Burglarized gym finds its cornerman: Lance McCullers Jr.
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Talk about a cornerman!
A north Houston boxing gym that was the victim of a burglary is getting some heavyweight help from Astros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr.
A day after ABC13 aired a story about 713 Boxing Club losing thousands of dollars worth of equipment and trophies to criminals, McCullers reached out to Eyewitness News on Twitter to see how he can help.
"Please have this man (713 Boxing Club owner Joseph Rivera) drop a link...with the equipment he lost. I KNOW the Houston community will rally around this man. I will start it off for him," McCullers, who has more than 143,000 followers, tweeted.
The burglary happened Tuesday night at the boxing gym off the Eastex Freeway.
What was the saddest thing about the crime, according to Rivera, was that his gym serves low-income families and children.
"It's always been family-oriented. We never had this kind of problem with anybody, so for something like this to happen, I was like 'Wow'. It was a shock," Rivera said.
RELATED: Boxing club owner to thieves: 'You stole from kids'
"Why would you do that to some kids that are trying to get a positive outlook in a sport?" said one of the boxers at the club.
On Friday, Rivera spoke to ABC13 again, expressing his gratitude to the all-star pitcher.
"Lance, I can't thank you enough. My kids can't thank you enough. May God bless you 10 times more for what you're doing for us," Rivera said holding back tears.
It's not yet clear if McCullers has offered assistance other than rallying the community. A GoFundMe account has been set up to help the gym rebound. You can make a donation here.
The pitcher, who was kept out of action for the entire 2019 Astros season due to injury, has become an angel of sorts to fans and others in dilemmas lately. And, of course, he has steadfastly advocated for adoptable animals.
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