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I have seen many things in this sport. I’ve seen a lot of great champions come and go, promoters putting on the first one hundred million dollar shows, upsets of the century, fights thrown, world titles bought and everything else in between. With the days of boxing just being boxing gone, everything has to be over sold to keep interest. Fighters need to be flashy and vocal to gain public recognition these days. The game has changed some since I started watching it, except every now and then someone comes along who has an idea to do something different. Not something new, but something old. No, that wasn’t a typo, I meant something old. The way boxing used to be. When you could go to the local fights on a Friday night at a local hometown show and see local fighters. With tickets you could afford and it was quality boxing that you could see.
Believe it or not this someone I’m about to introduce you to would not bring to mind the word pugnacious. Just the opposite, in fact.
Lisa Elovich is a mother, lawyer and a former Judge. To look at her you wouldn’t think of any of the three let alone boxing promoter. She is about five feet tall, soft spoken, polite and has that all-American mom look to her. Not exactly the description of a Don King or Bob Arum is it? Yet, in a short amount of time she has managed to build up quite a fan base in the upstate NY area and her last few cards have been standing room only. Not too bad for someone who is just coming out of the gate in the business.
One of her cards aired earlier this year on ESPN. It was also one of the best fights on a basic cable station that I have seen in quite some time, an all out slugfest between Vinny Maddalone and Shannon Miller. From bell to bell it was an all out brawl that had the crowd on its feet. You don’t get that kind of response in a lot of title fights. It’s matchmaking like this that will help bring Pugnacious Promotions to the next level.
I was able to catch Lisa on the phone the other day for a few minutes (caught her at a bad time she just came home from getting the kids from school) in order to get some insight on the future of her company and her next show date. After congratulating her on the recent success and learning about the next card she’ll put on (scheduled for March 6th at the Albany NY Armory to be followed up by three more shows in ’06) I asked her about her future plans and motivation for Pugnacious Promotions.
Lisa was very clear on the fact that she wanted to help return boxing back to the Capital District and Saratoga areas of NY. These had been big boxing towns at one time. Being from these areas, she wants to get herself established and build a strong base for her company and return it to the glory days. The days when club fights took place often and gave hometown fans the chance to see their local fighters chase the dream of being a world champion. This is the area where Mike Tyson made his debut, the hometown area of former Jr. Middleweight Champion Verno Phillips and middleweight belt holder Kevin Pompey. The potential is there to rebuild. As of right now she has a lot of local talent that she is keeping busy. Fighters like Shannon Miller, Gary Wilcox, Frank Houghtaling and former world ranked Tony Marshall.
When asked about her plans to branch out from the local area she replied, “Right now I want to build thing sup solid here and let fighters come to us. I want it to stay local. I want to stay local so we can give back to the community who has supported us. If one of my guys should be invited to fight elsewhere like say Shannon Miller of course we would go but the idea is for the to come here.”
Most people I talk to just starting out usually making the same claims on how they are the next big thing and how the sport is going to be changed by them…but they rarely produce. Lisa is willing to take it card by card so she can learn as she goes along and fix anything that needs to be fixed. Smart plan in my book. I have seen many a new promoter ruined by one bad card they over extended them self on and end up bankrupt, making for a short career.
Elovich isn’t going to make that mistake. With the success of their first ESPN airing and good matchmaking, things can only go up in my opinion for the small company. One thing I applaud is the fact that they chose quality shows instead of what many new promoters do, which is use their cards to pad their fighter’s records for bigger, undeserved paydays. Lisa, with the help of her matchmaker Gino Lymeri, always makes sure that you go home with your money’s worth.
Lisa did mention that one of her main focus points over the next two years would be Shannon Miller. Miller, 12-1 (6), is a small heavyweight, measured by today’s standards, with a big heart, decent chin and good punch. He’s what Lisa calls a thinking fighter. “Shannon always improves and learns from his mistakes and that will get him far in the future,” she said. When I asked of her plan for him she breaks it down into three steps. “Shannon is a fighter who learns from every fight. The loss to Vinny Maddalone was a learning experience for him and we will go for a rematch. Then, keep Shannon fighting often as possible over the next year to gain experience. Then we will go after one of the champions”.
When I hinted at who they would go after right now if the chance should arise without hesitation she said “Ruiz”. “I think he is ready for a fall. With the way he fights I think he would be made for Shannon. We just need a little more experience then we will be ready,” she said. When she speaks, she is confident but not cocky. The plan sounds well thought out and she knows timing is important. “Rahman is too big for Shannon to slug with and Byrd is slick, but Ruiz is tailor made. When we get our shout we are going to make sure we get the most of it,” said Lisa.
It’s not often that you hear people in boxing wanting to make the most of their shots. Most people just want any shot, not realizing another one may not come along and if it happens too soon. By the time you are ready, it may not happen. No matter how good your record may be.
Then, I asked the obvious questions that I am sure she has heard a thousand times. Do you get treated any different because you are a woman? Do the men in the sport act like they can dictate terms to you? Being the only female licensed promoter in the state? “Believe it or not,” she says. “Once they realize I know what I’m doing and I can put on a good show they respect me even more.”
Up to now things are going according to plan for Lisa and Pugnacious Promotions. With every show getting better, the future looks bright and boxing is picking up in the Upstate NY area. The fighters are starting to come to her for fights, not the other way around like planned. A few more successful television appearances and we will have a new mainstay in the sport. If one of her fighters should win a world title, they could dictate the terms and even bring PPV to the Capital District area. If that happens, the future is wide open. Only time will tell. Hopefully by 2007 we will see this happen for her and her company. I don’t see why not. If the former “Baddest Man on the Planet” can make his debut there, who knows? In five years we may see posters for Pugnacious Promotions in conjunction with Don King Productions….
