Interesting article about the boxing and MMA scene in a town that doesn’t immediately come to mind when listing America’s ‘Fight Towns’–Savannah, GA:

Savannah has a rich boxing history. Hall of Famer Sugar Ray Robinson fought here, and so did another of the sport’s all-time best, Joe Louis, in an exhibition.

But local interest in the sport started to wane during the late 1980s and 1990s before gaining a shot of adrenaline at the end of 2000 when Mike Jarrell, a former amateur fighter, began a series of monthly professional shows at his gym on Fahm Street in downtown Savannah.

For six years, professional boxing saw steady growth. Buoyed by popular Atlanta fighter Ebo Elder, Jarrell brought ESPN to the Civic Center for a card in 2001. It was the first sporting event in Savannah to attract national television in 14 years.

WBA lightweight world champion Nate Campbell fought here six times. Women’s junior lightweight champion Chevelle Hallback won her title here and had a 15-0 mark in Savannah.

The article addresses what is perceived as a short term lull in live action in Savannah both in boxing and MMA. Much of the reason for that is that the areas top fighters are heavily involved in local promotion and they’ve been busy with their own career. On the boxing side of things is top notch super bantamweight contender Al Seeger whose brutally cool nickname–’The Quiet Storm’ is significantly better than his home town’s traditional sobriquet of ‘The Hostess City of the South’:

Don’t be fooled by the Southern charm–
Savannah is a ‘fight town’

The recent inactivity of boxing here has occurred for several reasons. When Seeger’s career took off, Savannahians had a local as the main event. Seeger reached No. 13 in the IBF world rankings soon after his technical-knockout victory against (Ceasar) Morales.

But to fight boxers ahead of him in the rankings, Seeger agreed to their terms and traveled to their turf. He fought WBO champion Daniel Ponce DeLeon of Mexico in El Paso, Texas.

More than a year later, Seeger went to New England to face undefeated, No. 1 contender Mike “Machine Gun” Oliver.

The big name in local MMA is very familiar to viewers of EliteXC on Showtime: tough Mushin Corbbrey was most recently seen on the wrong end of a TKO to Nick Diaz. The Savannah paper calls Diaz ‘highly regarded’. The Savage Science considers him to be one of the most insanely talented fighters in the sport who could be on a short list of the best in the world at his weight if he’d keep his head in the game. In other words, a loss to Diaz is no shame whatsoever. It should also be noted that Diaz came in 7 pounds overweight and Corbbrey agreed to fight at a ‘catch weight’–nevertheless, Diaz looked significantly larger which could have played a part in the outcome. Corbbrey is what legendary HBO boxing analyst Larry Merchant would call a ’solid pro’–he’ll fight anyone anywhere, will come in focused and in great shape and will definitely put up a fight. This fact wasn’t lost on EliteXC execs, who have extended Corbbrey’s contract for another six fights:

Corbbrey recently completed a three-fight MMA package on Showtime with a bout against highly regarded Nick Diaz.

Corbbrey, a Hilton Head Island, S.C. resident, has been re-signed by Elite XC for another six fights.

It’s exciting stuff for the individuals, but for the local fans, watching Seeger and Corbbrey on television isn’t the same as having their sweat fly in your face.

The MMA scene in Savannah has been a little more lively lately, with some nice attendance numbers for events featuring all local talent:

MMA drew 1,600 fans during its first event in Savannah on May 5, 2007, at the Savannah National Guard Armory.

Six weeks later, heavy rains held the crowd to 1,200.

On Sept. 29, approximately 2,500 came to the Civic Center.

“Overall, we did really well,” Corbbrey said. “Even the Civic Center - we expected to fill it up but we sold a lot of tickets, made some money.”

Corbbrey makes no bones about Savannah being a good fight town:

“Savannah is a fight town,” Corbbrey said. “There are a lot of military guys here. And a lot of guys in the gym are serious about competing and making themselves better.”

But his boxing counterpart Seeger summed up the reality of the situation for a fighter in a town like Savannah that’s somewhat off the beaten path of the fight business power elite:

“I love fighting in Savannah,” Seeger said. “If it was my world, I’d fight here for the big fights. Even just to stay busy. But at this point, (I) have to go where the fights are.”

Has fight game lost its punch in Savannah? @ SavannahNow.com