Honkytonk Hitman

Adams to re-energize Tennessee boxing!

August 13, 2003

By David L. Hudson Jr.

A familiar face is returning to Middle Tennessee to put boxing back on the map. From 1997-1999, Virginia-based Jimmy Adams held fight cards at the Music City Mix Factory at an unbelievable rate of nearly one fight card per week. Boxing aficionados saw bouts featuring former champions or contenders Oliver McCall, Greg Page, Tony Tucker, Robert Daniels, Sharmba Mitchell and others. But, Adams left town in 1999 and boxing in the Nashville area never recovered.

Now, boxing in the state of Tennessee overall has declined even more since the departure of the popular former director of pro boxing Tommy Patrick. However, it looks like fight fans in Middle Tennessee may have a chance to see boxing on a regular basis. That’s because Unanimous Promotions will be holding fight cards at the Nashville nightclub The Trap twice a month beginning on August 19th. Unanimous Promotions, run by Rickey Young (no relation to promoter Brian Young who played a significant role in the 2002 Tyson-Lewis bout held in Memphis) and Terrence Gray, has hired Jimmy Adams as an advisor to help them make the venture a success. They hope to fill the void that currently exists in pro boxing in Tennessee.

“We did 47 fight cards in one year when I was promoting out of the Mix Factory,” Adams says. “We can do even better this time. Tennesseans support boxing. Boxing is not down for the count. We are going to bring real professional boxing back to Nashville. We hope to soon have some bigger name fighters at the Trap.”

“A lot of people talked about the Mix Factory, but the Trap is a totally different place,” Adams says. “Irv Woolsey [the owner of The Trap and manager of country star George Strait] has credibility in this town and is a boxing fanatic. We will bring good boxing and good entertainment.”

Rickey Young says he hired Adams as an advisor because of his long-time experience with professional boxing and his ability to make fights happen. “We met Don King through Jimmy and Don is a big supporter of Jimmy,” Rickey Young said.

Adams and Rickey Young said the August 19th card is scheduled to have eight bouts, including the return of mid-state fighter Brent Cooper. Cooper fought regularly at the Mix Factory and built up a record of 20-2-2, largely under Adams’ guidance. “Jimmy’s the one that got me all my fights,” Cooper said, explaining why he reconnected with Adams. “If it wasn’t for him, I’d only have about six pro bouts.”

“Within a year, I will land Brent a title fight or at least give him the opportunity for a title fight,” Adams said. “He is the one that will have to perform in the ring, but I will get him the fights.” We want to match Brent up with a top-notch trainer like Buddy McGirt or Richie Giachetti, known mainly as the trainer of former heavyweight champion Larry Holmes.

The card will also feature the return of the legendary Mike “the Honkytonk Hitman” Rodgers, the WBF cruiserweight champion. “I am looking to staying busy,” says Rodgers, who sports a record of 25-2 with 20 kayoes. “I need to get back in the ring and shake off some cobwebs that I’ve let accumulate playing in all these honkytonks.”

Rodgers says it’s a positive development for Nashville to have regular fight cards at The Trap. “Jimmy is the one that can make fights happen. He has always had the ability to bring in good names and put on good boxing shows. At one point, Nashville was a hotbed for boxing when he was promoting at the Mix Factory. That is a good thing for me because every since Jimmy Adams left Nashville, my career has not been as active as I would have liked. Robert Moore has always been good to me and landed me the WBF championship fight but after he got sick, there were no other promoters in town with enough significance in the fight game.”

Rodgers, who is making great strides in his music career, says he’s taking his involvement in the fight game one day at a time. “I fight when I feel like it,” Rodgers says. “And right now I feel like fighting.”

In addition to local fighters such as Cooper and Rodgers, Adams anticipates bringing in a stable of marquee names. Unanimous Promotions says they will possibly feature a card with former world heavyweight champion Riddick Bowe

The August 19th fight card will take place at The Trap at 201 Woodland Street at 8:00 p.m. For tickets call 615-294-3823. For further information contact Rickey Young at 615-859-2861.



David L. Hudson, Jr. is an attorney, writer and licensed boxing judge in the state of Tennessee. Please send feedback to David at: hud_fightnews@hotmail.com