Jamal James Steps In, Ready To Close The Show

By Jake Donovan

Jamal James can never forget where he came from, simply because he refuses to leave behind the world that shaped him into the man he is today.

The unbeaten welterweight from Minneapolis still trains out of the same Circle of Discipline gym that served as his introduction to the sport of boxing at the age of five. More than 20 years later, he gets to put his corner of the world on the map when he faces Juan Carlos Abreu in the headlining bout of Premier Boxing Champions’ PBC on Bounce TV: The Next Round, live from Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida (Friday, Bounce TV/BounceTV.com, 9:00 p.m. ET).

“This is where I need to be at in my career,” James (17-0, 9KOs) said of the step up in class. “I need to get under those bright lights and move to the next level. This will be a good experience and an opportunity to test my skills.

The crossroads bout was originally scheduled to serve as the evening’s co-main event. It received an upgrade when Caleb Truax—also from Minneapolis—was forced to withdraw from his middleweight scrap with Fernando Guerrero due to an issue with his pre-fight medicals getting cleared in time.

James—a mild-mannered young man by nature—was perfectly content with taking the lead, even if on a moment’s notice.

“I’m glad it’s the headliner now,” James insists. “At this level, you either have to steal the show or close the show. I’m ready to close the show. It’s an honor to fight on the PBC stage, and it’s important to shine.”

For James, it means shining some light on a story that’s just not told often enough.

Boxing became a way of life at five years old, when his mother brought him to the Circle of Discipline gym in Minneapolis. Just a kid at the time, James was unaware of it serving as a transitional point for his family.

“At the time, my mother and my biological father split up, and she wanted to be proactive with me,” James recalls. “She wanted to keep me off the streets and out of trouble.”

The introduction soon became love at first sight.

“I just fell in love with the sound of the speed bag,” James reveals. “Everyone saw the potential as a boxer, and we just kept it going from there.”

It was where he would also meet his future stepfather, Sankara Frazier, who remains the only trainer he has ever known.

Their collaborative efforts extend far beyond the ring, hardly unlike the traditional father/son, trainer/fighter relationships told far too often in the sport. Along with James’ stepbrother and assistant trainer, Adonis Frazier, the three continue to serve as pillars of their community.

The foundation comes from tying his roots to the Circle of Discipline gym, a non-profit organization which to James has always served as far more than just a place to train. The community center’s mission statement is as follows:

Circle of Discipline mission is to provide youth and young adults with alternative programs and enrichment activities that address their physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual needs—360 degrees of balance, which empowers them to reach their full potential and become positive leaders in their communities, cities, state, and in a global society.

With that comes a way of life for the 27-year old prospect.

“The area where the Circle of Discipline is located, when we moved here it was riddled with poverty, prostitution and all sorts of bad influences,” James says of the community he and his team tirelessly continue to help revive. “It’s very easy for the youth to be steered in the wrong direction.

“What we aim to provide is a way for them to gain intelligence and knowledge. Families from a broken home, or even a working class home where time is stretched, kids can fall prone to a lot of bad elements. The way times are now, it’s easy for young men to get enraged. We strive to change that and it’s recognized in our community.”

While boxing remains the area at which he excels—more than 150 amateur fights including multiple tournament wins, and unbeaten through five years in the pro ranks—music has played just as much of a role in shaping his adult life. His “Shango” nickname is homage to his grandfather Aldric Peter Nelson, who founded the calypso band Shangoya.

Nelson passed away after suffering a heart attack in 2004, only having the chance to see his grandson in the amateur ranks. More than a decade later, James still carries his grandfather’s spirit and rhythm into the ring and his every day walk of life.

“My whole family is musical,” James states while revealing a CD collection that includes Harry Belafonte, Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett.

“He’s an old soul,” Frazier—a recording artist himself with his own CD (“About A Girl”)—notes, laughing in admiration of James’ new-age, old-school nature.

The term Shango refers to an African deity, the God of lightning, thunder and fire. Imagery of such terms are the exact opposite of the perception you gain when speaking with the soft-spoken. Given his dimensions— tall and lean as a 6’2” welterweight—he learned early on how to switch gears in a hurry.

“I was always the skinny kid,” James notes. “In the amateurs, I was this tall, slim kid fighting in the 85 lb. division against all these smaller kids. They’d look at me like, “You don’t look like you belong here.” So I used my dimension to my advantage, but also knew when to switch gears.”

That lesson came quickly in the ring.

“When I fought, I wanted to get down and fight,” James remembers of the early years. “But with that, you tend to get hit. I learned real quick to use my range, and learn to master it so that I can always come back and bring the lightning, the thunder and the fire.”

It was a lesson he recalled in the lone knockdown of his career—versus Mohammed Kayongo two years ago almost to the day.

“As fighters, we’re taught whether we are knocked down to score a knockdown, to look to your trainer,” James remembers. “At the time, it was a combination punch and slip but it was a legitimate knockdown. I turned to (Frazier) and he just told me to stay cool and be smooth.”

James came back to win a clear-cut decision, winning six out of eight rounds over his most experienced opponent to date.

His record and tale of the tape are clear indications that he’s not a knockout artist neither by trade or physical dimension. But James does boast legitimate power. In channeling the inner beast, James always remembers to stay grounded and have fun with his craft.

“There’s a lot of things I can bring to you in the ring. One thing my opponents can’t compete with is when I bring my smile,” James states, laughing at the thought of it, although dead serious about his secret weapon. “We’ll be in the ring, and my opponents are cursing me, telling me to bring it.

“I just wink and smile, and they get so frustrated.”

From where he was to what he has become and continues to represent, Jamal James has every reason to smile. So too, he hopes, will his biggest viewing audience to date when he steps into the ring versus Abreu, a battle-tested boxer-puncher from Dominican Republic who comes in upset-minded.

Of course, there comes the extra incentive of headlining the show and expecting a sizeable portion of fans from Minneapolis to fly in for the fight. But it all just adds to his continued mission to inspire those around him.

“I’m truly grateful for this opportunity, and to be a part of the PBC movement.” James humbly states. “There’s a lot of good talent out there, and we finally have the platform to shine. For me, it means changing the perception of boxers from my area, and shining some light on our community.”

Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com.

Twitter: @JakeNDaBox

Facebook Page: JakeBScene