It’s been quite a 10-year stretch for Terri Moss.
A decade ago this month, the ex-fighter nicknamed “The Boss” was experiencing her first days as a business owner as her occupational baby, the Buckhead Fight Club, took its first steps in Atlanta.
But it wasn’t all that the former WIBF minimumweight champ was up to in 2013.
She spent a day that summer at a scorching hot Centennial Park as the press tour hyping the then-upcoming Mayweather-Alvarez fight came through. And she was caught for eternity holding a sign bearing the message “Canelo Call Me!” complete with the new gym’s phone number.
Talk about your creative marketing.
“The infamous Canelo sign,” she told Boxing Scene. “I got more media attention from that and more responses than anything I did in my boxing career. That’s so funny! I don’t know what happened to that sign. I need to find it, but I think we gave it to somebody as a joke.
“I still wouldn’t mind if Canelo called me.”
Or at least if he stopped by for a workout at the sprawling facility about 15 minutes northeast of the park, where the frenetic Moss, standing just a smidge past five feet tall, has created both a visually pleasing and socially diverse space where positivity reigns.
The club not only offers boxing as a fitness option but maintains a stable of both amateur and professional-level fighters and stages live cards overseen by Moss, who persisted through four failed title attempts before finally securing a championship belt in her final career fight in 2007.
“There can be a lot of people in there which makes it more exciting,” she said.
“We have fighters in there on all levels and a lot of gym fighters so usually people can catch some action in the ring. We got every race and every socioeconomic level and it’s all respect in the gym. That’s one thing I love about boxing, and that’s what I love about the gym.
“My plan is to make it boxing central for Atlanta. I would like for us to be that one spot that people coming to the south recognize as a legit boxing spot for professional and amateur boxing. We don’t want to be recognized as southern circuit. We want to be considered the best.”
Boxing Scene grabbed a few minutes to chat with Moss about her first 10 years running a business as well as her own ring career and her thoughts about the recent rise in acceptance for women’s boxing.
Boxing Scene: Remembering those early days, was a 10-year anniversary something you envisioned? Were there times you thought you'd never reach such a significant milestone?
Terri Moss: I had no idea I would make it one year, so 10 is amazing and quite an accomplishment for us.
Boxing Scene: Take me back to the early days. How did this all get started? What was the initial idea? To what extent were you involved then and now?
Moss: Early on I just needed a place to train my fighters and do my shows. The first year or so I was the only trainer with a giant gym. Thankfully we have filled it out with members, trainers, fighters and shows, so I’m pretty happy and humble about that. Buckhead Fight Club has sort of taken on its own identity. I’m still on the floor training fighters and doing shows but it has definitely outgrown me. That’s a good thing.
Boxing Scene: Is what you have now the same vision as you had in 2013? If not, how has it changed?
Moss: It’s better than I would’ve imagined it. I mean it’s still a boxing gym, so money is always an issue. There’s no such thing as a thriving boxing gym. But the growth and the things that we’ve done have far surpassed my expectation, and I hope it goes further.
Boxing Scene: A lot of other ex-fighters stay around the game as promoters or trainers or whatever. Does being involved in this to the level that you're involved help scratch that itch? Do you think your career would have had a different arc had you been fighting now?
Moss: I got into it so late that I didn’t have much of a choice for a long career. I realized from the beginning that this was going to be where I landed, so for myself it’s not a big upset, but it did take some getting used to when I really still wanted to fight. But what fighter doesn’t want to keep fighting? The good thing is I was smart enough to know that that would be a stupid decision. I think this is right where I was supposed to be, at this place, at least where I’m at.
Boxing Scene: Any particularly vivid memories of the place? Success stories or people that come to mind?
Moss: There are so many stories. We’ve had some great fights, some huge parties, and we’ve had some interesting, scary situations as well. I think the biggest takeaway I would have would be from those fighters who came and did something with boxing while they were with us and the kids that came through who said it changed their life.
Other than the fighters, my biggest memories would be about the families, and the community support we get from the Latino families in the area and the support that they give our fighters. It was super challenging to be accepted and grow in this community and to just say that we’ve done it so far is a big deal.
