Mike Adams figuratively fought his way out of one of Paterson’s worst areas, all the way to a starting spot in Super Bowl XLVIII three months ago at MetLife Stadium.
The NFL veteran’s fighting spirit is a source of pride among resilient Patersonians, who’ve watched entirely too many of their promising young people fall victim to countless ills within a gritty city consumed by negativity. Adams appreciates the love as much as he respects those who’ve literally fought their way out of extremely challenging circumstances.
Adams’ admiration for boxers prompted the former Passaic Tech standout to sponsor a celebration of Paterson boxing on June 20. The event will take place on Larry Doby Field, under the lights at Eastside Park, and will be free for the public.
Hosted by former WBO junior welterweight champion Kendall Holt, Adams’ close friend and a Kennedy High School alum, it’ll include a full amateur boxing card that’ll feature fighters from Paterson’s four boxing gyms. Paterson natives Lou Duva, an International Boxing Hall of Fame trainer who worked with numerous boxing legends during a celebrated career that spanned parts of nine decades, and the late Rubin “Hurricane” Carter will be honored as well.
“Sometimes it just breaks my heart to see how much violence goes on in Paterson,” said Adams, a free agent who played the past two seasons for Denver. “I just want to help show people there’s a different way. Boxing gives kids an outlet. It teaches them to be disciplined and gives them something constructive to do with their time.
“A guy like Kendall Holt is a prime example of that. He was a world champion, from right here in Paterson. And to have this event on Larry Doby Field, which is a landmark in Paterson, it’s going to be a great night. I just felt it’s time to celebrate boxing in Paterson, which has so much history in the sport, and have a good time.”
GOING FOR BLOKES: The biggest boxing event of 2014 is scheduled for Saturday, and it has nothing to do with Floyd Mayweather Jr. or Manny Pacquiao.
A capacity crowd of 80,000 is expected to pack Wembley Stadium in London for the grudge rematch between Nottingham’s Carl Froch (32-2, 23 KOs) and London’s George Groves (19-1, 15 KOs). Froch overcame a first-round knockdown to beat Groves by ninth-round technical knockout Nov. 23 in Manchester, but a seemingly premature stoppage by referee Howard Foster necessitated a second fight for Froch’s IBF and WBA super middleweight championships.
Groves, 26, who is 10 years younger than Froch, believes he got inside the ever-confident Froch’s head by dropping him with a flush right hand to the middle of his face late in the first round six months ago.
“You’ll see as complete a performance as possible on Saturday night,” Groves said Thursday during a news conference in London. “A lot of people will sit up and take note. ? I’m going to arrive ? not just here in Britain, across the world, as a legitimate world champion, someone to be feared and someone to be chased.”
HBO will televise the Froch-Groves rematch live as part of a doubleheader scheduled to start at 4 p.m.
Twitter: @Idecboxing
