By Peter Lim

As bizarre as it sounds, Savarese Boxing Promotions announced this week that its owner Lou Savarese, 47, will be back in the ring, not as a boxer but as an MMA fighter on June 20. Timothy Papp, whose record is listed as 1-7 on sherdog.com , has been named as Savarese's opponent.

The off-the-wall MMA bout will be fought in a boxing ring at the Bayou City Events Center in Houston in conjunction with Savarese's monthly fight card that provides a stage for up-and-coming pro boxers to pad their records and hone their skills. .

As a boxer, Savarese (46-7, 38 KOs) tangled with some of the biggest names in the sport, although virtually all of them were past their primes. He lost to Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield and George Foreman, but beat Tim Witherspoon and Buster Douglas.