AURORA - The 17-year-old boy circled the ring, exhausted and reaching up to jab at an unlikely sparring partner.

Fernando Rodriguez had fought in the streets before but never like this. Boxing, with all the preparation it demands, was tiring the teenager.

"C'mon Fernando, get him!" yelled Todd Alscher, an Aurora police officer, encouraging the teenager to throw more punches at Danno Singleton, who also happens to be an Aurora police officer.

Not long ago, when Rodriguez was in a gang, he would've found this scenario unimaginable: A cop cheering him on while he threw punches at another cop?

But when Rodriguez stepped out of the ring on a recent evening, drained of energy and disappointed at his performance, it was Singleton who tried to lift his spirits.

"Relax," Singleton told him, as Rodriguez leaned on a black punching bag. "Look up, look up. You're fine. You just overworked yourself. That's fine. Don't give up. I'm not going to give up on you."

Until a few months ago, Rodriguez had never boxed.

Now, he's one of about 40 participants between 6 and 18 years old in a program started by a half-dozen Aurora police officers in May.

"The idea was to have positive interaction between kids and cops," said Sgt. Graham Dunne, one of the founders of the program.

A boy in trouble

Rodriguez is the type of teenager Aurora police officers worry about. He already has been arrested four times, accruing a criminal record that includes aggravated assault and marijuana possession, he said.

Four years ago, Angela Runyon became his foster parent after Rodriguez's mother left.

"Oh my gosh, he was a mess. The first year I had him was really tough," Runyon said, recalling that Rodriguez would skip school, drink and get into fights.

"That's old news man," Rodriguez said. "That's like old history."

Now, like dozens of other teenagers, he spends three evenings a week going to the L.A. Boxing gym.

Police officers and businesses have sponsored youngsters in the program, paying for the needed equipment.

Last week, as hip-hop music blared in the gym, boys and girls lined up next to punching bags one foot planted in front of the other as they threw punches with quiet intensity.

"Jab, jab, hook to the head!" yelled one trainer to the group.

Jon Daye, 16, a Rangeview High School student, said if he didn't spend his evenings at the gym, he'd "probably be in a lot of trouble right about now."

"This right here takes up most of my free time so there is no room for trouble," he said.

Daye admits his mistrust of police officers made him hesitate when Singleton invited him to the gym.

"At first I didn't want to do it. It didn't seem legit to me," he said. "If a cop came up to you, randomly, and just asked you to join a boxing league, it would surprise you."

In pursuit of a dream

Although Dunne said the purpose of the program is not to launch teenagers on boxing careers, there are some who want to fight professionally someday.

"Some of them, that's what they want to do," he said. "They're so gung-ho about it."

Rodriguez is one of them.

In fact, he will have his first amateur fight in the L.A. Boxing gym on Sept. 8, hence the sparring session with Singleton, who is left-handed and wanted to "give (Rodriguez) a different look" to prepare for whoever he fights.

"Fernando," Runyon called out before he stepped into the ring with Singleton, "Don't hit like a girl."

Since taking up boxing, Rodriguez has stopped skipping school, is staying out of trouble and is more focused, Runyon said.

"I've never seen him so passionate about something," she said.

His attitude toward police has also changed.

Rodriguez said he didn't like Singleton when he first met him because he's a cop.

"He's a cool guy," Rodriguez says now. "He's going to be the godfather of my kid. I'm going to have a kid in February."

Like Rodriguez, others in the program have changed their perception of police, Dunne said.

"They're much more humble and polite," Dunne said, "because they have an appreciation for you because they know that you're donating your time to be with them."

morenoi@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2895

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