Jake Wegner is probably Minnesota’s greatest resource in terms of boxing history and relevance. His book may be a

Jake interviewing Cerresso Fort, Courtesy of SnapLocally.com

while out yet, but from all I have heard and what Jake has shared with me, it will be well worth the wait. Jake writes for one of the worlds premier boxing magazines, and his work has been seen on numerous newspapers, magazines, and websites including ESPN. I am a big fan of his commentary for radio, TV, and webcast. He may have another full time job, but talking with Jake, lets you know his passion is boxing. Unfortunately, with his book still in the works, he was not able to go into a whole lot of detail in its regards, but in a phone conversation I had with him, he read me portions of his work. “Wow”, and “I cant wait”, were my exact thoughts. Jake’s research is not only important in keeping boxers past alive, but maybe even more importantly keeping it from being lost forever. Much has been misplaced, thrown away, taped over and so on. Jake has spent countless hours searching for everything boxing in Minnesota. He has talked to virtually all living and recently deceased boxers from the past, as well as their friends and families. I am honored that Jake was willing to share a little with us.

M…. Talking boxing with you is like having boxrec right there, its one of the things that make your broadcasts so interesting. You are considered a Minnesota Boxing historian. How do you come about such a title?

Jake….  It wasn’t self-appointed, that’s for sure.  I guess it was earned over the course of the past 12 years of my life.  The greatest boxing historian Minnesota has ever known is my good friend, George Blair.  George has been my mentor so-to-speak about all things boxing-related in Minnesota history, but he’s 76 now and doesn’t care much for the sport anymore.  The fact that he’s leaving me all of his stuff when he dies will definitely give me something to do, as it will take years for me to get through it all.  In any event, I have written boxing for years, but those around the Star Tribune and Pioneer Press have looked at me as a historian for a while now, but it probably wasn’t until I was the first person to officially debunk the long-standing mythof Willie Pep supposedly winning the 3rd round of his 1946 fight against Jackie Graves without ever throwing a punch.  When I proved that was nothing more than fairy tale, Ring Magazine gave me credit, ESPN called me for an interview, and many east coast radio stations began asking me to call in for interviews.  Then Fox called and said they really wanted me for a special on Billy Miske, and I guess that not only put my name out there on an international scale, but also my face as well.  I don’t know if still stands as true or not, but since I was a voter in my mid 20’s for both boxing Hall of Fames, the World Boxing Hall of Fame out in California, and the International Boxing Hall of Fame in New York, I was told at that time I was youngest person in history to be a voter for both Hall of Fames.  Since having a personal dispute with one member of the World Boxing Hall of Fame a few years ago, I didn’t associate myself with them for a couple of years, but would now be interested in getting involved once again with them.  I also belong to a historian club called the International Boxing Research Organization, which is mostly made up of many historians you may have heard of like Bert Sugar and the late Hank Kaplan, but also a great many others you may not have heard of, but are equally as knowledgeable, each in their own certain areas.  I’m very proud of my association with them.  Lastly, I have been invited for a few years now to join the Boxing Writers Association of America.  I think I will this time, but have always considered myself more of a historian than a writer.  But I’m sure my editor at Boxing Digest would think otherwise.
 
M…. Did you ever box? When did you realize your passion for boxing?

Jake….  I boxed some while going to college during the late 1990’s and early 2000’s but it was never anything like I had joined the Golden Gloves or anything.  Nothing like that.  It was supposed to be just to lose some weight and stay in shape, but I ended up sparring and liking it.  But nothing official.  Actually, I had always loved boxing since being a kid and watching fights with my dad; the earliest memory being Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini killing Deuk Koo Kim in 1982.  I was 6 years-old then.
 
M…. I have seen some of your articles printed in various places, what was your first boxing piece and who was it written for?

Jake….  I don’t know if I can even remember that.  I really don’t.  It may have been the interview I did with Jackie Graves for the website www.cyberboxingzone.com  back in early 2003.
 
M…. How many publications have you been printed in, online and print? Broadcasts you’ve done?

Jake….  You know, I’m not sure if I know the answer to that either.  Mostly because I have been telephone-interviewed by several newspapers both in and out of state, and I don’t remember all of them.  Also a lot of different websites have called me for interviews and I’m told stuff with me is out there here and there.  I don’t really follow it all to be honest with you.  If I had to guess, I would say somewhere around a dozen or so different publications, spanning some 30 or so articles.  As far as broadcasts, I think I’ve done 11, if you include radio (4), online streams (5), and television (2).
 
