Abner Mares shares his story with students from OCDE’s Youth Reporting Center North. 
OCDE Coordinator Dr. Nathan Goodly meets with Abner Mares at YRC North. 
One YRC North student taking a closer look at one of Abner Mares’ four championship belts. 
One of Abner Mares’ championship belts from the World Boxing Council.
Quick look: Former four-time world champion boxer Abner Mares shares his story with students at OCDE’s Youth Reporting Center North.
“I’m just here to open up your hearts and minds because I can relate to you guys. I can relate to you guys a lot, actually.”
That was the message delivered by former four-time, three-division world champion boxer Abner Mares to students at OCDE’s Youth Reporting Center North, an ACCESS alternative education campus that partners with Orange County Probation to serve students on probation.
OCDE Coordinator Dr. Nathan Goodly, who previously worked with Mares in 2020, arranged for him to speak to two of Allison Carey’s classes at YRC North. Goodly believed Mares’ background and experiences would allow him to connect with students navigating similar challenges.
Born in Guadalajara, Mexico, and raised in Hawaiian Gardens, Mares spoke candidly about his upbringing and the choices that shaped his future. As a teenager, he fell in with the wrong crowd and decided to join a local gang at 15. Before he could be initiated, however, his parents discovered his plans and intervened.
Coming from a boxing family, Mares had been training since age 7 and had already shown promise in the sport. To distance him from negative influences, his parents sent him to live in Mexico, where he could concentrate on training.
“The people that tell you to do things right are the ones that really love you,” Mares told students.
He emphasized that talent alone does not lead to success. Hard work, discipline and consistency, he said, are what separate potential from achievement. While those qualities may not always seem “tough,” Mares said true toughness means building a stable life and being able to provide for family.
His message resonated with students. Rather than asking about money or material success, many focused on the decisions behind his achievements. One student asked how he learned to distinguish positive influences from negative ones. Another asked what motivated him to step away from gang life. The only question about money centered on whether it brings lasting happiness.
Following the discussion, students passed around Mares’ four championship belts, took photos and received autographs. He left them with a final reflection.
“Boxing is like life,” Mares said. “You get knocked down, you get knocked out — but you got to get up again and do it all over.”
Goodly said he hopes to continue bringing guest speakers to ACCESS youth reporting centers and juvenile hall schools to provide students with encouragement and relatable perspectives.