Boxing Scene: What's the climate like for boxing in Atlanta? Are you attracting the "stay in shape through boxing" crowd or authentic fighter types? Who am I seeing if I walk into the place on a random Tuesday?
Moss: We have a lot of people intrigued with boxing who want to do it for a workout because it is pretty cool. And it has run a lot of pro fighters into the game, especially females. I’ve heard that a lot. That’s what brought me into the sport, honestly. But we have a whole lotta fighters to train besides the fitness people, so I wouldn’t say that our gym looks like its gym by any means. It looks like a boxing gym.
Boxing Scene: Speaking of boxing, to what extent are you personally involved these days? Are you still training fighters and staying active that way? Any particulars to mention?
Moss: Yes, for sure, I mostly train fighters and I help out some with some of our white-collar guys. My primary focus is the fighters, however. The one that I spent the most time with, Abel Aparicio, has been out for about a year-and-a-half with a really bad skiing accident that tore his ACL and his meniscus and ruptured a tendon in his knee. So we are recovering down and back in the training and I’m looking really forward to getting him in the ring in a couple of months.
I’ve got some amateurs that are doing pretty well, and I’ve got about three fighters that I plan to turn pro on my next show. I have a heavyweight that I am invested in and working on getting him moving into some more career-moving fights. That’s my primary focus, the fighters, and that’s really where I want to be, in the ring.
Boxing Scene: 2022 was a pretty strong year for women's boxing and it seems to be operating on a level these days that was unimaginable 10 years ago. I'm guessing you feel some pride as a trail blazer for the sport. And is today's environment for women something you imagined was possible 10 years ago?
Moss: That question is something we all dreamed of. I wasn’t sure it would ever happen, and a lot of people said it would not, but I am super happy to see where it’s gone. Don’t get us wrong. We’re still far behind any of the pay and benefits of male boxing, but this is definitely a step in the right direction.
At least we don’t have to be embarrassed now to tell people that we’re women fighters. I can’t tell you how many times I would be in a grocery store with a black eye, and someone would ask me if my boyfriend beat me up. That was irritating.
* * * * * * * * * *
This week’s title-fight schedule:
IBF/WBA/WBC/WBO lightweight titles – Las Vegas, Nevada
Devin Haney (champion/No. 1 Ring) vs. Vasyl Lomachenko (No. 1 WBC/No. 2 Ring)
Haney (29-0, 15 KO): Seventh WBC title defense; Ninth fight set for 12 rounds (8-0, 2 KO)
Lomachenko (17-2, 11 KO): Sixteenth title fight (13-2); Held WBA, WBO and WBC titles at 135 (2018-20)
Fitzbitz says: I love Lomachenko. I’m not a Haney guy. But it’s not that simple here because at this point of their careers it’s hard to see the older fighter having enough. Dull fight. Haney by decision (90/10)
Vacant WBO junior bantamweight title – Las Vegas, Nevada
Junto Nakatani (No. 1 WBO/No. 7 Ring) vs. Andrew Moloney (No. 2 WBO/No. 9 Ring)
Nakatani (24-0, 18 KO): Fourth title fight (3-0); Held WBO title at 112 (2020-22, two defenses)
Moloney (25-2, 16 KO): Fourth title fight (0-2, 1 NC); Fifth fight in the United States (1-2, 1 NC, 1 KO)
Fitzbitz says: Moloney has sentiment going for him with a chance to get a second family title, but it seems like Nakatani may have a little more going for him at this point. Nakatani by decision (75/25)
Last week's picks: 2-0 (WIN: Moloney, Alimkhanuly)
2023 picks record: 15-4 (78.9 percent)
Overall picks record: 1,265-412 (75.4 percent)
NOTE: Fights previewed are only those involving a sanctioning body's full-fledged title-holder – no interim, diamond, silver, etc. Fights for WBA "world championships" are only included if no "super champion" exists in the weight class.
Lyle Fitzsimmons has covered professional boxing since 1995 and written a weekly column for Boxing Scene since 2008. He is a full voting member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Reach him at fitzbitz@msn.com or follow him on Twitter – @fitzbitz.