CALIFORNIA, PA (July 28, 2009) – Roy “Captain Hook” Jones Jr. is in training camp in California, PA, thirty minutes south of Pittsburgh preparing for his August 15 “Hook City” showdown against Jeff “Left Hook” Lacy. The event, presented by Square Ring Promotions in association with Left Hook Promotions and Beau Rivage Resort & Casino, will be broadcast live on pay-per-view.
The camp headquarters at Buzz Garnic’s Round 2 Boxing Gym, which houses Alton “Coach” Merkerson along with Square Ring Promotions stable mates Verquan Kimbrough, Kieyon Bussey and various sparring partners, is located at the top of a hill at the edge of a forest.
On Monday, “Coach Merk” was at the kitchen sink when he noticed a large ground hog at the edge of the woods. He retrieved his rifle, slid open the kitchen window screen and shot the ‘hog.’ He nailed it from 50 yards away. “I was in the Army for twenty-one years and have shot a lot of stuff, so this was no big deal,” said the retired Army Sergeant, who spent numerous stints in Vietnam. Merk put the hog in a cooler on ice where it sat for the evening training session.
After training, Bussey, also from the great hunting area of Pensacola, skinned and filleted the hog outside the house. While preparing the hog, Bussey thought he had heard some heavy breathing and thought it was the 300-pound black bear that has been spotted in the area numerous times. It wasn’t the bear; it was the breathing of Verquan “The Show” Kimbrough, former NABA and USBA lightweight champion from nearby Aliquippa, who will be on the broadcast portion of “Hook City.” Kimbrough, known for taking up to four showers a day, wanted nothing to do with Monday’s kill and Bussey chased him around the yard with the now-filleted hog.
“Big Roy, Little Roy, Kieyon and I will eat it tonight,” said Merkerson. “It’s nothing but lean meat and tastes great with marinade (balsamic vinegar) and a little salt. It’ll be good for Roy.”
In “Hook City,” two of boxing’s dominating left hookers, 8-time world champion Roy Jones Jr. and 2-time world champion Jeff Lacy, go to battle on Saturday, August 15 at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi to determine the most powerful hooker and the NABO Light Heavyweight Champion. “Hook City” tickets, priced at $150, $125, $100, $75, $50 & $25 are on sale and available at the MS Coast Coliseum Box Office, all Ticketmaster locations, by calling Ticketmaster at 800.745.3000 or on-line at Ticketmaster.com.
The “Hook City” pay-per-view show, presented by Square Ring Promotions in association with Left Hook Promotions and Beau Rivage Resort & Casino, is being distributed by Square Ring Promotions, Inc. at 9:00PM ET/6:00PM PT in the United States on cable and satellite via iNDemand, TVN, DirecTV and Dish Network for a suggested retail price of $34.95, as well as on Super Channel in Canada.