M…. What was your most memorable boxing experience?

Jake….  Getting to know perhaps Minnesota’s greatest Featherweight of all time, Jackie Graves.  I knew Jackie for a while and his stories were surpassed only by his character.  What a great guy he was.  So close was I to him later on, that his family asked me to be a pall bearer at his funeral.  I also put on a slide-show of his life and career at the wake.  I did his eulogy as well.  
 
M….  The greatest Minnesota boxing event you have had the chance to be at?

Jake….  That’s easy.  Anthony Bonsante—Matt Vanda.
 
M…. Can you tell us, from your research, who was the most popular MN boxer up to now.

Jake….  That’s not as easy as the last question.  There were many very popular stars; and “stars” is the right word.  They were that big.  Jackie Graves would be hard to beat when talking popularity, but I think Mike and Tommy Gibbons probably were more popular, as was Mike O’Dowd.  Del and Glen Flanagan were big-names here also, as well as King Tut—he was huge too.
 
M…. What time period would you say boxing was at its peak in this state?

Jake….  The 1920’s through the early 1950’s.  Those were the power decades where Minneapolis and St. Paul competed right up there with New York City and Philadelphia. 
 
M….”Land of 10,000 Bruises…100 Years of Minnesota’s Greatest Boxing Rivalries” , How long has this book been in your minds eye?

Jake….  3 years
 
M…. I was able to briefly talk to you about some old TV footage of some of these bouts, and you informed me that many of the tapes were simple reused by the TV stations, How hard has it been digging up these stories from the past?

Jake….  You don’t want to know.  It’s very hard.  Especially because I am an admitted perfectionist.  Everything has to be just so with me.  All the facts as best as I can uncover them, have to be told in as great of detail as I can give, plus all the behind-the-scenes banter, cross-talk, quotes, and personal stories and interviews have to all be put together in an accurate, yet exciting way.  And it has to be that way.  I’m not interested in just re-telling what happened in round-by-round accounts.  I go beyond that.  Simple round-by-round accounts are like listening to Sergeant Joe Friday on old Dragnet episodes.  I try to stay away from that and do such deep digging with the fighters (if still alive), their families, friends, former trainers—you name it.  It’s extremely hard work to get all of this information, especially since I put that same sort of dedication into my real job in sales.  I also have a wife and 4 kids, and so my time is very, very, limited.  If I get any facts wrong in this book, they will be few and far between.  That’s how serious this is to me.  Those who have seen “sneak-peaks” of certain chapters in the book, know just what I am talking about here.  When it is finished, I hope it is a large work that others can open up at night and read all about the many great fights between our own fighters and get all the details—without having to do all the work I have done.  I’ve considered breaking it up by decade or 1900-1950 and 1951-2000, but I like the idea of one complete work.  Follow-up smaller books will be done every 10 years for as long as I live in the 21st Century.
 
M…. How big is the effort now to save this information from the past?

Jake….  Well the effort is little to none Todd.  I don’t know of anyone but myself and a few close friends like Denny Nelson, Don Weller, Bill Kaehn, Jim Glancey, and Jeff Flanagan that haveany interest in helping to preserve this type of stuff. It’s sad really.  Take Duane Bobick and Scott LeDoux for example.  Their first fight was huge, huge, huge.  NBC paid promoter Ben Sternberg $7,500 for the rights to come here and film and televise the fight ($7,500 in 1976 is like $30,000 today adjusted for inflation).  But do you think anyone has the film footage?  Nope.  Not any of the local television stations like Fox 9 or Hubbell Broadcasting, and not even NBC themselves.  I’ve had friends like Jeff Passolt at Fox help me, and we’ve always come up short.  I have searched long and hard for that film footage, and have not been able to locate it.  And I know all of the largest film collectors in the world, including the people who ESPN Classic and HBO use for really rare film footage.  No one has it.  I was on the phone for a total of 3 hours with the Sports Executives of NBC, they no longer have it either.  They taped over it years ago they tell me.  This is the really frustrating part of loving Minnesota boxing history.  That stuff is sacred to me.  That’s how I feel about it.  Todd, I even dream about old-time fighters.  It’s the single weirdest thing that has happened to me since I started this book.  I don’t believe in any type of psychic stuff.  I never really have.  But I can tell you that I have had fighters appear to me in dreams at night—old fighters, some that are in my book.  How’s that for weird?  It weird, it’s strange, and it’s kind of creepy.  I’ll be the first to admit that.
 
