Anyone who knows me, knows that I’m a true reggae head.
As I’ve alluded to in past posts, I’m working on a project with Third World, and we’re putting together an end-of-year concert in Kingston, Jamaica.
As luck would have it, Third World did a remake of their famous hit 96 Degrees featuring Stephen and Damian Jr. Gong Marley, which appears on their upcoming Patriots album.
Anyway, as I was trolling the internet, looking for information about the Welcome to Jamrock concert, thrown by BentSpeare Entertainment (the company owned by Damain’s mom, Cindy Breakspeare), I came across The Mission video featuring the two Marley boys.
The track is fire and the lyrics are cerebral. It makes me want to leak the 96 Degrees remake right now (trust me, its fire!).
Note: For those of you unfamiliar with the fight game, you can stop reading now, and rejoin me next time. I’m about to go a lil’ deeper into boxing than you may care about. There’s also this space-time continuum thing as I flip back and forth between two events involving the same people, so stick with me if you can.
I had originally met the female boxer from the Bronx at another Global Boxing press conference a few weeks prior. At that time, she told me that she had an upcoming fight in Saratoga Springs, NY.
I joked that if she was really a boxer she needed to (and I quote) “knock a b*tch out” for me.
FYI. Maureen stopped Liliana Martinez at 1:18 in the 3rd with a vicious left hook to the body. Go Moe!
I was the guest of Michael Havaien, Global Boxing’s President and resident speed and agility trainer.
As I sat back, listening to Kathy Duva announce the various boxers, trainers and managers on the dais, I was amazed that boxing had so firmly taken root in New Jersey – in my backyard, and I (like most of us) had been totally unaware.
You (like me) probably have never heard of Global Boxing and don’t know who Maureen Shea is.
To be honest, when it comes to female boxing, all I know is Laila Ali.
Yes. The Academy award winning film featuring Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman and Hilary Swank.
Apparently, Maureen was Hillary Swank’s trainer for the movie, and she converted the actress into a believable boxer in a few months (which is why most people call her ‘The Real Million Dollar Baby’ – but I digress).
Anyway, in addition to being a guest at the press conference, Maureen also (kinda) trains at Global Boxing, and we talked about the work she was putting in for her (then) upcoming title bout.
As we talked, I learned that she had also filmed an episode of MTV’s Made, where she took a high school ballet dancer and made her tough.
Considering everything I heard, I was amazed that I had never heard of her.
But I learned quite a few things that day.
For example, Global Boxing (as quite is kept) is becoming a force to be reckoned with.
What didn’t exist over six months ago, is now one of the largest professional boxing and mixed martial arts training facilities in the tri-state area.
Global Boxing’s founder, Mariusz Kolodziej (‘MK’ to his boxing friends) is positioning himself as the premier matchmaker, generating both main events and undercards for his fighters.
At yesterday’s pre-fight conference, I was impressed a the throngs of people packing the room, and Maureen’s quiet acceptance of her new title holder status.
As we talked about Brand Shea (sounds good right? I just made that up) and her plans for the future, she was repeatedly asked to sign autographs or take pictures with fans.
Women, who approached her, complimented her looks. She was rocking a dress by Bebe and a set of pink heels by Sergio Rossi.
And the fellas (and fellow fighters), offered their congratulations.
By the time I left, I vowed to do two things: 1. Get up on my boxing; and 2. let the world know that NJ is about to become the new boxing mecca.
I’d suggest you stay tuned, and see what else comes out of Global Boxing and Maureen Shea.
I haven’t made an entry to my blog in over a month.
Its not that I haven’t thought about it, or that I didn’t want to.
My issue was that I had so much to talk about, I didn’t know where to start.
And you know what they say about inertia…
But today I’ve resolved to just sit down and type, until I got it all out of me.
I’m thinking the best way to do it is to start with the most recent stuff, and work backwards.
All you’re getting are sound bites, and hopefully, at some point, I’ll get around to elaborating.
So, without further ado…
Midnite
Last night I attended the Midnite show at S.O.B.’s. If you’re not familiar with Midnite, you should be. They are one of the hottest Caribbean reggae artists out today.
They played some classic tunes and well as new music, and as they went through their set, I felt as if I were communing with the music, swaying back and forth (or side to side) as part of one large rhythmic body.
I totally forgot I was supposed to be checking out their performance (my first) and assessing how their brand could be further leveraged. But DAMN! their music was good!
Check out some video from their last S.O.B.’s visit.
Third World
For the past few months, I’ve been working with Third World band’s management to produce a number of different on and offline projects.
It started with the Third World simulcast of their rehearsal at Circle Studios in Miami. Over 7,700 people tuned into the live stream on iNation.tv, which featured special guests, such as the incomparable Tessanne Chin.
Currently, we’re working hard to get their digital store, the Third World Digistore, up and running in anticipation of the August 10th release of their 22nd studio album, Patriots.
We’re also working on the video for the remake of their classic, 96 Degrees in the Shade, featuring Stephen and Damian Marley.
Check out a live version of 96 Degrees in the Shade.
Global Boxing
My good friend, Michael Havaien, is the president of Global Boxing Gym, a state of the art facility for professional boxers and MMA fighters, located in North Bergen, New Jersey.
He recently invited me to two press conferences, preceding the Zab Judah (vs Jose Armando Santa Cruz) and Tomasz Adamek (vs Michael Grant) fights.
We’re working on enhancing the overall digital signature of the Global Boxing brand, focusing on their young up-and-coming fighters, which include 21 year old Brooklyn native Adam Kownacki (5-0, 5 KOs) and (potentially) Bronx native and newly crowned NABF champion Maureen Shea (15-2).
Check out a clip from the Adam Kownacki vs. Yohan Banks bout. Spoiler alert – someone gets knocked out!
Morgan4Congress
As many of you already know, we’ve been working tirelessly on the United States Congressional campaign of Vincent Morgan, who is in a historic race against the embattled Charles Rangel.
We’ve redefined Vincent’s online presence, and provided ongoing support to all of his digital efforts, including the development of branded video pods, the production of offline events and the creation, management and support of various social media and mobile initiatives.
With the primaries rapidly approaching September 14, I anticipate getting a tad busier.
We’ve got DJ Twilite Tone on the ones-and-twos, and all kinds of special treats in store for our guests.
If you’re in town on August 15th, please stop in.
Oh yeah, its also summer, and the kids are home. So things have been hectic on the home front too.
I don’t want to blame my hiatus wholly on work. I’ve had a little bit of fun too.
My sister-in-law and her husband invited us to Martha’s Vineyard to stay with them in a lovely five bedroom, four bathroom house in Oak Bluffs, two blocks from the beach.
It was really nice to get away (even though I jumped on my laptop a time or two).
But I’m back to the grind!
So hopefully, you’re all caught up and I’ll be able to get back to writing on a schedule.
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Stephen Chukumba 
