By Jake Donovan
When newly formed promotional outfit Top Catz Boxing planned to break into the sport, its mission statement was to separate itself from the typical club show scene that has long polluted its region.
The North Carolina-based outfit so far remains true to its word, first enlisting the services of strategic marketing specialist and co-host of hit boxing podcast The Morning Punch In Show With RB & J Michelle "Raging Babe" Rosado before securing Hall of Fame promoter and boxing historian J Russell Peltz as a key advisor.
Together, they look to go in with a bang for the inaugural installment of the forthcoming "Small Town, Big Dreams" boxing series, which takes place February 4 at the Bill Ellis Convention Center in Wilson, North Carolina.
"I am tired of hearing people saying bad things about North Carolina Boxing," insists Top Catz founder and president Tony Meeks. "While a small amount of the negative perception might be warranted, we have a large amount of untapped good. It is time for fighters to step up, and darn promoters stop making one sided fights to pad records. It doesn’t help these kids.
"Well, I’m a man of action. If a fighter is willing to put in the work, and face real competition then Top Catz will help them!”
Bringing aboard the likes of Peltz to the boxing operation side is a major next step toward back up those claims.
"Adding the expertise of Russell Peltz... it is not everyday you can get advice from a Hall of Famer," Meeks acknowledges. "We have that, and we are going maximize all of our efforts and resources to make it work for us, North Carolina boxing, and more importantly, the fans."
Peltz - who was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2004 - has served as a promoter for nearly 40 years, much of has been spent serving as the heart and soul of the boxing-rich tradition in Philadelphia. Beginning with his first show in 1969, the goal for Peltz Boxing has always been to deliver in-ring entertainment to its local city, which for decades has responded in droves as intimate venues consistently contain Standing Room Only crowds on fight night.
His company's most recent show in Philadelphia landed on the 38th anniversary of crowning its first world champion, Harold Johnson on Dec. 2, 1978.
There is A LOT of work ahead before determining if Top Catz can produce world class talent. But then, that's the type of challenge that a veteran promoter like Peltz has always embraced.
"It's a chance to bring some really good fights to North Carolina and to that part of the country," Peltz told BoxingScene.com. "Look, everyone knows the perception of fights (in that area), but there's no reason why good boxing can't take place in North Carolina or anywhere else, for that matter."
The fight night lineup for the series' first show is still being worked out, with details expected to begin rolling out in the coming weeks. Updates can also be tracked on the company's website - TopCatzBoxing.com - or through social media, by following @TopCatzBoxing on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Twitter: @JakeNDaBox_v2
