Profile 01
The Wichita Eagle - Sat., Jan. 14, 2006 - Page 1A
In the ring, father and son
Steve Langley will fight tonight on the same bill as his teenage son
By Michael Phillips
The Wichita Eagle
From a distance, the Wichita Northside Boxing Club appears to be an abandoned building. A big sign that says "Pet Chews" greets visitors who pass through the boarded-up security booth. It's not the sort of establishment that invites loitering.
Yet professional boxer Steve Langley says this is exactly the sort of place where kids should go to stay out of trouble.
After all, it worked for his son.
• • •
Steve Langley does not know his age. Maybe he is 45, or perhaps 46. He asks his son, Steven, how old he is.
"Too old," the younger Langley replies.
This is true. In the world of boxing, Steve — turns out he is 45 — is too old. He has not fought in 11 years and only started training again three months ago.
"If you'd been here the very first time I was working out, you would have laughed," he said. "I mean, I got beat up bad. They had to carry me out of the ring."
A little training has fixed that, and Steve will step into the ring tonight at the Mid-America All-Indian Center for a four-round fight.
When Steve was in his prime, he gained a reputation as somebody who could take a punch. He traveled the country, fighting in places such as Las Vegas and Atlantic City and taking on big-name opponents including Bernard Hopkins and Maurice Blocker.
"I was known not for the ability of my fighting but because I could take a beating," he said. "This time I'm not out to show that."
Although he already has two more fights lined up after tonight's, this could be his last in Wichita.
It will be the first for his son, Steven.
• • •
Steven Langley is not like his father.
The 17-year-old is quiet and reserved, content to work out while listening to music instead of the chatter around him. It is hard to imagine him becoming Wichita's boxing ambassador the way his dad was. That's OK with Steven because he doesn't see himself destined for a career in boxing.
This is his junior year at Wichita South High School, and when he graduates he wants to go to school at the University of Alabama to study architecture.
"I want to concentrate on school more than anything," he said.
Steven stays busy with his schoolwork, boxing and a part-time job.
As a freshman, he played defensive tackle and wide receiver on the South football team until he injured his ankle. It wasn't a serious injury, but it kept him on crutches long enough to end his season.
"I thought I would go back, but then I got caught up with work and stuff," he said.
He got caught up with more than that when a year and a half later he was arrested and put on probation for alcohol-related charges.
"I got mixed up with some bad people, and we ended up getting caught," Steven said. "Luckily, I never spent time in jail."
His father gives a big sigh before talking about it, but emphasizes that the event helped Steven turn his life around.
"His probation officer said he needed to get into some sports," Steve said. "So I was hoping he'd pick football."
• • •
Back when Steve Langley was just starting as a professional boxer, he met a girl named Ramona. Three days later, he took her to Miami, Okla., and they got married.
On the drive back, he told her that though he loved her, "Boxing is No. 1 to me, and you'll always be second," he recalls.
That left her to raise Steven while Steve traveled the country fighting. So she can be forgiven for her reaction when Steven decided that he would give boxing a try.
"She kind of got mad," Steven said. "I don't really know what she said. Dad heard most of it."
Steve says that Ramona got mad because she thought Steve influenced their son's decision, which he says wasn't true.
"I always told him not to do it," Steve said. "I don't believe in pushing your son into a sport."
Steven says that as he began training, his mom eased her objections.
"As long as I'm in shape she's fine with it," he said. "She just doesn't want me to get hurt."
And Ramona knows a thing or two about boxing injuries. Back when Steve was a pro, she would be his "cut person" — the person in his corner who gives first aid. She is licensed in the state of Nevada.
She will be at the Indian Center tonight, making her comeback alongside her husband and mending him between rounds.
"I don't think she's going to work Steven's corner," Steve says. "I don't know if she could handle that."
• • •
Justin Blevins' first fight in Wichita could not have gone much worse.
He was in the main event, coming out to the applause and adulation that only a hometown boy receives. He stepped out to answer the opening bell and threw the first punch.
His opponent, Tyrone Willis, fell down and would not be getting back up.
"It took longer to announce his name than it did for him to get knocked out," Steve Langley said.
Blevins says his opponent had no intention of fighting; he was just in town for the paycheck. The crowd booed both fighters, angry at the result.
Later that night Blevins called Langley, his mentor, apologizing for the fight and wanting to know how he could make it right.
The next time out, Blevins won in what Langley described as a "beautiful fight." Langley said that while winning is important, giving the fans a show is more important.
"The hometown boy isn't supposed to lose, but I lost twice," Langley said. "That's because when they asked me who I wanted to fight, I said put somebody out there that the fans will enjoy."
Under Langley's tutelage, tonight's fight will be the third promoted by Blevins, 29. He is assisted by his brother, Jason.
After staging just one fight in each of the past two years, the Blevins brothers plan to stage six this year. They say Wichita is ready to support it.
"This is a city of 500,000, and there's people doing it in a lot smaller cities in the Midwest," Justin Blevins said.
The card is scheduled to have 11 fights, including professionals and top local amateurs.
Justin Blevins will fight the main event, a heavyweight bout against Karl Evans of Topeka. Steve and Steven Langley will fight on the undercard: Steve as a light heavyweight at 180 pounds and Steven as a middleweight at 158 pounds.
Nationally, a father-son combo made news in 2005 when Julio Cesar Chavez brought his son, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., along to fight in his farewell tour.
But Steve thinks it is the first time in the Wichita area that a card has included a father and son.
"They tried it one time before, but the dad hurt his shoulder and they had to cancel it," he said. "I won't cancel this. I'm going to make it to the fight."
• • •
Mike Magdaleno owns the Wichita Northside Boxing Club, something he says with pride in his voice.
The gym has been open since last summer, when Magdaleno took over a room in the pet food building and put in boxing equipment. There is room for eight to 12 kids, and that's how many there will be on an average night.
Steve Langley says boxing is a great sport for kids to learn, especially kids who are prone to trouble.
"The kids don't pick on each other," he said. "They come in and spar, and one might get a good lick in on another, but they don't take it outside. It's just for fun."
• • •
Father and son step into the ring, and a green light turns on. Everybody in the gym gradually turns away from their training. There is a sense that this is important, that they could spend the rest of their lives in the gym and not see something like this.
Mike Hernandez, the trainer, yells out instructions from the ropes. Steven is cautious at first, then at Hernandez's urging gets aggressive.
Father and son trade jabs until Steven lands a right hand that makes his father's nose bleed. The fighting stops.
Hernandez uses the opportunity to coach the teenager for a few seconds. He tells Steven not to be like his dad.
"He has a style like his dad, but we're trying to break him of that," he said. "We want him to have more of a boxing style instead of a brawling style."
Indeed, the elder Langley is a brawler. During the break he has thrown off his headgear, feisty as ever.
"This old man ain't done yet," he proclaims to laughter from the gym.
In the cold room, steam rises from the bodies of both Langleys, as if to let everyone know that this is what they should be looking at. Of course, everyone knows by now, anyway.