Caleb Truax is prepared, and his return to the boxing ring is planned for June 24

You can go back to the Flanagan brothers and all the other local heroes in the 1950s, when boxing was a greater preoccupation with America's sports fans than professional football, and even then promoting summer fights in Minnesota was high-risk.

"I'm sure they were talking about too many fans being at the 'cabin' then, even as we do now," said Tony Grygelko, who has been promoting fights in the Twin Cities since 2006, a year after he ended a brief pro boxing career.

The shacks that served previous generations as "the cabin" have been replaced frequently by five-bedroom lakeside edifices, boxing has become another speck in the NFL's gigantic dust, and yet the same malady is shared when promoting a fight:

"It's summer," Grygelko said. "That's always tough."

This weekend migration to the lakes was confirmed Friday when starting a journey at 3 p.m. from a west suburb to Lyke's Boxing Gym, Grygelko's boxing/wrestling facility in the Northway mall in the north suburb of Lexington.

Originally, the phone anticipated a trip of 28 minutes. It took an hour, thanks to all the "up northers."

This slow-moving exodus also was evidence to why the parties involved in Minneapolis Armory boxing — Premier Boxing Champions (PBC), Showtime Boxing, Armory representatives — made a late overture to get Caleb Truax on a June 24 card.

Grygelko has been promoting Truax since Caleb started as a pro in 2007. As he started winning and providing action fights in the process, a sizable "Truax crowd" was developed.

"Caleb's one of those good guys that knows everybody," Grygelko said. "It started at the U [Minnesota] when he got to know people on all the sports teams, and they started following with their friends. And, of course, there was always the hometown Osseo crowd — and they've always been there for him."

Charismatic guy? "Yes, that's Caleb," Grygelko said.

David Morrell Jr., the dynamic Cuban with an early Minneapolis connection, wasn't going to be fighting. Minneapolis' Jamal James, the main ingredient in bringing in a large crowd on Feb. 25 (the Armory's previous card), was not lined up for his next fight.

The main event on June 24 will be Carlos Adames and Julian Williams. They are well-ranked middleweights, but with no local connection and the "cabin" complication, ticket sales were less than robust.

"They called us a couple of weeks ago, and Caleb's been wanting a fight, so it worked out," Grygelko said.

Truax hasn't had a fight since losing a 12-round unanimous decision to the exceptional Caleb Plant on Jan. 30, 2021. And he will turn 40 in September.

Neither of those things seemed probable as Truax worked out Friday at Lyke's Gym. He looked like the same rock that he's been during a 16-year, 39-bout professional career.

"COVID regulations, injuries and canceled cards have cost me three fights that were already scheduled since I fought Plant," Truax said. "I never thought about being retired. In fact, I went back into training mode in April, figuring we would be back in the ring soon. I haven't had a beer since I went into training April 2."

Truax paused and said: "Wait. I've had one."

Caleb has a relationship with Lupulin Brewery in Big Lake, just up Hwy. 10 from his home in St. Michael. Jeff and Matt Zierdt, the co-owners, unveiled an "8 Count" IPA in Truax's honor.

This was followed up by a "10 Count" and then, on Wednesday, Truax was at Lupulin for the unveiling of the 8 Count displayed in a new can emphasizing the boxer/brewery connection.

And that's when he gave into the temptation of one beer.

On Saturday, Truax was involved in another passion: bass fishing. He left early Saturday with his partner Chizta Xiong for a tournament on Big Birch Lake near Alexandria.

Truax and Grygelko are tight with the Hmong community. An amateur training with Grygelko is Jimmy Vang, the "Hmong Prince," and he'll fill the space for 200 chairs around the ring at Lyke's Gym for a Golden Gloves card at 6 p.m. Friday.

Truax's opponent at the Armory will be Burley Brooks, 27 and with only nine pro fights. "Havoc" is what he calls himself.

"One of those younger guys that's hard to figure how he wants to fight," Truax said. "That can make things unpredictable."

What has been predictable was this: Since Truax was announced as part of the June 24 card at the Armory, advance ticket sales have picked up significantly.