The weather outside of the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center will be cold and snowy this weekend.
That will not be the case inside the arena.
Friday and Saturday night, the famed “Armory” will host some heated boxing action when the 44th annual West Virginia Original Toughman contest comes to town.
Established in 1979, The Original Toughman has been a staple in the Beckley area ever since, featuring 10 different weight classes, five for men and five for women.
The weight classes are broken down into Heavyweight (216-400 lbs), Cruiserweight (185-215 lbs), Middleweight (160-184 lbs), Welterweight (140-159 lbs) and Lightweight (or Bantemweight, up to 139 lbs).
Two champions from the 2023 Beckley contest return to defend their titles. Ethan Blackburn won the middleweight division by unanimous decision, while Marvin Workman took the lightweight title by split decision last April.
Workman was also runner-up this year in Charleston and Parkersburg.
The battle in the lightweight division should be electric with three former champions joining Workman.
Jordan “The Gladiator” Varney (Ravenswood) won the title in Parkersburg this year, while Jacob “Pretty Boy” Ray (Delbarton) won in Huntington. Dante Owens (Grafton) is the reigning Clarksburg champion.
Former Fayetteville all-state baseball player Trey Phares is looking for his third Toughman title this year.
Fighting in the Cruiserweight division, Phares was the champion in Parkersburg and Clarksburg.
“I won in Clarksburg, then they texted my trainer and said they were low on fighters in Parkersburg which was two weeks later,” Phares said. “They increased the (prize) money, so I said lets do it. I went in there a little banged up and injured, but came out on top of that one too.”
Although he has had limited fights over the years, Phares, who is now 28 years old, has been around the fight game for quite a while.
“When I was about 15 years old, I got in a fist fight and broke my hand. My baseball coach at the time said I needed to quit doing that. He hooked me up with a boxing trainer,” Phares said. “I went to Steve Neal – who owns Signal 12 Gym – on and off for years, but never really fought much. I have done a lot of sparring, just not a lot of fighting.”
While the number of bouts may not be equal to that of other fighters, Phares has been a student of the fight game which has led to his success.
“My power has gotten better, but my overall knowledge is better,” Phares said. “Just understanding how to explode into punches. You can’t just throw punches with your arms, you have to explode with your whole body. My ability to see punches coming and my elusiveness have also been my biggest strengths. I can tell when somebody is about to throw a punch.”
Fighting in one of the top weight classes with bigger bodies to battle, Phares also talked about conditioning being a major key to success.
“Conditioning is a big thing for sure. You have to do all of the movements that you will use in a fight,” Phares said. “You have to simulate those and do them every day to get your body used to those movements.”
Prior to his two Toughman titles, Phares found success in Parkersburg at Southside Rumble 8 on July 23, 2022 with a thunderous knockout.
“I fought a pretty tough guy. He was a MMA guy, but my power was too much for him,” Phares said. “He had good technical skill, but he never caught me with a clean shot. I have decent defense. Once I caught him, it was game over from there.”
Conditioning and knowledge played a big factor in the Toughman victories for the former Pirate.
On championship Saturday in Clarksburg, Phares had to fight twice to earn the title and three times Saturday night in Parkersburg. He also had to fight through a tough injury for a fighter.
“Before the championship (in Clarksburg) I had a partial tear in my (right) bicep and basically had to fight one-handed,” Phares explained. “I was trying to throw all jabs and the left hook, but I had to end of throwing the right hand.”
Three is the maximum number of Toughman titles a fighter can win. Should Phares pull off the trifecta, he plans to keep moving forward with his boxing career.
“I would like to get a couple more amateur fights, then I want to try and go pro” Phares said. “I am 28 years old and I understand how boxing works with age, but getting some pro fights in has been my goal.”
The fighting starts at 7 p.m both nights with the championships decided Saturday. Tickets can be purchased on-line at wvtoughman.com or at beckleyconventioncenter.com.
The Beckley Toughman event will also be offered on Pay-per-View which can be purchased at wvtoughman.com.