M…. I write out of Duluth, do you have any interesting stories from this area you could share?

Jake….  Just you wait.
 
M…. What has been your biggest victory, in terms of information gathering?

Jake….  Nothing in particular Todd, just all of the really cool insight I’ve gathered from the fighter’s themselves or from their friends and families if certain fighters are deceased.  I’ve gathered funny quotes that never made the papers, and cool insights and details of what happened in certain fights that none of the newspapers even reported.  I dig deep.  I’ve said this many times before.  I never intended on publishing this book.  It was just going to be a hobby thing for me, and when it got completed, it was just going to be printed with my own money and handed out to a few close friends of mine.  That was basically it.  But things changed.  It will never be a New York Times best-seller or anything like that.  It’s a local interest book, to be sure.  I certainly didn’t write it to make money, or I would have done things differently, starting with the focus of the book.  But I do have a list of more than 700 copies to be pre-sold so-to-speak.  But I guess some nice “victories” for me if I have to pin down some, would be that the magazine I write for (Boxing Digest) will give it a nice book review, Barnes & Noble at the Mall of America has expressed an interest in carrying it when completed, and some local T.V. stations have some interest in having me on to talk about it when its done.  So that’s all nice stuff.
 
M…. Has it always been this hard for promoters to work together? Were there big fights that should have happened but didn’t?

Jake….  Oh gosh, yes.  It wasn’t a lot different when it came to local promoters back then, than it is today.  Part of that comes down to money, and the other part is pride—both of which are factors built into boxing promoters’ DNA.  That’s not always good for fans, and that’s not always good for the fighters either.  Minneapolis has ALWAYS had a HUGE rivalry with St. Paul—in terms of buildings and architecture, theaters and ballparks…and boxing too.  In every era, except maybe right now; there has always been one premier Minneapolis boxing promoter, and one premier St. Paul boxing promoter.  They were like czars, really.  Rarely did any big fight happen in their city without it happening through them.  Let me be clear about something…I’m not saying there was only one promoter in each city, but I am saying that there was usually only one BIG one in each city.  The second part of your question asks if there were big fights that should have happened but didn’t.  Hell yes!  It still makes me mad that some never occurred.  But you know what?  The unfortunate fact that a lot of big fights never happened were often not the faults of promoters, but the faults of the boxer’s managers.  Either they were too afraid to throw their guy in against another local rival out of fear of losing and taking a setback for their fighter’s career, or else they were greedy.  You need to understand one very important thing here.  Today with the Muhammad Ali Act and similar pieces of legislation, we aren’t supposed to see the managers of fighters also being their promoters.  Yet, in Minnesota we all know that is not what we have.  You don’t want me to go into specifics, and you shouldn’t need me to either.  But back then, managers were not the ones promoting the fights—not usually anyways.  I’ll give you an example.  Why are a lot of “big fights” we could potentially have going, not happening right now?  Well, because the manager of “Boxer A” is also his promoter.  Same story with“Boxer B”—i.e. both managers/promoters want to be the one to promote that fight and make the money.  When talks break down because neither can agree as to just who will promote the fight, the mud-slinging then begins, and now the two sides are sore at each other and that only makes it more difficult to come to the table to talk again.  It’s just how it is today, that’s all.  What big fights did Minnesota miss out on?  A lot.  I won’t go into them all, but certainly we know that Bonsante-Vanda almost fell into that category.  Lucky for us fans, it didn’t.  But one huge one from the 1920’s was when My Sullivan and Jock Malone’s handlers could never quite agree on terms, and the fight along with all the money, fell by the wayside.  On a more recent note, the 1980’s and early 90’s saw a crime that Dan Schommer and Danny Morgan never fought, and in the 90’s we certainly missed out on Johnny Montantes vs. Mike Evgen.  A better question might be “What fights occurred, but occurred too late”?  In other words, what really would have happened if Pat O’Connor and Rafael Rodriguez would have fought 4 or 5 years earlier?  On a national scale, what would have happened if Lennox Lewis would have fought a prime Mike Tyson?  Back to local and recently, what would have happened if Andy Kolle would have fought Anthony Bonsante back when he whipped Matt Vanda, rather than in the last fight of Bonsante’s career?  Those are fun questions to ponder too.  One thing I can tell you withabsolute certainty, is that there has NEVER been a rivalry between the Twin Cities and the Twin Ports.  It’s just not true.  What you see and hear a lot of, especially if you liveup in Duluthlike I know you do, is that the Twin Cities people resent Duluth, and that we always have.  Todd, I can tell you with reasonable certainty that is not true today, and I can tell you with absolute certainty that was never the case historically either, as either the late Don Jasper would have admitted, as would have Duluth’s greatest promoter, the late Sammy Gallop.  What’s being circulated today is manufactured.  Perhaps it helps sell fights, I don’t know.  Those that want to believe it, will. 
 
