Interest in boxing booms after a big fight

You take a right off Broadway in northeast Minneapolis and bounce down a street that has the same number of square feet of potholes as asphalt. It's an old industrial area and there's a brick office/warehouse building on the left.

A weather-beaten sign — looking as if it could be for a tavern in a Revolutionary War movie — swings above the door for the Uppercut boxing gym. You aren't expecting much, and then you step inside, and it's clean and spacious, equipped to train boxers or to conduct exercise classes.

Jason Hendrickson is a trainer, a coach and helps to manage the Uppercut for owner Lisa Bauch.

"We had a fundraiser for Craig Gromek, a St. Paul police officer with ALS, in March," Hendrickson said. "The matches were between police, firefighters and paramedics, and there had to be 2,000 people in here. It was a tremendous night."

That was many more people than you could expect to find at a boxing card in Minnesota. Most of the boxing promotions are taking place at tribal casinos, where the state's Combat Sports Council has no oversight.

Bobby Brunette, the chairman of the nine-person council, said:

"You see some fighters that probably don't belong on a professional card, but the people from the casinos check with us on many boxers before they use them. The casinos try to put on good cards. It's not easy.

"The purses are much larger for boxing than for mixed martial arts. You can pay for an entire MMA card for what a main-event boxer can cost."

There have been numerous boxers — here and everywhere — who have crossed over to MMA because it's easier to find a fight. Often, the boxers come back because of the short money in MMA.

Raphael Butler, a successful heavyweight from Rochester, switched to MMA and went 9-1 in 10 fights. "I got a call from [trainer] Danny O'Connor the other day asking what Raphael has to do to get back in boxing," Brunette said. "I said, 'Renew his license.' "

The frustrations are constant for boxing people, yet the devotion is unyielding.

Brunette, Hendrickson and two others in this category, Gordon Marino and Scott Tolzmann, came to the Uppercut on a recent day for a conversation on these questions:

What do they expect from Saturday's Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. bout, and what impact might a fight of such mammoth publicity have on boxing in Minnesota?

Marino is a philosophy professor at St. Olaf and coaches boxing in Northfield. He also is the boxing writer for the Wall Street Journal and has been in Las Vegas previewing the fight.

Tolzmann is a trainer at the Firehouse Gym in Columbia Heights. His prize pupil is lightweight Ismael Muwendo, who came here from Uganda as a young man. Muwendo gave Rolando Chinea his first loss and went to 17-0 with a decision last month in Arlington, Texas.

First topic: Pacquiao vs. Mayweather, and a popular perception that it might not be the fight it could have been a few years ago, before Pacquiao was "used up" in some grueling fights.

Marino: "There never has been a boring match with Pacquiao. There won't be one now. I know people say it would've been better four years ago, but I'm perfectly happy with it. This is about a legacy for two great boxers. This is a real special fight."

Tolzmann: "Pacquiao has to apply big pressure; then, he can win by decision. Pacquiao has had the tougher fights, that's true, but if he can bring the same level of energy that he did when he beat [Miguel] Cotto, he can win.

"That 'shoulder roll' style of Mayweather's isn't made for fighting lefties. Everyone in boxing remembers how much trouble he had with Zab Judah earlier in his career. Obviously, Floyd remembers it, too, because he's had Judah as a sparring partner for this fight."

Hendrickson: "The problem for Pacquiao is Mayweather adjusts so well during a fight. If Manny gets home with the left early, Mayweather will figure out something."

Brunette: "I'm afraid of that. I'd like to see Pacquiao beat him, but I don't think he can. I'm in the 'Too bad this fight wasn't four years ago' camp."

Second topic: What will be the impact of this fight in the Twin Cities? All four boxing men smiled and agreed with Hendrickson on what the scene will be like in their gyms for a couple of weeks after Pacquiao-Mayweather.

"There's always a turnout of new faces after a big fight; young guys who come in and say, 'I want to be a boxer,' " Hendrickson said. "They put on the gloves, hit the speed bag, the punching bag, bounce around and shadow box. It's a lot of fun.

"After a few days, they get in the ring for some sparring and get hit in the mouth. A couple of the guys, that will make them more determined. The rest? We don't see them again."

Hendrickson smiled slightly and said, "Boxing's a hard sport."

Brunette nodded and said, "Real hard."

Patrick Reusse can be heard 3-6 p.m. weekdays on AM-1500. • preusse@startribune.com