By Jake Donovan
Despite never gaining legs as a true boxing town, Nashville is perhaps as fitting a setting as any for the November 15 HBO-televised bout between former Olympic teammates Jermain Taylor and Jeff Lacy.
Both fighters are badly in need of a win to remain relevant, while Tennessee needs at least one good turnout to convince promoters to bring their business back to the Volunteer State.
The office of DiBella Entertainment confirmed to BoxingScene.com earlier Wednesday that Taylor-Lacy is in fact Music City-bound, though the exact venue remains a rumor for the moment. The suggested site has been Memorial Gym, located on the Vanderbilt University campus and home to the Vanderbilt Commodores’ men and women’s basketball squads.
Neither DBE nor school officials have yet to confirm that a done deal was in place.
On the surface, the show is loaded with loser-leaves-town matches. Aside from the main event, Kermit Cintron and Chazz Witherspoon will return to the ring for the first time since losing earlier in the year.
But the fact that of the matter is that it could be the type of event to revitalize what’s left of the boxing scene in Nashville, and Tennessee in general.
A major sign of the boxing apocalypse in Tennessee came earlier this year in the form of a Senate bill being passed that allowed the state to host Mixed Martial Arts events. The sport was previously - and erroneously - viewed by the Tennessee Boxing and Racing Commission as a form of toughman competition, an enterprise that remains on the state’s banned list.
After seeing the error of their ways, the state went full-throttle, disbanding the current commission and its advisory board, and reloading with new Government-appointed officials. The new look advisory board includes only one “boxing” guy, with the rest brought in on the basis of their mixed martial arts expertise.
In the state’s defense, they had every right to snub their nose at the sweet science. The books for the boxing commission have remained in the red for years, only getting worse with each passing year. The trend not only continued this year, but with the bottom all but falling out, as the June HBO Boxing After Dark telecast (featuring Andre Berto and Chris Arreola in separate bouts) produced a dismal turnout.
The last three Memphis shows had Lou DiBella as the lead promoter, which makes his choice to come back to Tennessee later this year all the more surprising. Even more so in deciding on Nashville, which broke an 11-year nationally televised drought in hosting the August 22 ESPN2 card, which aired in front of a mostly-papered Sommet Center.
That very same venue played host to a pair of Showtime-televised cards in 1997, though known back then as the Nashville Arena. Don King brought a pair of marathon cards to Nashville’s version of 5th and Broadway.
The November 15 show will be the first time HBO brings its cameras to the state’s capitol for a boxing event. It will also be the first time in town for everyone currently scheduled on the card, including improving heavyweight contender Adam Richards, a native of Murfreesboro (about 45 minutes from Nashville) who now trains with Ronnie Shields in Houston, Texas. Even with his mid-state roots, Richards has never fought any closer than Memphis, with the lion’s share of his career having taken place in casino-town Tunica, Mississippi.
That changes in November, as he is selected as the comeback opponent of choice for Chazz Witherspoon. The second cousin of former two-time heavyweight titlist Tim Witherspoon was last seen attempting to peel himself off of the canvas against Chris Arreola this past June in Memphis. It was the first loss in the pro career of Witherspoon, who’s perhaps in greater need than anyone else on the card of a convincing win.
Quite a statement, considering whom else is on the show. But of those scheduled to appear, Witherspoon is the lone remaining name fighter that has yet to beat a notable contender.
Kermit Cintron boasts at least that much, but still enters his DiBella Entertainment debut with plenty of baggage. The hard-hitting Puerto Rican suffered his second knockout loss to Antonio Margarito in as many tries this past April in Atlantic City, parting ways with his alphabet welterweight title in the process.
The first loss to Margarito was chalked up to growing pains, that it was perhaps too much too soon for Cintron. But this loss was far more damaging, as it all but put to rest the suggestion that the lanky puncher has greatly improved since their first meet three years ago. Not that there’s any shame in losing to the man now regarded as the best welterweight on the planet; just that he didn’t look any better this time around than he did in 2005, other than lasting one more round.