M…. Looking at today’s boxing picture. I know Minnesota is small on the larger boxing scale, but what in state fights would you like to see most?

Jake….  Actually, I would say that “yes” Minnesota does not have the larger scale fights happen here.  How could we?  Look at our income tax rates. Why would Mosley or Pacquaioever want to fight here, where even if we could sell out the building, their earnings would be taxed at such a rate that they wouldn’t be able to keep nearly as much as if they fought in Vegas.  But we are one of the more active states right now as far as volume and frequency of fight cards.  But what fights would I like to see most?  In no particular order: Kolle-Kost (but Kost needs a tune-up or two, and deserves one), Kolle-Truax, Walters-Williams (if this fight doesn’t happen, the fans will never forgive them for it, even long after they are done fighting), Boxley-Allen Litzau, Hilario-Jason Litzau, Rodriguez-Laboda, Abell-Butler; Muwendo-Allen Litzau (yes, you read that correctly.  I like this Muwendokid).  I’d also like to see Dave Peterson make a believer out of me once and for all, but to do that I need to see him fight somebody who has the chance to hurt him.  I wouldn’t midn seeing Antonio Johnson fight him.
 
M…. What MN fighters do you think have the greatest potential to make waves on the national level.

Jake….   Obviously Jason Litzau is already there.  I like Andy Kolle, but he needs to talk more and do more interviews—be more accessable.  I’m told by those that haveinterviewed him, that he only does them by email.  His team needs to market him outside of Duluth because he has a lot of potential.  I think Andy Kolle is one of the better southpaws in the land, but provided he makes it past Truax in the Fall, and then hopefully Kost, I would really like to see Andy in a nice fight on ESPN against a guy similar in talent.  In other words, he shouldn’t haveto fight killers like Ward and Paul Williams to be able to get a fight and a payday on ESPN.  He should be matched evenly and allowed to shine.  I like Caleb Truax’s athleticism and counter-punching, but I want to see him be more aggressive out there, and I think that certainly Phil Williams has the right stuff to shine on a national level.  Had Codrington showed up that night when he ended up fighting Echols, Phil just may have killed him.  He looked that good, and everyone that was there noticed the power and speed of his jab.  It had the force of a cross.  Joey Abell is in the right weight class, and definitely has the right skin color to get him televised fights, but I want Joey to see a hypnotist, Anthony Robbins, or whatever it takes to get his full confidence back, and then step up and fight some serious names in the Heavyweight division.  If Wilton Hilario beats Jason Litzau this Fall, then his name jumps to the moon automatically.  It’s a crime that a Light Heavyweight with Zach Walters’ record has not been invited over to Germany to face a European belt holder and get a career payday.  I can put him in touch with the right people overseas to make that happen if he’s interested. 
 
M…. How would you fix boxing’s declining popularity?

