At the age of 56 and fresh off a near seventeen year prison sentence, Michael Nunn believes he still has some fight left in him.
According to longtime MMA promoter and manager Monte Cox, the former two-division champion Nunn (58-4, 38 KOs) will compete in a kickboxing match with UFC Hall of Fame fighter Pat Miletich (29-7-3 MMA).
Cox, who managed Miletich for much of his career, said the fight, which was originally being discussed for April, could now take place after the coronavirus pandemic is over.
“[There’s] one big show I’m working on,” Cox told Bruce Buffer on the “It’s Time” podcast. “You’ve probably heard rumors of this, but Pat Miletich is going to fight again. He’s fighting Michael Nunn, a great boxer. It’s an incredible [fight]. This thing will draw. We could draw 7,000-plus in the Quad Cities. They are the two greatest professional athletes or fighters out of that area.”
Nunn last fought in 2002 and soon after served 16 ½ years of a 24-year sentence for pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine. In 2002, Nunn paid $200 for one kilogram of cocaine to a federal undercover agent. Nunn occasionally partook in the sale of illegal drugs, and the cocaine in his possession had a street value of $24,000. He pleaded guilty to drug trafficking charges in 2003 and was sentenced in 2004.
“Michael has been in prison,” Cox said. “He just got out six months ago. It was a cocaine thing. The feds set him up to buy a kilo of cocaine ... It’s just ridiculous. … It was entrapment at its best. But anyway, what he did when he went to prison was he took all the people who came in overweight and didn’t know about nutrition. [He] taught them how to get back in shape, eat right, and put them through workouts and stuff. He really did good.
“He’s a good guy. I know him really well. I traveled with him all over the world when he was fighting. At one time, he was pound-for-pound the best boxer in the world at 35-0. He was untouchable.”
Nunn secured the IBF middleweight title in 1988 when he knocked out Frank Tate and defended the title five times before losing his crown to James Toney in 1991. Nunn also won the WBA super middleweight title in 1992. He was trained by Angelo Dundee and managed by Dan Goosen.
“Going to prison teaches you what you want to do and what you don’t want to do,’’ Nunn told the Quad-City Times in an August 2019 interview shortly after his release from prison. “I think it’s going to make me a better person as far as being a good dad and a good man in the community and just a genuine person … I want to utilize my skills in a productive way.
“I’ve taken responsibility for everything I’ve done. I don’t shift the blame. I went to jail and I’ve done my time. Now I’m back and I’m going to keep moving forward.’’
Miletich’s most recent fight was 2008, just his second since 2002. The former UFC welterweight title finished with an 8-2 record in the promotion. He currently works as an MMA commentator.
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist and member of the Boxing Writers Assn. of America since 2011. He has written for the likes of the LA Times, Guardian, USA Today, Philadelphia Inquirer, Men’s Health and NFL.com and currently does TV commentary for combat sports programming that airs on Fox Sports and hosts his own radio show in Los Angeles. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan or via email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com.