Is a Mexican restaurant opening where Pig In! Pig Out? BBQ had been? Not quite.

There’s been some activity at the former Pig In! Pig Out! building at 13th and Washington, and with a new sign that says Gonzalez, it’s not surprising that some passersby have automatically thought it would be a Mexican restaurant.

Ricardo Gonzalez has had a good laugh over that.

He’s actually moving his Gonzalez Boxing Academy & Fitness to the space in early December.

“I started everything very humble, very small,” he said of his business.

It’s currently in his three-car garage in Park City, which his wife not only allowed but encouraged.

“She actually was all about it,” Gonzalez said. “She loved it.”

The oldest of their three children, Emilio, 12, had a dream of being a boxer, and his father started the gym to support him.

Gonzalez also loves coaching, so he started to take on more children, which is why he now needs the more than 4,600-square-foot space the former restaurant provides.

“We’re just wanting to expand and be able to provide a space for a lot more kids . . . to do what they might love or see if they love the sport and give them something productive to do.”

Gonzalez will coach children and adults in the new space.

He teaches boxing, calisthenics and plyometric training to help develop athletes so they can run faster, jump higher and be more agile.

Membership prices will vary by a member’s age and goals. Gonzalez said he can help people get in shape or get them competing through USA Boxing.

Emilio Gonzalez was a silver medalist at the USA Boxing National Open in Tulsa, and Ricardo Gonzalez also has trained John Reed IV, who was a 2025 Silver Gloves National Championship winner.

Unlike his son, Gonzalez didn’t start boxing until he was an adult because his mother wouldn’t allow it.

“I started kind of late,” he said. However, he added, “I’ve always had a passion for boxing.”

He had almost 20 amateur bouts.

Gonzalez said his entire family supports his business, and his mother even has come around to the sport.

“She’s super supportive as well.”