Jackson Free Press

Boxing can help keep kids off the street and give them direction in their lives says former fighter turned boxing coach Bombay Higginbottom. He preaches that boxing teaches discipline and respect but cautions his fighters to keep a balanced attitude.

"Boxing can open a lot of doors in life, but if a fighter is not careful and respectful, boxing will humble you in the ring and outside of it as well," he says.

Mississippi has boxing clubs all over, but the only club in the Jackson area is located in Pearl. Coach Higginbottom accepts kids from throughout the metro area.

Higginbottom is a native of Cleveland, Ohio, and is a former boxer himself, fighting 112 amateur fights and 12 professional fights. He moved to the Mississippi Gulf Coast in 2000 and began working with the Gulfport Boxing Club. He then came to the Jackson metro because of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and found a new home with the Pearl Boxing Club. There, Higginbottom worked directly with club co-founder David Archer for two years before Archer retired about six months ago. When Archer retired, Higginbottom took over as coach of the Pearl Boxing Club.

For the last 10 years, the Pearl Boxing Club has slowly built itself into one of the best amateur boxing spots in Mississippi. The reward for this is that the club will host the 46th annual Mississippi Golden Gloves tournament in March of 2011. The coach expects about 50 fighters from the across the state.

Boxing, aka "the sweet science," used to be one of the most popular sports in America. But the golden years of boxing have faded, and no boxer since Mike Tyson has been able to capture the American public's imagination. Boxing, for the most part, has only itself to blame, with its history of corruption and inept leaders who moved fights to pay cable TV stations and Pay Per View. That does not mean boxing is gone, but it may be in danger. Still, the sport is trying to thrive in the Jackson metro area.

Archer and Stan Nichols started the Pearl Boxing Club in 2000. In 2008, Archer was elected to the Southern Boxing Association Hall of Fame and has recently retired. Nichols has moved on to become a board member of the SBA, which, as a member of USA Boxing, offers amateur boxing in Mississippi, Louisiana, a portion of Alabama and the Florida panhandle.

The Pearl Boxing Club not only offers the life lessons that one can learn in any sport—fighting through adversity, discipline and good things come from hard work—but it is teaching kids to contribute to their communities, too. Higginbottom is promoting "Kids Fight Against Hunger." For the Nov. 13 bout, Higginbottom is asking spectators to bring canned foods to save money on their tickets.

Former Pearl Mayor Jimmy Foster recognized Higginbottom for "Kids Fight Against Hunger" and for keeping kids off the streets. The mayor gave the Pearl Boxing Club a space at the Old Boys Club Center (Old Boys Club Center City Drive, Pearl, 601-825-7055).

As club coach, Higginbottom teaches amateur fighters ranging in age from as young as 8 to about 35. He even coaches two women boxers. Assisting Higginbottom are Steve Wilson and Freeman Morgan, the club's strength and conditioning coaches.

Higginbottom's stable of fighters includes several up-and-coming fighters: Featherweight Joel Montoya Jr., of Richland, is a U.S. Amateur Boxing national champion; Higginbottom's son Raejonn Higginbottom, of Clinton, and Chris Gonzalez, of Ridgeland, are both super bantamweight Golden Glove champions. A Golden Gloves championship is the highest honor an amateur boxer can achieve.

The coach believes if given the chance to grow, he and the Pearl Boxing Club can make even more of positive impact in the Jackson metro area. You can find videos of several of his best fighters on YouTube, and he also promotes the club through DVDs available for free at sports stores around the metro area.

The club charges $85 a year for the fighter's administration fees and requires a $25 donation each month to help cover travel expenses. Higginbottom hopes that one day, donations from outside sources will eliminate the monthly fee for his fighters.

The Pearl Boxing Club meets Monday through Friday from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Anyone interested in boxing can call Coach Higginbottom at 601-862-0203 or e-mail {encode="[email protected]" title="[email protected]"}.

Previous Comments

ID

160864

Comment

Tomorrow, November 13, the Pearl Boxing Club is holding their "Kids Fight Against Hunger" event. The event starts at 4PM and if you bring canned food you can get a discount on your tickets. Everyone should check out these kids and help support this event.

Author

Bryan Flynn

Date

2010-11-12T09:51:42-06:00