The good news is Cintron is undefeated against anyone not named Margarito. Even better news is that his comeback opponent is career junior welterweight Lovemore N’Dou, though the test for Cintron will now be not just to win, but also to become the first fighter to stop the Australia-based veteran, now 15 years and 57 fights into his professional career.
For Jermain Taylor, the mission is simply to win, something he hasn’t done since escaping with a split decision in his middleweight title defense against Cory Spinks in Memphis last May.
An added bonus would be the for the Little Rock, Ark. Native to convince his once mighty fan base to make the five-hour trek to support his cause. He can use all of the help he can get at this point - come fight night, the former 2000 Olympic bronze medalist will have went 18 months between wins.
His linear middleweight title reign came to a crashing halt with the first loss of his professional career, a seventh round knockout loss to Kelly Pavlik last September in Atlantic City. A two-year reign atop the middleweight division ended with the defeat, one he failed to avenge in suffering a points loss to Pavlik in their non-title catchweight bout earlier this year.
In a way, the losses are a bit of relief for Taylor, whose approval rating seemingly plummeted with each middleweight title fight. The patience of his rabid hometown fan base was tested beginning with his controversial split decision over longtime champion Bernard Hopkins in July 2005. Their rematch five months later was met with slightly less skepticism; the court of public opinion was divided on his close unanimous decision win over the old veteran rather than believing outright that he didn't deserve the nod.
A disputed draw against Winky Wright six months later served more harm than good, as did distance wins over smaller junior middleweights Kassim Ouma and Cory Spinks, fights designed to bring out the beast in Taylor, or so promised by then-trainer Emmanuel Steward, who had taken over the reigns just prior to the Wright fight.
The two would split shortly after the first Pavlik fight, with Taylor back under the watchful eye of his old amateur coach Ozell Nelson, who remained on board throughout his pro career as a corner assistant before assuming the role as chief second.
With his house back in order, Taylor now needs to find his way back into the win column. Jeff Lacy’s managed to do so, scoring three wins since a career-damaging virtual shutout loss to Joe Calzaghe in Manchester, England more than two years ago.
Only Lacy’s win streak has proven that winning isn’t every thing.
Very few are sold on the idea that the 2000 US Olympian can cause further damage in even a super middleweight division suddenly lacking in star power or a definitive leader in the wake of Calzaghe’s exodus to light heavyweight.
The first member of his Olympic squad to have captured a major alphabet title, Lacy was rapidly emerging as one of the best super middleweights on the planet before running into Calzaghe. It was a fight he and his team vehemently campaigned for, believing that the Welsh southpaw wanted no part of him. The night turned out to be a disastrous dose of “be careful what you wish for,” as Lacy was battered in a fight that only got worse as the night went on.
Comeback wins against Vitaly Tsypko, Peter Manfredo Jr and Epifanio Mendoza were met with more criticism than celebration among the viewing audience. Lacy struggled mightily in each of the three bouts, all of which were extended the ten-round distance.
A torn rotator cuff was a legitimate out for his closer-than-expected rematch with Tsypko, but there was little to be forgiven of his going-through-the-motions snoozer against Manfredo last December. Not even a change in trainers could help change things up when he looked shaky against Epifanio Mendoza on ESPN2 this past July.
The Taylor fight almost didn’t happen. Lacy voiced his displeasure over what he declared an insulting purse offer, instead abruptly announcing his retirement.
This being boxing, nobody stays on the sidelines for very long; the bon voyage party became a welcome back jamboree just one week later, with the sculpted Floridian suddenly becoming content with the purse offer.
Now, all he needs to do is win. Though for the first time in his professional career, the odds aren’t in his favor. Not even close, as Taylor is present a 5-1 favorite to upend his former Olympic teammate.
Even greater are the odds of Tennessee remaining a viable candidate for prime time boxing action once 2008 becomes 2009.
The weekend couldn’t be more ideal for the sport to make a major Music City comeback – the Tennessee Titans as well as the town’s college football squads (Vanderbilt and Tennessee State) are all on the road.
Consider this Nashville’s last chance at a lasting impression on the sport.
Jake Donovan is a voting member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Comments/questions can be submitted to JakeNDaBox@gmail.com.