Grudge match
This is the first in a series of four articles about the Butler boxers who are on the July 2 fight card at Pullman Park.
BUTLER TWP— When Jim Emrick got knocked down by Darryl Spears last fall, he bounced back up.
And he woke right up.
"That's when I began to take my boxing seriously," Emrick said. "That was my first experience losing. I didn't like it."
The Butler fighter, who is 4-1-1 as a professional heavyweight, will try to avenge his only loss July 2 when he has a four-round rematch with Spears (1-1) of Indianapolis. The bout is part of the Brian Minto-John Poore undercard at Pullman Park.
Emrick's loss came in Spears' debut Nov. 3 in Morgantown, W.Va., and was close until Emrick got knocked down in the fourth round.
"He landed a clean shot right behind my ear and I went down,"Emrick said. "I know that's what swayed the judges. It was close until that point. I might have even been winning.
"I took that fight on two days' notice. I thought I was in shape, but I wasn't. I didn't even have a trainer then."
Tommy Yankello, a veteran trainer who has worked with Brian Minto over the past few years, has been working with Emrick since that loss.
Spears lost his only bout since defeating Emrick, getting knocked out in the first round by Ryan Thompson (4-3) Feb. 23 in Akron, Ohio.
"I've been after a rematch with (Spears)ever since I lost to him,"Emrick said. "I don't know if they lured him with money, or it's the Pullman Park thing or what, but I finally got it.
<table width="300" height="275" border="0" align="right" valign="top" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><embed src="http://video.butlereagle.com/video/jimemrick.mov" width="320" height="250" autostart="true" loop="false" ></embed></td></tr><tr><td align="center"><a href="http://www.apple.com/quicktime/" target="_blank"><span class="style11">Requires Quicktime Media Player </a><br><font size="1" face="Tahoma, Times New Roman">Video by Brandon Gerthoffer</font></span><td></tr></table>"I'm always smiling when I'm in the ring boxing. I won't be smiling on this night. I want this guy."Emrick has been sparring with Minto almost every day in preparation for the rematch."Jimmy is worlds better than he was then,"Minto said. "He's a better technical puncher, he's worked on his defense. ... He's taking the sport seriously now."It shows a lot of guts to want to step back into the ring against somebody who's beaten you. A lot of fighters won't do that. Jimmy can't wait for it. That shows the kind of heart he has."Emrick, 37, didn't have his first match as a pro until Aug. 23, 2007 — barely a week before his 37th birthday.He has no regrets about not starting his pro career 15 years earlier."I don't dwell on that. I don't look at it that way, anyway," he said. "I'm doing something right now that some 60-year-olds wish they did at my age."Emrick trains at the Butler Health and Fitness Club on Duffy Road. A picture of his twin sons, 11-year-old Jimmy and Justin Emrick, in their amateur boxing gear hangs on a wall above the ring.His sons have had 25 fights in the past two years and are taking a break from the ring."I decided to fight because of them,"Emrick said. "I'm showing my boys they have no reason to be scared. I'm not having them do anything that I wouldn't do myself. I'm proving that."Emrick's last fight was a four-round unanimous decision over Ryan St. Germain in Monroeville May 30."As long as Tommy Yankello and knowledgeable boxing people like him tell me I'm still improving, I'll keep fighting,"Emrick said. "When they tell me I've leveled off or hit my peak, I'll get out."Tickets for the July 2 show are available from 3 to 7 p.m. Mondays through Fridays at Pullman Park or by calling Minto at 724-504-6708.
