Daysi Garcia is the definition of strength—in more ways than one. As a gang-intervention boxing coach in Los Angeles, she’s not just training students to throw punches. She’s fighting for them, for their futures, and for a system that doesn’t see their potential.

A proud Pico-Union native, Garcia understands firsthand the challenges that young people face in LA’s inner-city neighborhoods. She knows the pressures, the adult responsibilities placed on children too soon, and the dangers lurking just outside their doors. That’s why she pours her energy into creating spaces where youth feel seen, supported, and empowered. Through the PUC Excel Boxing Club, a free, trauma-informed program she founded, Garcia offers more than just boxing lessons—she’s providing a lifeline.

After hearing her talk about “Building Power and Unity for Women in Sports” on a panel at Women Raise the Game—an event that aimed to celebrate and foster networking opportunities for Latinas in sports and entertainment, organized by Tish Galindo of 360 Agency—I reached out to Garcia to discuss her exciting work. She opened up about the need for community-centered spaces (especially for youth), the adultification of children growing up in underserved communities, and the importance of disseminating information that is often gatekept. 

From Pico-Union to the Boxing Ring: How Daysi Garcia Found Her Fight

Garcia didn’t grow up boxing. In fact, she only stepped into a ring for the first time at 18 or 19, long past the age when most competitive fighters start training. But the opportunity found her at the right moment.

“My coach had just revived the USC Boxing team, and they were looking for a location to train at,” Garcia recalls. That location ended up being the Graff Lab, a gang-intervention art space in Pico-Union. But there was a condition: If the USC team wanted to train there, they had to offer free coaching to local kids.

Garcia, at the time, was one of those kids. “The director of the Graff Lab called me when I had just dropped out of college and said, ‘I know you’re not doing anything right now, so come to the gym and see if you like boxing.’” She showed up with confidence, thinking she already knew how to throw a punch. “Like nine out of ten people who walk into the gym, I thought I knew everything… Then I got humbled a little bit, and I locked in.”

Building a Boxing Program That Goes Beyond the Ring

Fast-forward to today, and Garcia is the founder of the PUC Excel Boxing Club, based at a small charter school in Lincoln Heights. But this isn’t just a boxing gym—it’s a gang-intervention program designed to give kids an alternative to the streets.

“At some gyms, you have to sign up or pay monthly dues; you might not even be allowed to train at certain boxing gyms unless they see that you have potential,” Garcia explains. “My gym is a community-style gym, and we want to make sure that everybody knows that.”

That means no closed doors. No financial barriers. No kids turned away. “My program is completely free; we have an open-door policy,” Garcia says. “If a student is like, ‘Hey, I got someone to bring,’ I give the ‘ok’ for their friend to come in, and we see if they vibe with the environment that we got going on.”

Her program has expanded across multiple locations, bringing in students from East LA, Pico-Union, Koreatown, Echo Park, South Central, and beyond. At the heart of it all is Garcia’s commitment to youth justice—a mission that extends far beyond the boxing ring.

The Weight Young People Carry—and Why They Need Support

Garcia knows that the struggles her students face are not new. “We come from neighborhoods that deal with gang issues; we have to deal with gang violence every day, whether we’re a part of it or not,” she says.

Many of her students are first-generation, balancing cultural expectations while carrying heavy burdens for their families. “Adult expectations are being placed on these students who are growing up in underserved communities,” she explains. “If they’re not neglected at home, then they’re neglected by the systems around them.”

She also sees how much more access to information today’s youth have—but without enough trusted adults to help them process it. “They know what’s going on, and they actually do try to heal themselves,” Garcia notes. “What they don’t always do is ask for help from others, because they don’t trust that most people care about their individual needs and concerns.”

It’s a reality Garcia understands all too well. “I grew up in a family where if somebody didn’t have the answer, you would try to figure it out because you had no choice. I think my students are doing the same thing.”

From the Courtroom to the Gym: Why Daysi Garcia Went to Law School

Garcia’s advocacy doesn’t stop at boxing. She’s also pursuing a law degree, with a clear mission: dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline.

“I’m serious about taking students out of incarceration and making sure that we put fewer students into the system,” she says. Having spent a decade working in law—at litigation firms and immigration offices—Garcia understood what she was stepping into when she applied to law school.

But the decision wasn’t always on her radar. “My partner was a first-generation student who was able to go to college through sports,” she shares. “He encouraged me to think about grad school… Before him, I had never personally known anybody that had actually gone to graduate school.”

Now, she uses everything she learns in law school to give back. “There’s a lot of information in law school that they gatekeep from society,” she says. “One of the biggest ways that I’ve used my law education has been sharing all the resources that I’ve been given in school to help people understand the material.”

For Garcia, knowledge isn’t power unless it’s shared. “Being able to have factual information about things that affect you is really important for people that are living one day at a time—and that’s a lot of people in LA.”

A Documentary and a Bigger Platform for Her Students

Garcia’s work is catching attention beyond the boxing community. She’s now the subject of an upcoming documentary, a project that she hopes will amplify the voices of the youth she serves.

“Anytime an opportunity comes for me, it’s for me and all of my students behind me,” she says. “Sometimes you think that the best approach is to be low-key about all of the things that you’re trying to do… But I’m starting to learn that that’s not necessarily what the community wants.”

Her students, she says, light up when they get recognized. “They feel so special when they’re talked about in a positive way,” she says. “And that matters a lot to me.”

Words of Wisdom for Latinos Looking to Make an Impact

Garcia’s advice for those who want to help their communities? Just start.

“You don’t need permission to give back to your own community, so get out of your own way,” she says. “It doesn’t have to be perfect. You’re not a savior. You’re not here to tell people what to do or to change everything at once.”

Instead, she suggests starting with curiosity. “Start asking questions so that you can figure out who you want to be and how you want to contribute; get vulnerable and take it one day at a time.”

Her biggest takeaway? “Figure out why it is that you’re not helping already, and ask for the support that you want.”

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