Tazmanian Boxing Club moves to new location in Carson City

Tazmanian Boxing Club, which has distinguished itself over past few years as more than a boxing gym, has moved to a new and much larger location at 3737 North Carson Street in Carson City.

Club owner Francisco Rodriguez said he moved his gym from the 2,500 square-foot space off Sutro Terrace in Northeast Carson City to a new 8,000 square-foot location because membership is growing and business is expanding the fitness services it offers.

Rodriguez, a former bantam-weight Arizona state champion and Latin American title holder, still focuses much of his fitness training around boxing.

In December 2015, he partnered with Carson Tahoe Physical Therapist Nina Vogel, who introduced him to Rock Steady Boxing, an Indianapolis, IN-based fitness program for Parkinson's Disease patients that incorporates boxing skills to improve function.

The next year, Rodriguez became a certified Rock Steady Boxing trainer and later opened a second location in Reno to accommodate a growing membership of Rock Steady participants.

Furthermore, Rodriguez has been working individually with developmentally disabled athletes. He is currently training two athletes on the Autism Spectrum.

Moreover, Tazmanian Boxing Club began taking a fitness program last year into senior living facilities in Carson City.

The new Tazmanian Boxing Club is a multi-dimensional fitness facility, Rodriguez said, offering boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts (MMA) training, as well as women's cardio circuit-training fitness, personal training and even nutrition services.

"It's more than just teaching kids how to fight," he said. "We've got a lot more going on here."

Joining Rodriguez at the new location are current trainers, Michael and Desiree Varner.

"While we are a boxing gym and take a lot of pride in our boxing and martial arts programs, we do offer a lot of fitness services beyond that," Michael Varner said. "We offer personal training services, and we start taking clients at three in the morning.

"If people have an interest in using boxing as a way to achieve their fitness goals, either through one-on-one training or group deals throughout the morning, we're here from three o'clock on to help people achieve those goals," he added.

Desiree Varner has been leading cardio fitness classes at Tazmanian Boxing Club for about two years. Her husband, Michael, has been working alongside Rodriguez to train boxers and MMA fighters at the club.

"We offer all sorts of training," Desiree Varner said. "From weights to cardio, body weight, biometrics, everything."

Rodriguez has also expanded his training staff, bringing in his mentor, Juan Torres, a retired six-time world champion kick boxer ranked No. 8 in the world by the International Boxing Federation (IBF) and No. 2 by the World Boxing Association (WBA) and World Boxing Council (WBC).

Torres said he retired undisputed after suffering a stroke and went into doing community work, helping get youth off the street and teach them to want something more in life.

"I was one of them," Rodriguez said, making eye contact with his mentor. "He was the one who pulled me by the ears from the street to where we are right now."

Torres will lead the kickboxing program, while his son, J.J. Torres, will help train MMA athletes at Tazmanian Boxing Club.

"There's a bigger sense of pride I feel knowing that a product of my hard work has been paying off," Torres said, referring to Rodriguez and the success he has found as a boxing club owner. "He's following in the same steps and doing the same things I was doing."

Tazmanian Boxing Club's new facility will feature front and rear gym space, Rodriguez said.

The front of the business will host non-contact classes, including Rock Steady Boxing for Parkinson's Disease patients, a senior fitness program, and cardio circuit-training fitness for women, he said.

The rear of the facility will be for full contact fight-training, including boxing, kickboxing and MMA fighting, Rodriguez said.

The contact fighting sports space will feature two sparing rings, including one large enough to hold tournaments and competitions, as well as a cage for MMA fighting, he said.

Rodriguez said bringing competition into the gym will help motivate some of the youth he mentors and keep them off the streets, where they tend to get into trouble.

"It's really about helping get kids off of the street and give them something to work for," he said. "A little motivation for them."

His vision for Tazmanian Boxing Club is really two separate missions. One is to make the space a place for everybody in the family to come to and enjoy.

The other is to resurrect the glory days of boxing in the Nevada state capital.

"We want to start bringing boxing back to Carson City the way it used to be," Rodriguez said. "Carson used to be big with boxing. I don't know what happened to it, but we are trying to bring it back."

Rodriguez said while there is still some construction going on inside the new Tazmanian Boxing Club location, it is open for existing members to continue their fitness programs.

An official opening date to the public hasn't been established yet, he said, but a grand opening is planned around Sept. 1, 2018.

For more information, call Desiree Varner at 775-400-6047 or email the club at mwv707@gmail.com.

Tazmanian Boxing Club can be found the Worldwide Web or on Facebook to learn more about its programs.