Jerry Simpson- Fighter
By Tom Donelson

Jerry Simpson is 34 years old. And he is a fighter. After a five-year hiatus from the sport of a career that contained only two fights previously, Simpson fought the undefeated Joe Stofle on February 5th. Stofle had stopped his first three opponents and Simpson duty was to be another name on Stofle resume. The script called for Simpson to be Stofle fourth victim after putting a brief but courageous fight. It looked like Simpson was following the script after Stofle knocked Simpson all over the ring in the opening stanza. Except something happened. Simpson not only survived but came back to win a decision. And Stofle's zero disappeared.

As former Heavyweight Champion Tony Tubbs, who helps train Jerry “Ruff House” Simpson, noted, “When I saw Jerry get out of that first round in his last fight and not give up and fought hard until the end, I knew he had heart.”

Simpson's next fight is against Olympic heavyweight Jason “Big Six” Estrada on April 1st and again the script will call for Simpson to fight a short but courageous fight before allowing the Olympian winning. But like Stofle, Estrada may find Simpson a tougher opponent. Certainly, Simpson wants to write his own script that ends with him raising his hand in victory.


Why write about Simpson or even care? While Simpson dreams of a heavyweight title, the odds are against him. Simpson has the inner toughness and heart to survive in boxing but at the age of 34, age is the real enemy. Simpson presently is training with undefeated heavyweights David Rodriguez and Syrian fighter Amad Abdin as he prepares for Estrada. Al Bernstein once observed that what makes boxing special are those men who reside within the confines of the ring and Simpson is one of those men, whose dream may eventually outstrip his skills but the odds don’t deter this native Floridian. That is why I care about Simpson. He is an underdog story that is being written.

Presently, Simpson trains with Tony Tubbs in Cedar Rapids, hardly the boxing capital of the world. Managed by Clint Calkins, Simpson has formed a bond with Calkins and Tubbs as they train and work together. Calkin handles the business side and Tubbs handles the training. (Tubbs is presently fighting but after boxing, his goal is to establish his own boxing club and create other champions. And he does spend time training.)

While much is focused upon the upper tiers of the boxing world, the Jerry Simpsons populate the boxing world. Fighters like Jerry Simpson pursue their dreams of championship glory and sacrifice much. For these men, it is a path not littered with gold but minimum wage and maximum punishment but yet, they persist for they are fighters. It is what they do and love.

Rusty Rubin

Rusty is a crusty boxing writer living in Reno and his life has been spent chronicling boxing. Wednesday, I gave Rusty a call as he prepared for surgery. Rubin was, well, Rubin. For those who don’t know Rubin, Rubin is the happy warrior of boxing. Rarely does Rubin have a bad word for anyone and charity is the one virtue that he practices often. And a few hours before going under the knife, Rubin spent the entire conversation joking. Typical Rubin.

While Pedro Fernandez words slashes the boxing world like General Sherman march slashed Georgia, Rubin is the great conciliator. Even when he talks politics, it is done in the spirit of civility. I often disagree with Mr. Rubin, but then Rubin is one of those guys who you can disagree with and drink a beer later. In fact, we are actually writing a book together about former Middleweight champion Billy Soose and his brother, Gene.
Ringsports.com is the one magazine that combines the best of all vices.

With advertisements from a legal brothel combined with some of boxing best writers, Rubin has managed to combine sex and fighting under one cover. Yet, it is so Nevada. Nevada is a state that was built upon quickie divorces, gambling and vice in general. The first big fight of the last century, the Jack Johnson-Jim Jefferies, was held in Reno. There is an outlaw feel to the state except all the vices are legal, thus creating a state where essentially no one can be an outlaw. Nevada has managed to make vices profitable and commonplace. And Rubin is the perfect writer for such a state and Ringsport.com is the perfect magazine to be produced in America’s playground- the state of Nevada