Area fighters have been chomping at the bit for the last 15 months because of Covid related cancellations.
Now the wait is over.
The 41st annual Southern West Virginia Budweiser “Original” Toughman Contest is back this Friday and Saturday with amateur boxing action inside the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center.
“We are excited to be back,” West Virginia Sports Promotion’s Jerry Thomas said. “We missed two events last year due to Covid which included our Beckley event that was scheduled for the last week of March, 2020. As of (Wednesday) morning we had 125 entries for Beckley. Ticket sales are moving and it looks like it will be a good event.”
Beckley will be the third in a series of four scheduled events this year. A schedule that was not easy to come by due to Covid restrictions in various counties.
Seating inside the Convention Center will be limited to 50 percent capacity, just over 2,000 spectators.
“We lost four regularly scheduled events for various reasons, but we will still be able to have four events this year,” Thomas said. “We have already been to Parkersburg and Clarksburg. We are in Beckley this week and Huntington next week. So far, so good. The fighter community hasn’t missed a beat.”
The event this year will feature a new cruiserweight division (185-215 lbs.) for a total of 10 divisions overall, five for men and five for women. The heavyweight division will now be from 216-400 lbs.
“People are ready to get out and enjoy something more than Netflix or a walk in the park,” Thomas said.
The always popular Ring Girl contest will also be part of this year’s event.
A couple of champions return this year to defend the Beckley titles they won in 2019.
Jaime Groves is back to defend the men’s middleweight championship title, while Shawn Blevins is back to defend the men’s lightweight title.
Also registered in the lightweight division is the 2019 runner-up, George Brown. Brown also finished runner-up at this year’s Clarksburg event.
Trevor Bell will look to take the men’s welterweight division after finishing runner-up in both Clarksburg and Parkersburg.
On the women’s side, Lady Justice, Justice Lephew, from Rainelle will be looking to capture the welterweight title. Lephew trains under Steve Neal at Signal 12 gym and will be looking to become a three-time champion after winning the events in Parkersburg and Clarksburg.
“Every fighter must pass a pre-fight physical. They are also checked by the doctor after each bout before they are released from the ring,” Thomas said. “The second day, they get another physical before they can compete and are checked again after each fight.”
There is also an option for people interested in watching the WV Toughman who cannot make it to the Convention Center.
“We will also do a livestream pay-per-view. There is a link on our website (wvtoughman.com),” Thomas said. “There are still some people that are concerned about going out in the crowd, but still want to see the event.”
The fights begin at 7 p.m. both nights. Tickets are on sale at beckleyconventioncenter.com or at the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center box office.