Jake….  Who can answer this?  Far be it from me, but my thoughts are these:  I would like to see a national boxing commission.  Basketball has the NBA, football has the NFL, and so on.  Boxing is the world’s oldest sport and the only one without a real national body to keep things organized.  This would not only help to get rid of all the ridiculous alphabet titles which hurt the sport by confusing the average fan who the real champion really is, but also bring some needed credibility back to the sport.  Pensions and the like, that many non-profit boxing advocates have long been trying for would become a reality as well.  I would also reduce the weight classes.  I might not go back to just the 8 we used to have, but would I trim down the 17 we currently have.  Then some of the answer starts young.  I would like to see the Police Athletic League (PAL) get more involved with troubled youth like they used to.  Offer kids that would otherwise end up on lengthy probation sentences get a chance to havetheir records cleared for participating in boxing classes via PAL.  Next, the amateur Golden Glove association has to get rid of their insane methods of scoring that they employ, and go back to the old ways that produced great fighters.  Every major sport has an amateur program or minor leagues that are designed to produce pro talent.  Not boxing.  Just the opposite.  The Golden Gloves even states often that they do not try to produce professional boxers.  Do you know how insane that sounds?  Why else has the U.S. fallen off lately in international competition?  We don’t train young boxers on how to really fight anymore.  The scoring sucks, the training and coaching is not what it used to be.  This is why we are the only sport where you hear people say, “That fighter has a very good amateur style to him, but no pro style at all.  He will not do well as a pro.”  Do you hear that in any other sport???  Of course not!  You don’t hear people say, “That kid has great skating speed, a 100 mph slapshot, and good physical size…but…he won’t do very well in the pros.”  No.  Instead, we get excited about that player and draft him with one of the first few picks in the NHL Draft.  Lastly, we need do some public relations withlocal newspapers.  With the exception of a few writers, most major newspapers would rather report on a dart game on 5th & Hennepinthan report on a boxing fight.  That has to stop.  We need to get the local reporters excited about the sport.  Free tickets, dinners, and invites are key.  Get the Press on our side again.  Boxing also needs to more than just that.  We need to get proactive.  Promoters need to ask for permission to have boxers show up for free at parades and state fairs and hit speed bags, do heavybag work, and spar for the passers-by.  This is too loaded of a question for me to answer fully here.
 
M…. Is there anything you would like to add?

Jake….  Yes, I enjoy meeting true fight fans, so please come up and introduce yourselves to me when the opportunity arises.  Also, Denny Nelson and I are working to make an official Minnesota Boxing Hall of Fame where past great Minnesota fighters can be truly honored for their accomplishments and contributions.  It will be cool and we have solid backers as well.  It’s a few years out though.

April 18 - Phil “The Drill” Williams saw  his opponent weigh 166 fully clothed and decided he wasn’t going to fight. He shouted that he wanted somebody big enough to fight with him. Phil hit the scale at 176, one pound over the contract weight of 175. Phil exclaimed he wanted Walters.

April 25 - This is worth watching to see Phil Williams talk about Zach Walters and Jaidon Codrington. At the time he had not yet signed to fight Codrington. Side note, I don’t think Zach Walters would duck anyone in Minnesota. Walters is itching to get back in the ring at his new weight class.

May 3 - Zach Walters to the Drill “Call my people”

May 28 - Brett has a chat with Phil “The Drill” Williams about his huge fight with Jaidon Codrington on June 5 in Hinckley, Zach Walters name comes up as well. You can listen to it at phantompunchproductions.com

June 5 -

You can watch Phil “The Drill” Williams tonight in Hinckley. Caleb Truax and Willshaun Boxley both have exciting fights scheduled as well.

MinnesotaBoxing.com has a fully charged interview with Phil “The Drill” Williams. More great work from Jesse. Please check out the full piece here.

“Jungle Boy… I am going to crush Jungle Boy. I hope he knows that. He is a cool dude, we always talk but I am going to crush him. I like what they are doing in Duluth. I like Chuck Horton. They have a middleweight champion and a lightheavyweight champion, state titles or what not but they are making it happen up there. You have to respect what they are doing up there, the business aspect of it. I fought up there a couple of times. But the best have to fight the best and I feel like I am the best. They are calling Walters the best but I don’t believe he is at all. People say I haven’t fought anybody but who has he fought? The only times he fought anybody, he got knocked out. To me, that doesn’t put him on another level. He is just a record builder.We won’t even need judges. The promoters can save their money for judges because it won’t go ten rounds, he knows that. If he puts any kind of pressure on me, he’s going to run into some blows. ”

 

I am pretty sure Minnesota’s light heavyweight Champ, Zach “Jungleboy” Walters, has a very different view.  One thing I can agree on is, I don’tthink judges will come in to play this fall when these two meet. Walters is the champ and will be the top dog until somebody takes it from him in the ring. Talk is talk. Fortunately, they both want the fight, and the talking will turn into action.

