Honoring young boxer during Zumbathon fundraiser

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — A Sioux Falls family is hosting a Zumbathon this weekend to raise money to install a boxing ring at the downtown YMCA.

The fundraiser is in honor of a young boxing enthusiast, who tragically, went down for the count last fall.

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Manny Vargas picked up the nickname “Porkchop” at an early age.

“As a toddler, he was pretty chunky. He had chubby cheeks. He looked like Piglet from Winnie the Pooh. But we figured Piglet wasn’t a real scary name for wrestling, so we went with Porkchop, instead,” Manny’s dad Juan Vargas said.

The boy known as “Porkchop” was a champion wrestler who got up off the mat to enter the boxing ring and excelled in that sport as well. He even dreamed of becoming an Olympic boxer.

“He worked hard. He had his own boxing gear, so he could look the best when he was in the ring,” Manny’s mom Olga Vargas said.

But Manny had been fighting an internal battle with an opponent that would often get the better of him.

“He had a strong case of ADHD, which affects emotional regulation, so his bad days were really bad,” Juan said.

The worst of those bad days happened last October, when 15-year-old Manny took his own life.

“The principal called from school and said Manny’s not in school,” Juan said. “I thought he overslept. I got in there and I find his body. Called 911. I stayed with him as long as I could. Until they told me I had to move.”

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The Vargases credit their church family and the boxing community with comforting them following Manny’s death.

“Get up. Just keep fighting. There is beauty that can come from ashes. Let that person be your motivation to get up every day,” Olga said.

Manny and his parents started their own boxing club last summer. Now the Vargases are training and mentoring other young boxers so they can become champions in life, just like Manny.

“We will be looking for Mannys out there that just need a little extra attention. Maybe a pat on the back. A place to belong,” Juan said.

“We have grown to love the kids just in general and we hope to inspire and love on them and do as much as we can for them,” Olga said.

The fundraising Zumbathon in Manny’s memory starts at 1:15 p.m. Saturday at the downtown YMCA. They’re asking for a free-will donation. They hope to raise more than $12,000 for the boxing ring.