To those in the know, Savannah is quickly becoming renowned for its boxers, courtesy of Jarrell’s Gym and the extremely talented super bantamweight, Al Seegar. Over the last decade, Jarrell’s has managed to bring up consistently more talented boxers, and by all reports 140 pound Al “Quiet Storm” Seegar is the most talented yet.

The Civic Center is hosting his fight against Mexican Cesar Figueroa, a twelve rounder that’s been talked up and marketed well for weeks. The bout has the added charm of being nationally broadcast on Spanish cable station Futuro, and thus all ring announcements are made in Spanish before the English translation is given.

Tickets for the match ranged from $20 for the cheap seats to $200 catered, open bar ringside table seats. While this seem excessive, the bulk of the people at 8 seater tables on the ground of the Civic center seem to be having a ball. Nothing gets Savannahians going like the challenge of drinking over $40 worth of booze to compliment a heavy meal and some brawling.

Egged on by the partiers below, the wide range of Savannah natives in the loosely regulated deck seats are making numerous casual bets and sipping on flasks. The beer line contains a huge locksmith wearing sand-camo t-shirts that broadly proclaim across the chest, “BIG DADDY”.

Behind me is a chirpy gay man and his girlfriend, and in the bathroom I run into a young ghetto dad teaching his small boy how to wash his hands. And you thought fighting wasn’t for the family.

Before I even entered the Civic Center a friend and I were blessed by the pure Southern grace of a SCAD security guard. This kind woman stopped us as she was driving down Oglethorpe and asked if we were going to the match. When we replied in the affirmative, she said she had too many free tickets and handed us two. All told there were over 2800 people at the Civic Center that night, not quite the capacity crowd of the Monster Truck Rally, but certainly older, drunker and more diverse.

The first match we see is the second of the four headline matches, although there are three scheduled fights to take place after the main event. In this match a solid tree stump of a short man takes on a taller pugilist sporting the buds of several tiny dreadlocks. My money is on the taller fellow, as I assume he’ll “rain the pain” from above. After two rounds it’s obvious I’ve lost that bet. The smaller fighter is about 5 feet tall, but easily able to duck anything the tall man throws, while countering with punches that look painful from 100 yards away. The crowd cheers on the underdog, screaming “Come On, Lil’ Man!!” When the match ends with the smaller boxer victorious, the crowd is exuberant. Also, the short guy has in his corner two hood-looking fellows in white sleeveless undershirt and white t-shirt and hat. They look like a perfect set for a quirky buddy movie.

The next fight puts Savannah native “Stormin” Norman Jones against Christian Cruz, the 19th ranked super middleweight in the country. After his introduction, Jones bounds up the ropes to wave to the adoring audience, who all seemed aware of his Savannah roots. This bout turns into an eight round slugfest, with Stormin Norman able to avoid any real trouble, and unloading several heavy combos on the trapped Cruz. After Jones is announced the champion in a unanimous decision, the crowd grows ever more jubilant, the excitement heading toward a boil for the Seegar match.

When the Al Seegar bout gets underway, everyone is eyeing the ring, waiting for the hometown kid to make his move. Seegar is only 24 and is a scrawny looking boxer, especially from a distance. However, having done some training at Jarrell’s myself, every fighter I spoke with there said Seegar has an unbelievable punch strength. Certainly his speed is not up for debate.

The crowd erupts into a chant of “See-gar! See-gar! See-gar!” Invigorated, Al steps into the next round with complete domination.

Mike Jarrell, lead trainer and owner of Jarrell’s Gym, prides his fighters on their endurance and overall fitness – although surely the heavy heat of the Coastal Empire plays just as big a role as the trainer. Like Norman Jones before him, Al Seegar overwhelmingly dominates the seventh round. With the closing seconds in sight, Seegar unleashes an amazing flurry of punches. The crowd bursts into an ecstatic roar of applause. As the punches continue unabated, the cheer becomes a groundswell of amazement (“He’s still punching!”) and confirmation of our hometown hero’s talent.

When the bell mercifully ends the punishment, Figueroa’s trainers say “No Mas” to round eight.

The crowd again breaks into Seegar chants as the local boy makes Savannah and himself a champion. The record number of attendees spills onto Congress Street afterwards for a hearty continuation of the evening’s excitement, and the community’s response to more Al Seegar is clearly the opposite of Figueroa’s.

photos by R. Wisener