June 6 -

Zach…. “Good job to Phil on winning his last fight, but I still think he is a boring fighter who lacks confidence. He does a good job of talking tough and looks the part, but he is on a crash course with self destruction if he fights me. Deep down he knows this. That’s why he spends so much time trying to verbally attack me. He’s trying to convince himself that he can do it, but the more he talks the more transparent he gets.

He said he’d crush me; well I may hurt him so bad he never fights again! He has physical weaknesses even though he acts tough. Acting tough and being tough are two different things. I see quit in Phil and I hope he doesn’t have an excuse as to why he can’t fight me in a few months. Look, I like Phil. He’s been a nice dude whenever we cross paths, but he’s gone too far with his recent statements.

Phil: You picked your path. Now you will deal with what lays ahead. Keep your chin tucked in the gym so you’re not damaged goods at fight time.”

I can not wait for these two to settle the score in the ring. Last night Phil had some more comments for Zach and I hope to get them up in the near future.

An important note. Chuck Horton says, if Phil wants the fight, lets make it happen.

June 19 -

Other breaking news: MSC has informed me that they have Matt Vanda signed to fight Phil Williams September 26 at the Target Center.Both of these men have spent time calling out Zach “Jungleboy” Walters, now they face each other. Winner gets Zach? I don’t know. But this is a very exciting announcement.

Just my thoughts, but if I were Phil, I would rather fight Vanda then Walters as well. Vanda’s best weight was at 147 and the signed fight weight will be at 165. Vanda’s losses to; Anthony Bonsante, Andy Kolle, and Kenny Kost were at a little under 160 and most people thought that was just too heavy for Vanda. All this being said, you have to credit Vanda for wanting to take on some of Minnesota’s best.

Interesting thoughts from Fistic. And no, I do not know what promoter he is talking about.

Fistic Mystic’s thoughts here.

We only got a few emails on this, so I have included some of the comments regarding the subject. I think there is quite a bit of disappointment over the fact that this fight is not until Sept. 26 and that makes a date with Zach impossible until late in the year. Not to mention, who knows what can happen between now and then. I do know Chuck Horton has big plans for Zach Walters, and there is no shortage of great fights for him. I probably posted the question premature, but here are your thoughts. Also, if you missed Zach and Andy’s last fight you can watch it here.  Click here and scroll down to Bridge Battle II .

Minnesota’s boxing world does not revolve around Duluth. I’d like to see the fight, but it aint up to you, me, Chuck or Zach.

 

0Phil and Zach are both awesome fighters, I love watching both of them fight, but Zach seems to have way more experience than Phil does.  I think that Phil is all just talk when it comes to fighting Zach, he wants to act tough, but when Zach decided he wanted to take the fight, he went running scared. I think this would be the ideal fight, I would totally go! He is putting this off with the fight he signed with Vanda. As for fighting the winner, i think that someday he should fight both Williams and Vanda, just to prove a point that he’s not affraid to take on any challenge.

 

Yes, Zach and Phil need to finish the talking

 

Phil will fight him when he is actualy offered the fight!

 

Jungle will fight whoever they put in front of him. He is the best in MN!

 

Matt is a lot of fun to watch and probably the biggest name in Minnesota…but you got to wonder why he is trying to fight the hardest puncher (Williams) in Minnesota and the most experienced Light heavy. (Walters)Especially when he has one KO in 5 years…

But again I love to watch matt fight, just wish he would save it for a Kolle rematch

 

Matt Vanda has the most fans by far. Jason litza is our best boxer. Phil would beat Zach easy. But probably wont waste any more time in minesota after he knocks out matt.

