The West Portland Coaching Team

Bill Meartz

A native of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, Bill started boxing at age 12. Prior to joining the Navy, he had 39 amateur bouts with a record of 28 wins and 13 losses. During his four years of service, he fought for the Navy with a record of 9 wins and 1 loss. Professionally, Bill had a record of 3 wins and 6 losses.

Bill moved to Portland in 1974, and 5 years later, started the West Portland Boxing Team in his garage. Since then, the team has grown and he has attained 4th level (elite) coaching status in USA Boxing. In addition to being the head coach for the team, Bill has also coached numerous US national teams in competitions including team matches against Ireland, Canada, Mexico, France, Argentina, Korea, Russia, The 97 Ali Cup and the U-19 World Championships.

"The West Portland Boxing Team is preventative in nature as it uses amateur boxing as an alternative to the streets, drugs and gangs. Using amateur boxing as a tool to attract young people who may be at risk and giving them the opportunity to build self-confidence, develop self discipline, develop good sportsmanship and to experience the rewards of always striving to do their best. In its 20 year history, several hundred children and young adults have benefited from their participation in the West Portland Boxing Program. Some were made of sturdy stuff and became real boxing champions. Some West Portland boxers were made of other things but all were made better than they could have been because their lives were touched by coaches who care" - Bill Meartz

Bill also serves on several USA Boxing committees, has been involved with numerous US Olympic boxing training camps and was a boxing official at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. The highlights of Bill's career include:

1979
Started West Portland Boxing Team
1989

Ringside Products, Board of Advisors
Coach, Alcomers Camp, U.S. Olympic Education Center, Marquette, MI
1991

Team Leader for the USA National Team vs. Ireland
Coached Alcomers Camp, U.S. Olympic Training Center, Lake Placid, NY,

1992
 Coach, Elite Boxers Training Camp, JO, U.S. Olympic Training Center, Colorado Springs, CO
1993

Team Leader for USA vs. Ireland and Canada, Escanaba, MI
Elected President of Oregon Association, USA Boxing, Inc. for two terms of two years each
1994
 Coach, USA vs. Korea, Gladstone, MI
1996

Official, Olympic Games, Atlanta, GA
Head Coach, USA vs. Argentina, Houston, TX
1997

Coach, Elite Training Camp, U.S. Olympic Education Center, Marquette, MI
Coach, Ali Cup, Louisville, KY
Head Coach, USA vs. France, Tahiti
1998

Coach, USA vs. Mexico, Pueblo, CO
Head Coach, Under 19 World Championships, Buenos Aires, Argentina
1999

Coach, USA vs. Russia, Foxwood, CT
Vice Chairman, National Under 19 Committee
Regional Coordinator, Pacific Northwest
Secretary, National Coaches Committee
Member, National Safety Education Committee
USA Boxing Coaches Clinician
2000

Head Coach, USA vs. England, London, England
Team Leader/Coach, U.S. Olympic Trials, Tampa, FL

 

Guy Villegas

As a former professional boxer, Guy Villegas coaches with a unique style. He smiles as the boxers moan when he increases the length of speed drills or gives an unsuspecting student a heavier medicine ball. "I've got my eye on you tonight," he says. But Coach Guy isn't all about hard work, he is about making the workouts fun and "inspirational." After all, he's been boxing since he was six-years-old and admits he didn't love the sport right away. That is until he won his second amateur fight in Coos Bay, Oregon with coach Bob Lee. Guy later moved to Eugene, Oregon and boxed for the West Eugene Boxing Club. He was so good that coach Bob Lee moved with him. At age 14, Guy found himself training for the nationals and his boxing career "took off." He won the gold medal and "Outstanding Boxer" award at the 1978 Junior Olympic Championships and continued to win every JO National gold medal until age 18.

Armed with an amateur record of 352 wins and 50 losses, Guy headed for the professional boxing arena. Guy flourished in the pros and in 1984, was ranked fifth in the world. In comparison to amateur boxing, Guy remembers the pros fondly as a time of "more hype, more people, more status, exciting and fun". His most memorable professional fight was in Honolulu, Hawaii where he fought Roger Aviles and won. In 1984, after 15 years of boxing, Guy completed his professional career with a record of 23 wins and only 3 losses.

After the pros, Guy married Amber, his high school sweetheart, and had two sons, Drew and Derek. For nine years, Guy continued his boxing workout without a gym and began thinking about starting his own club upon moving to Tigard, Oregon. That's when he ran into Bill Meartz at a local boxing match. Bill knew Guy from his professional career and invited him to the West Portland Boxing Team's gym. Guy quickly settled in as a coach, local official, and became President of the Oregon Association of USA Boxing in 1996. Since joining West Portland, Guy has helped four boxers go to the Junior Olympic Nationals. "I'm waiting for the one boxer that wants to win," Guy says, "but I can only help people that come down to the gym. I have so much information in me that I can really help someone out...I know it more than anyone that walks into that gym...I've lived it, sweat it, done it every day of my life."

For those not aspiring to be the next "Rocky Balboa", Guy coaches a boxing class every Tuesday and Thursday nights where he uses a variety of training methods and focuses on nutrition, fitness, and health. "We're not here to just coach, but to help out people's lives and in other ways," Guy says, "this is the best club to come down to - where we teach, help, and try to inspire everyone. All the coaches come down to the gym to teach good skills."

 

Charlie Rios

A native of Ohio, Charlie began boxing at the age of 14 at the Hoover and Main Street Gyms in Los Angeles, California. Inspired by his brother who turned professional that same year in 1960, he began fighting as an amateur for the next three years, and then again in 1968 and 1971.

In 1990, Charlie moved to Portland from South Carolina, and has been coaching at the West Portland Boxing Team since the spring of 1991.

"I love boxing" - Charlie Rios
 

 

West Portland Boxing Team, 7475 SW Olsen Road, OR 97223, Portland, OR 97233

(503) 718-7050

Member - Oregon Association USA Boxing Inc.