B Street Boxing Allows Beginners to Spar With Pros

Written by Brian De Los Santos

Eddie Croft would often drive to San Francisco to train as a boxer when growing up in San Mateo. When that gym closed, he shifted his commute to Oakland.

He had to.

There wasn’t much in downtown San Mateo when he started boxing in 1987. It was rundown area with no local gym for him to train. So before he went on to accrue a 23-7-1 record, fighting in world champion bouts along the way, he told himself that he wanted to open a gym in his hometown when he was done fighting.

“I grew up in Shoreview and there were a lot of people that I felt like could have 
been good boxers and it just never happened,” Croft said. “They didn’t have the 
opportunity, never had anywhere close to even give it a try.”

With Croft’s help, those residents now do. Since November of 2008, he’s been 
running a local boxing gym called Eddie Croft's B Street Boxing, providing a way for community members to exercise, spar and learn the sport from a former 
professional.

The gym, however, isn’t just for athletes looking to become the next heavyweight champion of the world. Croft’s doors are open to athletes of all skill levels, serving classes for beginners and classes for professionals.

“We have a lot of people that walked in not really knowing how to throw a punch 
and then turned into professional fighters,” Croft said. “We have people that are not interested in fighting and lost 100 pounds.”

While Croft’s gym does cater to fighters with varying skill levels, it does have a 
professional feel to it. The gym is located in an underground location just in front of the movie theater downtown. It’s really easy to miss, actually (Croft jokes that it isn’t a place that you can find with a car). 

But past the narrow, steep steps off B Street is a basement full of black, blue and red punching bags and mats. Housed in that gym is a boxing ring sealed off with red, white and blue ropes and wall-sized mirrors in between slabs of brick.

And if that screams that the gym is one that is predicated solely on sparring and contact, Croft is quick to correct the sentiment.

“I think that if more people knew that they could participate in a boxing gym 
without having to be hit, punched, kicked or anything,” Croft said, “know that it is a real beneficial way to work out, get lean, get strong and get in better shape then, yeah, that is something that we would like to do.”

Croft and six other instructors offer classes Monday through Saturday. Attendance ranges from class to class, but can reach as high as 30-50 participants for the most popular classes.

The gym offers courses in boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai (a style of kickboxing that originates from Thailand), jiu-jitsu and conditioning. Croft teaches classes himself, providing insight and coaching from a former world title contender.

But, he’s not one to tell you his experience himself.

“I am a man of very little words,” Croft said.