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MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Joe Frazier is stepping into the ring again -- against the mayor of Memphis for a fundraiser involving a local charity.
The three-round bout between the 62-year-old boxer and 65-year-old Mayor Willie Herenton is set for Nov. 30 at The Peabody hotel and expected to raise $100,000 for the Shelby County Drug Court, an alternative program for nonviolent adult offenders with drug charges.
"I'm not taking this event lightly," Herenton said at a recent news conference at City Hall, where the Memphis amateur boxing champ admired Frazier's abilities but bragged about his own skills as well.
"My hands move so fast, they scare me sometimes," said Herenton, who regularly exercises and plans to go into training two months before the fight with the help of city police officers.
Jack Mayer, a board member with the drug court foundation and a 1972 Golden Gloves champion, pitched the idea of the match to an assistant to the mayor after attending a boxing camp with Frazier in Philadelphia last September.
Frazier makes special appearances regularly for charity, but doesn't step into the ring.
"This is unique," Mayer said, according to The Commercial Appeal.
Herenton says he's not making any predictions about who will win but promised: "You're going to see a good senior citizen who has a great array of skills. You're gonna see skills."
VIA E S P N.com
The three-round bout between the 62-year-old boxer and 65-year-old Mayor Willie Herenton is set for Nov. 30 at The Peabody hotel and expected to raise $100,000 for the Shelby County Drug Court, an alternative program for nonviolent adult offenders with drug charges.
"I'm not taking this event lightly," Herenton said at a recent news conference at City Hall, where the Memphis amateur boxing champ admired Frazier's abilities but bragged about his own skills as well.
"My hands move so fast, they scare me sometimes," said Herenton, who regularly exercises and plans to go into training two months before the fight with the help of city police officers.
Jack Mayer, a board member with the drug court foundation and a 1972 Golden Gloves champion, pitched the idea of the match to an assistant to the mayor after attending a boxing camp with Frazier in Philadelphia last September.
Frazier makes special appearances regularly for charity, but doesn't step into the ring.
"This is unique," Mayer said, according to The Commercial Appeal.
Herenton says he's not making any predictions about who will win but promised: "You're going to see a good senior citizen who has a great array of skills. You're gonna see skills."
VIA E S P N.com
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