Comments Thread For: The Comeback of Jesse James Leija – No, Not That Kind

[BIGPOPPAPUMP]

By Thomas Gerbasi - If the idea of fighters turned promoters has grown tired, give former world junior lightweight champion Jesse James Leija a listen, because if his answer to a question about the difficulties of working the other side of the ropes is any indication, he may just break the stereotype of the scheming and dishonest promoter.

“The difficulty is not knowing if people are gonna show up to the fights,” said Leija of his first show on March 31st at the Illusions Theatre at the Alamodome, located in his hometown of San Antonio, Texas. Working with Top Rank, Leija’s new company with local businessman Mike Battah, Leija / Battah Promotions, put on an event that was a clear success, drawing approximately 2,000 fans while featuring the return of former middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik and a rousing main event between Evgeny Gradovich and Francisco Leal.

Leija can breathe easy now, well at least for a moment, as a May 5th show at Cowboys Dance Hall in San Antonio is just around the corner, but when he had just three weeks to put together his March event, his first thought is what you would assume any promoter would think – what if no one shows up? But that’s Leija being Leija, and even during the course of his 17 year pro career, he was always a favorite for his candor and no nonsense approach. That will serve him well again in his second boxing life. [Click Here To Read More]

[axo90]

I was at that first event, it was pretty cool i saw james kirkland there in the audience and that Gradovich vs Leal fight was badasss!! too bad pavliks fight ended in the 2nd round I would have like to seen more of him.

[sensi_many]

Originally Posted by axo90

I was at that first event, it was pretty cool i saw james kirkland there in the audience and that Gradovich vs Leal fight was badasss!! too bad pavliks fight ended in the 2nd round I would have like to seen more of him.

I was at that event too! Talked with Leija in the hall and he autographed a shirt for me. All I had was a pen and he went and grabbed a sharpie for me. Awesome guy! I'll be at the Cinco de Mayo show also. I'm thinking because of the date, this show will grab a bigger turnout than his first promotion and lead to bigger events for Jesse James!

[axo90]

Yeah I totally agree, he's a cool guy he seemed really down to earth, I talked to him as well but at Mission flea market. He was out there promoting the event and I won a pair of free ticket for answering a question, how many pro fights he fought lol.