Boxing Info: ShoBox

ByBoxing Press

SHOWTIME will make television history when four sons of former world champions and a cousin of another are featured in a special edition of “ShoBox: The New Generation” Saturday, July 1, 2006, (9 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the west coast) from the Little River Casino Resort in Manistee, Michigan. The SHOWTIME fistic series, which normally airs on Fridays at 11 p.m. ET/PT, will move to Saturday night for one time only and revert to its usual time slot for the following edition on Friday, July 28.

Talk about all in the family and following in your dad’s footsteps. Want bloodlines? Want to see what it really is like to have prizefighting in your genes? How do you escape these shadows? Which youngster will leave the best impression? Tune in July 1 when your questions will be answered as “ShoBox” becomes the “Second Generation’’ for a night.

The outstanding lineup on a DiBella Entertainment-promoted fight card will feature: Chazz Witherspoon (12-0, seven KOs) against Mike Alexander (11-0, eight KOs) in a 10-round battle of unbeaten heavyweights; James McGirt Jr. (11-0, 1 NC, seven KOs) against Stephan Pryor (10-1, seven KOs) in an eight-round middleweight showdown; Ronald Hearns (8-0, six KOs) against Hector Hernandez (8-1-2, three KOs) in another eight-round middleweight bout, and unbeaten junior middleweight Jorge Paez Jr. (9-0, seven KOs) against an opponent to be announced in a six-round junior welterweight.

Witherspoon is the second cousin of former two-time world heavyweight champion, Tim Witherspoon. McGirt, Pryor, Hearns and Paez are the sons of legendary former world titleholders Buddy McGirt, Aaron Pryor, Thomas Hearns and Jorge “Maromero” Paez, respectively.

“I have covered just about every sport, and I am always fascinated when a son or daughter takes up a sport his or her parent or close relative was exceptional at,” said “ShoBox” blow-by-blow announcer Nick Charles. “What part is genetics? What part is the environment of just being around somebody who excelled on the world stage? Can these young fighters even come close to achieving the same as their famous relatives? How much can their dads or cousins pass on, and how much do they all have to be their own men, their own fighters?

“It is intriguing to watch from our perspective, but think about the pleasures and pressures on both father and son to live up to a standard that often is a legacy.’’

Because of their famous last names, the kids make news each time they enter the ring. Now, they all will be making news on the same telecast.

“In a sense, a boxing son is like the son of a basketball coach. Those kids are usually point guards and always mature and court-savvy. The kids we are going to see on “ShoBox’’ grew up in boxing gyms. But there is a lot of pressure on them to prove themselves. They are held up to a higher standard because of what their dads achieved. The talent is often in place, but is the hunger there?