Boxing still needs its grassroots. It has become endangered over the last decade. Fight fans see today’s name fighters, and always forget that they had to start somewhere to be where they are today.

Jimmy Adams has not forgotten that. The veteran promotor and former manager of Oliver McCall, Tony Tucker, Bert Cooper and Riddick Bowe, runs Country Box the first Tuesday of every month out of the 500-seat capacity Troubadour in Nashville, Tennessee.

Adams, who has been involved in boxing for over 40 years, has seen his venture grow considerably since he started Country Box in February 2023. Adams has just signed a deal so his club shows will now be available in 100 million homes.

“I want today’s nobody to become tomorrow’s somebody, it’s why I’m doing this,” said Adams, who will turn 71 on Sept. 24, and is a staple in boxing in the South. “I just want to give kids a chance. We’re probably going to turn away people this Tuesday night. I’m trying to go back to the grassroots of boxing. I have fighters calling me who I have not heard from in so long.

“I’m really proud of what this has turned into.”

Albert Haynesworth and Marc Abrams call the action for Country Box (Photo by Janet Wohler).

The cards hold between five and seven fights. The cards have provided some upsets. Adams is excited about the connection with Neal Ardman, who owns NIA Broadcasting, a major distributor that has put together the syndication of Country Box.

“We’re building awareness, and young fighters today don’t have the outlets that they used to have, we’re trying to get real boxing in front of people.” Adams said. “We have Jake Paul fighting YouTubers, and that’s not real boxing. He’s making young people aware of it, but we have real fighters.

“Anyone can get on our cards. I doesn’t matter who promotes them, who manages them. Our cards are open to everyone and we have Hall of Famer Christy Martin arranging the matches. Calling the fights are Marc Abrams and former two-time NFL All-Pro Albert Haynesworth.

Heavyweight Erick Arellano is making a name for himself on Country Box (Photo by Janet Wohler).

This Tuesday night will feature undefeated Erick Arellano (6-0, 4 knockouts), Emes Orta (4-0, 4 KOs) and Jaquan Carty (2-0, 1 KO) plus local favorite Kevin Torian.

Fights will be available on the following networks: Dish Network—Channel 218, Comcast/Xfinity –Channel 1495, Verizon Fios—Channel 662, Frontier—Channel 162, ATT U-Verse—Channel 459/1459, Spectrum—Channel 189, GCI—Channel 142, Cincinnati Bell—636, Buckeye Cable—Channels 161/572 and DirectTV—Channel 242.

Starting in January 2024, Adams has plans of doing Country Box every Tuesday of every month in various parts of the country.

“We’re going to be branching out,” Adams said. “In January, we’ll be in Knoxville, Tennessee, Memphis, Tennessee and Louisville, Kentucky. That’s the goal to fight every Tuesday night. I’ll go anywhere that makes sense. I don’t have any boundaries where I’ll go. We like what we’re doing and it’s catching on.”

Joseph Santoliquito is an award-winning sportswriter who has been working for Ring Magazine/RingTV.com since October 1997 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.
Follow @JSantoliquito

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