ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – A beloved member of the Albuquerque martial arts community passed away recently, and Saturday night, the family, friends, and students are honoring his life and legacy. “Mr. Sigala wanted to be remembered as someone who loved martial arts. He loved boxing, but most of all, he loved his people. The people around him, the boxing community, his family, his daughters. It turned into something that wasn’t just a gym; it was his family,” said Isaac Gurule, a student of Tony Sigala.
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Sigala opened his gym, called Sigala’s Mixed Martial Arts, on Coors Boulevard in northwest Albuquerque in the mid-’90s. His family and friends say he was not necessarily a tender leader but instead, an old-school style coach who believed in tough love.
“I want you to remember him as the one who always yelled at you but would always be there, no matter what you did or what you were going through,” said another student, Christina Blevins. “He might cuss you out the whole time, but he was there for you. He was fighting for you. He was your champion, whether or not you were your own champion.”
Sigala died last Saturday. He was 78 years old…