 

While Vanda hasn’t won any high profile fights out of state… he has gone the distance with Chavez Jr (he probably should have won the first fight) Demers and Duddy..Those are fights that most Minnesota boxers wouldn’t even take… The few times that Walters and Kolle have fought out of state have not been pretty. So I would think Vanda is probably still the biggest name in boxing from MN.. He just needs to stay at 148 or 154

As I am sure you have noticed, we are starting to allow comments through. I am sorry that it is a slow process, but we have made the decision to have all comments go through moderation before going live. Unfortunately its the only way to keep things from going out of control. This isn’t a forum, but since we don’t have writers on all corners of the state its one way to get other points of view. We will be very strict on language and low blows. This means if you have something less than nice to say about a fighter, make sure your reasoning is ring based or about something they have said in print, on my site, or another web site. You can pretty much go after me as much as you see fit, as long as you don’t curse or get vulgar. Our interviews will be a little different, we will be most strict in this portion of moderation. These professional boxers are taking time out of their busy schedules to let us learn more about them, respect will be of highest importance. On our opinion pieces we will be most lax, as its our opinion and I know everyone has one.

I plan on getting back to more interviews from around the state. This is a fan site and I make no secret about my support of fighters from all across our great state. We will cover boxing events put on by all promoters. I love all shows, big and small. It looks like there will be a few more voices heard as well. There is someone in the twin cities that plans on helping in our coverage . As you have seen, Laura Zink, has been doing GREAT work for us in recent weeks,(Fight review for Seconds Out last Hinckley show, and the Bridge Battle II final report), and has some plans to bring her professional writings skills to interviews as well. MNboxingleague.com is based out of Duluth but has no connection to any promotion here or anywhere in the state. Obviously, with great pros like Andy “Kaos” Kolle and Zach “Jungleboy” Walters in our backyard you will still see plenty of them. Chuck Horton is one of the best trainers in the state, and anyone who has gone to his shows, knows they are a good time. All that being said, I am a huge fan of Tony Grygelko and Seconds Out Promotions. Nobody has brought more boxing in the last few years. MSC brought the SUPER fight between “Kaos” and “The Bullet” , now they have the great match up of Williams/Vanda and possibly Jason Litzau/Wilton Hilario. Again, I love it all. Contrary to popular belief, I have not been paid by any promotion. I have helped out with Horton’s last couple shows, mainly connecting them with iFan.tv and talking to a few sponsors, but, due to lack of time I plan on going back to being a fan and covering all Minnesota boxing to best of my abilities. And with help already here, and other help that has been offered, I think we will be able to do this better than ever.

Lastly, I would love to get your input as to who you would like to see interviewed. You can also give us some questions you would like to see answered. And if you think you would like to start adding your two cents to our site, just let us know.

Best Regards,

Todd

Doug Erlien of myfox9.com and Jake Wegner (Minnesota Boxing historian) do great commentary. I love that all these boxers are getting the chance to be seen around the world. Its a beautiful thing what iFan.tv and myfox9.com are doing to help get these great professionals the exposure they deserve. You can watch the fights at myfox9.com, check them out here.

Andy looks great. And yes, the comments have been correct, I'm fat.courtesy of Walters Photography, all rights reserved

If you missed it live or just want to see Zach “Jungleboy” Walters and Andy “Kaos” Kolle again, its up for your viewing pleasure. Both Zach and Andy looked awesome! I would like to give a special thanks on behalf of iFan.tv to Tony G for coming in and doing a great job. As usual I apologize for my commentary. Unlike Zach and Andy, I’m not a pro. Click here and scroll down to Bridge Battle II .

Looks like Zach may have answered our side bar question. See below.

What a great night of boxing! The Sports Garden was packed and the crowd was ready for the fights. It was awesome to see the ovation I received walking out to the ring. Boxing in front of the people that have supported me from the start has always been the best for me. Thanks to all of you that were able to be there. The ifan.tv gig was a good addition to the event as. I hope those that watched live via internet feed enjoyed it.

My bout with ‘Jammin’ James Marrow went just the way I wanted. He came out aggressive in the first with big loopy hooks and rights. I was able to calm him down with a crisp jab and after I found my range began to land some good power shots. I took advantage of with a good body attack which opened up more good shots to his head. Toward the end of the round Marrow was already beginning to tire and I was able to catch him with a good combination which dropped him. He was able to beat the count, but there was only seconds to go in the round and he made it out on his feet.  In the second I wanted to pick up where I left off and started right away cutting off the ring with an aggressive jab. About a minute in I landed another good shot and followed up with a barge of punches that landed him on the mat again. Marrow beat the count, got back on his feet to resume the fight, but it was clear to me that he had little left. I got back to work trapping him on the ropes with a flurry of punches. Before I was able to drop him again, his corner tossed in the towel and the fight was called. I wanted a solid victory and was able to get it.

