Trainer’s lessons went beyond boxing

When former U.S. Olympian Brian Viloria signed for his first pro boxing match in 2001, he made one demand of his manager and the promoters, and it wasn’t about the opponent or the money.

"He wanted Al Silva in his corner that day," recalls manager Gary Gittelsohn.

Never mind that Silva was then 84 years old, "he taught me to throw my first punches and was so important to my career and a lot of others," Viloria said.

Albert "Al" Silva, who was Mr. Boxing in Waipahu for nearly 70 years, died Saturday at age 94. And while Viloria and the others he taught mourn his passing, there is also a sadness among his past pupils that future generations will not have him in their corner.

Silva tutored three pro world champions — Andy Ganigan, Jesus Salud and Viloria — and dozens of amateur titlists to whom he was "Mr. Silva." But the lessons he taught extended beyond the ring.

"Al meant a lot to us — not just to Waipahu, but I understand boys and girls from throughout the island came to him to learn not just boxing — but discipline, sacrifice and hard work," said councilman Nestor Garcia, who worked with Silva to keep the Waipahu Recreation Center a home for boxing.

Earlier this year, Silva’s great granddaughter, Haley Pasion, won the USA National Boxing Championships bantamweight title and a place in the Olympic Trials. But Silva’s extended boxing family crossed generations and numbered in the hundreds.

"For kids like me, whose parents worked hard at two or three jobs, he kept the gym open and gave us some place to go after school to stay out of trouble," Viloria said. "He was like a grandfather to us; he cared about you. He would ask how you were doing in school and keep after you about your grades. He wanted you to be a good person, not just a good boxer."

Yet for his grandfatherly ways, he was also a stern taskmaster, mandating that "play time" ended when you stepped in the gym, declaring that boxers would always shake hands with the others and reinforcing his rules with orders to run a lap around the park.

Salud recalled, "Mr. Silva built my foundation just like he did Brian’s and a lot of other fighters. It is like a building, once you have a strong foundation, you can go from there. That’s what he’s given all of us."

Silva taught humility and persistence along with left hooks and upper cuts. He used to talk of his pride in seeing Salud hoist a world championship belt, but he was impressed by the way his protege got there.

"Jesus would come on the bus all the way over from Nanakuli, even when it was raining," Silva once said. "When it rained so hard you couldn’t see across the street and even the Waipahu kids didn’t come, Jesus would still be there. I’d ask him why and he’d say, ‘ ’cause I want you to make me a champion.’ "

Silva, who grew up in Waipahu and was later a field supervisor for Oahu Sugar Co., was an accomplished bicycle racer and a boxer and won some service titles while boxing for the Army during Wold War II.

"We would joke with him that he never got off the bicycle in the ring," said former Hawaii State Boxing Commission executive director Bobby Lee, who split two fights with Silva as an amateur in the 1930s. "Al wasn’t a slugger; he was a boxer, a big, tough lefty," Lee said.

Lee credits a focus on defense and the dedication he put into coaching for Silva being able to turn out so many champions.

"He was very dedicated to those kids and good-tempered," Lee said. "He could be stern, but loved working with the kids."

Silva used to declare that he was the winner: "Boxing is my life and these kids keep me young. I’m the lucky one."

In tribute, Garcia said, "We are moving on a resolution at the city council to name the boxing room at the Waipahu Recreation Center after Uncle Al."

There is scheduled to be a moment of silence at the city council’s 10 a.m. floor session today with a bell borrowed from ringside to toll 10 for Silva.

Funeral arrangements are pending.