for the rest of your life,” Gregory said.
Diego 'The Nightmare' Sanchez and Jordan 'Cast-Iron' Gregory are also seasoned fighters. Not only do they support what Torres is trying to do, they said fighting gave them a reason to live a better life.
“I've been an alcoholic. I've struggled with the addictions of fame, lust, everything you could imagine,” Sanchez said.
“I probably would have started, you know, getting involved in gangs or started fighting on the street and probably ended up in jail,” Gregory said.
They say boxing, mixed martial arts, fighting, got them on the right track. Torres said he's been working to give his community something to fight for in the South Valley a purpose to fight for something bigger.
Fight for a better life. Fight for a purpose.
“It's more than fighting, it's about a lifestyle,” Torres said.
“Whether we're fighting for our paycheck, our families, whether we're fighting for our kids, an addiction, we're fighters out here,” Sanchez said.
Torres has worked on reaching out to kids in the South Valley to show them the ropes, Sanchez and Gregory have seen rock bottom and say even when you're down, you're not out of the fight.
All three fighters with different styles and different moves. However, the same determination to do more with the sport they love to inspire the next generation of fighters.
“And it's something we can give them to get a better life,” Torres said.