All being said, I am happy with my performance. I was able to show my speed and power. This is the beginning of a new chapter in my career. Even though Marrow came in heavy on the scales, I spent my training camp getting ready for a fight at 168 pounds. I feel great at that weight. There are some fun fights in the near future. Phil Williams out of the Twin Cities has been running his mouth about a fight and talking as much trash as he can muster. I too have played into the war of words and done my share of trash talk as well. I like Phil, but I can hardly wait to crack him in the face. Check out mnboxinglegue.com and minnesotaboxing.com to track the action.  Another potential future fight is one with Matt Vanda. He called me out the other day and he too has talked his share of dirt.  I think he is too small to fight me, but none the less he wants to fight so we’ll see if we can’t make that happen for him. I wouldn’t want to be him on that night. I think a fight with Vanda would bring a rise out of the Minnesota boxing fans. We’ll see what the future holds. I love this sport!

courtesy of Walters Photography, all rights reserved

Update: I have just been informed by MSC that they have pulled their bid for the Joey Abell/Raphael Butler fight and are not pursuing at this time.

With so much action in the local boxing scene, I thought  I would go over whats been talked about and whats been signed. During iFan.tv’s webcast of Bridge Battle II, Tony Grygelko and I had some time to talk about all the super fights to come in the next 6 to 12 months, and I thought I would share what we talked about as well as the one confirmed big fight.

Matt “The Predator” Vanda vs Phil “The Drill” Williams / Sept. 26 Target Center / MSC

This fight is signed and has a date at the Target Center. I am looking forward to seeing how Phil fairs against the very tough Vanda. Matt’s had trouble with the bigger fellas in the past but they had much more experience than The Drill does. Great match up of size and style. Really looking forward to this one.

Andy “Kaos” Kolle vs “Golden” Caleb Truax / date and place of a ?/ Horton’s Gym Promotions and Seconds Out Promotions?

The fight is not signed but there has been a gentleman’s agreement between Tony Grygelko and Chuck Horton. Andy Kolle is the Minnesota Middleweight champ with victories over Anthony “The Bullet” Bonsante and Matt Vanda. “Golden” Caleb Truax is thought to be one of our states future stars as well as the top contender to Kolles title. I love this fight. Its always great to see the best against the best.

Jason Litzau vs Wilton Hilario /date and place ?/ rumors for both MSC and Seconds Out Promotions

Jason Litzau, courtesy of SnapLocally.com

No matter who the promoter ends up being or where it is fought, this is a must see match up for all true boxing fans. Jason Litzau has gone further in the national scene than any current Minnesota fighter. Wilton Hilario just got done taking care of Allen Litzau and is ready to bring his name to the top of the MN fighter list. The rumors are that this could be part of the Sept 26 card at Target Center, but I have also heard it could headline a date at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul for Seconds Out Promotions.

Joey “Minnesota Ice” Abell vs Raphael Butler / date and place?/ rumors for both MSC and Seconds Out Promotions

A fight Minnesota boxing fans have been waiting on for a long time. Nothing brings out the people like a good heavyweight match up. And as far as Minnesota heavy’s go, it doesn’t get any bigger than this. Rumors have had this fight taking place at the Target Center for MSC, but it is also rumored that Seconds Out Promotions will be handling the affair. Again, either way, I can not wait to see the big fellas in action.

Zach “Jungleboy” Walters vs Phil “The Drill” Williams / was to be this fall / Horton’s Gym Promotions

Phil had been very vocal about this fight for the last few months. Not really sure why he decided against it but his Target Center date would be hard to pass up. I really hope The Drill wasn’t just all talk. I really like Phil and the times I have been able to talk with him have been a pleasure. I think he is a good guy and was given an offer he could not refuse. Hopefully if Phil can beat Vanda he will be ready to step in there with somebody his own size. He has been asking for Zach and Zach has been saying yes. It will be interesting to see if Phil really has meant all he has said.

Zach “Jungleboy” Walters vs Matt “The Predator” Vanda/ Vanda just called out Zach the day of Zach last fight

I’m sure if the offer was serious, Zach would give him the opportunity. Well, that’s my thought.