The boxer: aviation ordnanceman 3rd class Marcos Soto

All Hands, Feb, 2003 by Bob PH2 Houlihan

GROWING UP IN SAN JUAN, PUERTO Rico, AND coming from a long line of baseball players, everyone assumed Marcos Soto would do the same. His brothers played baseball, his cousins played baseball, one cousin even went on to play pro ball for the Florida Marlins. But Soto had a different idea, "I remember watching my father box," he said "and it left me in awe of him."

"I was curious to see if I could do it," said Soto, who launched his amateur boxing career at the age of nine.

"I grew up in a pretty tough neighborhood outside San Juan, and used to get knocked around a lot when I was little. So I guess that got me prepared for the ring," he remembered.

"My dad used to call me 'Tonka' like the toy trucks, because I could get slammed around, but I never broke' Soto continued.

By the time he was a teenager, when a lot of kids were getting into fights and skipping school, Soto could be found at the local gym working with the gloves.

"To me, boxing is a necessity. I did it once and I was addicted. Boxing is like a drug, and so it becomes everything. It is my life," said Soto.

"My dad was so important to my boxing career. He wasn't so sure about it at first, but after a while he got used to the idea and started giving me tips and helping me train. But above all, his character and his way of doing things helped me more than anything."

Training every day with his father as his coach, Soto competed in a national Puerto Rico Golden Gloves tournament.

"I was 17 years old when I went to my first Golden Gloves tournament," Soto said. "The Golden Gloves is a prestigious amateur boxing tournament and it's an honor to just be there. At that time, I competed in the 126-pound weight class, which is known as the featherweight division. After I won, I had a new-found confidence in myself which helped me go back to the tournament the following year to pick up my overall win."

At 132 lbs, he doesn't look much like Evander Holyfield or Lennox Lewis, but looks can be deceiving. "One of the best things about boxing is the competition," said Soto. "You can be the biggest, strongest guy in the ring, but if you're not quick and smart too, you're done."

After joining the Navy five years ago, Soto reported to USS George Washington (CVN 73) and found himself in a situation where he needed to be very flexible with his training and able to use some unconventional methods. "I was working 12 hours on; 12 hours off, so I kind of had to improvise my training schedule," said Soto

"I had a good buddy on the ship; AO3 Chris Tucker. He was like my brother -- we did everything together. Chris helped me work out every day for three or four hours and would spar and do glove work in the hangar bay," Soto continued.

After a while, other members of the crew got curious and would show up to watch. That led to more sparring partners, and eventually Soto was sparring with two or three people each training session.

"It wasn't like being in the ring at a gym, but at least it helped to keep my skills sharp.

"Usually, I wouldn't run into many issues while I was training out at sea, except for the occasional person upset that someone might get hurt while sparring," Soto said.

These days, Soto jumps out of bed every morning around 3:45 a.m., and begins a workout that would leave most people begging for mercy. Before work, he runs 3 miles, does 200 pushups, 200 sit-ups and shadow boxes for 30 minutes. All before he goes to work at NAS Oceana, Va., building and loading bombs at VF-101.

"The squadron has been really good about my training schedule and that's helped me make up for a lot of the ground I lost while being on sea duty' Soto said.

After work, the real workout begins "I usually spend about four hours at Beach Boxing in Virginia Beach with my trainers Kareem and Julio -- shadow boxing, doing target practice, hitting the heavy bag and sparring.

"Boxing is my life," Soto said. "When I'm not working, everything is about training and getting into the ring. There have been times when everything else in my life was bad and boxing has really kept me sane and allowed me to keep going no matter what."

With two Golden Gloves tournaments, two high school championships and one college championship under his belt and a record of 42 wins, 1 loss and 28 knockouts, Soto is ranked No. 2 in Virginia for the 132-lb. weight class.

Next on the agenda is working on either a promotion contract or a spot on the All-Navy Boxing Team. Soto recently submitted a package for the Navy Boxing Team and is hoping to get accepted, because the boxing team is a level closer to what he might see at an Olympic tryout level.

But, Soto still maintains his responsibilities to the Navy. "I just reenlisted for six years," he said, "and I could possibly get an Olympic shot. But, to get to a level to compete in the Olympics, I need to get better prepared mentally than I am now. Strength, skills and speed I have, but I just have to get my head game stronger.

I have faith that no matter what I decide, things will work out for the best. For me, it's nothing to put time into training, because if you want something, you have to be willing to put in the effort. Nothing is ever just given to you."