Usually mid-summer weekends see a drop in professional and amateur boxing action, but that will not be the case next Saturday when Rumble Time Promotions stages the “Night of the Elite” card at the Pageant.
Deandre “Bull” Latimore recently split from his local training team and headed back west to Las Vegas, reuniting there at Barry’s Boxing with Ray Franklin and Jacob Chavez, the duo that guided Latimore through his June 2008 stoppage of Sechew Powell at the Hard Rock in Times Square.
Rumble Time president Steve Smith told me he’s thrilled with the results that the new team has produced in his rising junior middleweight.
“He’s back in Las Vegas with the same two world class trainers that prepared him for his first fight against Powell,” Smith said, adding, “Bull’s mind is free and he’s with trainers who know what it takes to get him ready for war.”
On Sunday I tracked Latimore down to get his thoughts on returning home to perform in front of fans, family and friends.
From the beginning of our conversation, it was clear in his voice that he is in a great place at this point in his career.
When asked about camp he said, “I’m back to being my old self. I had to leave the distractions at home behind. Everything is on point again and I’m here to box and box only.”
Regarding his renewed collaboration with Franklin and Chavez, you could hear his enthusiasm race across the 1400 miles between the desert and St. Louis.
“We just click,” he said, adding, “We have a great connection.”
As far as what fans can expect from him at the Pageant, he said, “They are going to see crisp, brilliant boxing. A smart, entertaining fighter. I’m just going to go in there, hit and not get hit. They’ll see a real smart “Bull”- I’m going to get in, get mine and get out.”
The “Elite” roster will also include the return of “The Contender” reality show veteran Joell Godfrey, an athletic specimen who will challenge Chauncy Welliver for the WBC Continental Americas heavyweight title in a ten rounder that is sure to provide a surplus of hurtful exchanges.
Godfrey won “Punch of the Year” honors back in 2006 and he’ll be facing a tough customer in a rugged counterpart from New Zealand. Welliver is just twenty-seven years old and already possesses a gaudy 42-5 record.
The future of pro boxing will also be showcased as a list of decorated amateurs including Joshua Temple and Julius Butler continue their remarkable campaigns.
Tickets for the “Night of the Elite” event on July 24 start at just $10 and are available by calling (314) 662-2000 and at all Ticketmaster locations.
New West End Gym Opening
Rumble Time Promotions and Demetrius Johnson have announced they are joining forces to open a state-of-the-art combat sports gym in the building that formerly housed the West End Community Center.
The layout of the boxing and mixed martial arts facility is being drawn up by trainer Jack Loew and manager Steve Bash and will include a ring and a cage.
The Rumble Time Promotions Gym will be open to the public except for private pro boxing training sections and will be outfitted with the latest equipment from Everlast, Ringside and Monster Cage.
Steve Smith told me, “The new rehabbed facility is great for meetings and training. We also plan on offering our modern conference rooms to the Missouri Office of Athletics and USA Boxing for judge and referee seminars.”
He added that families and kids are encouraged to train like, and with the pros when the gym opens in the near future.
