Chauncey
Pope, Owner of Pope Promotions in Galveston, Texas has long been a fan
of combat sports. "My father was a fan of boxing and I watched it with
him since as long as I could remember. Even in Galveston back in the 80s
there were plenty of shows. But it was around 2002, that I really
learned more about the sport". In 2002, Pope who has practiced various
forms of martial arts met Felix Cora Sr(Father and manager of former
NABF cruiser-weight champion Felix Cora Jr.) who he credits as a big
influence for him in boxing.
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| Chauncey Pope,Owner of Pope Promotions |
"He(Felix,
Sr) taught me a lot about boxing from the ground up. Everything from
how to fix cuts, build confidence and "bringing a guy back". He taught
me stuff that you don't' learn watching TV and reading news articles. It
was a huge game changer for me."
Pope
hopes to have Pope Promotions as a difference maker and starting point
for many of the talented boxers in the Houston- Metro area. "This place
(Galveston, Texas) is the birthplace of the first black heavyweight
champion of the entire world! Think about it. Mohammed, Lennox, Iron
Mike, even Joe Luis were all preceded by Jack Johnson. He paved the way
and he was from Galveston. Galveston is a great place to spend your time
in the spring and summer with plenty of activities. We plan on being a part of it."
Even
though he is not new to boxing and understands the difficulty that many
in the sport face, Chauncey is very optimistic about the potential of
his boxing entertainment career. "I
would be lying if I didn't say that I knew of the problems that boxing
faces. If you look at any of the high profile African American promoters
or managers, they get less than a positive review most of the time. I
will admit there are many flaws in the sport and I want my company to
not be involved but to solve the problems that fighters face in their
career. Just because you pay the fighters don't mean you own them or
their career. My
goals and my job are to put on action packed and entertaining events
for people period. There are a lot of talented fighters in this area and
I want to help them build their career to title shots."