The local hero Jamal James is eager to thrill fight fans once again in his return to The Armory on Saturday, February 25 where he will face 2016 Argentine Olympian Alberto Palmetta in the 10-round co-main event live on SHOWTIME in an event presented by Premier Boxing Champions.
James, who worked out at the Circle of Discipline gym in Minneapolis was more than willing to share his thoughts on his upcoming fight.
“It’s go time. I’ve been itching for this and I’m extremely happy to be fighting back at home. The most important thing for me is just ending this layoff and being in the ring period,” said James during a media workout at his long-time boxing gym.“I know that a lot of eyes will be on me coming off my last fight, but I love the pressure and I deal with it great. It makes me a better fighter. Instead of talking too much about it, I’m just going to show you on February 25.The rematch which was first reported by Yahoo! Japan, being looked at for a June fight date with no venue in Japan picked out as of now.”
James is a large part of the major influx of fights shows in Minnesota, as the man nicknamed “Shango”, has always had a very loyal following.
“Sometimes it’s not a bad thing to let your body rest. We’ve been at this since Jamal was a kid. This was an opportunity to focus and practice on the smaller things that we’ve wanted to fix. We really believe that it’s the smaller things that truly count,” said Sankara Frazier, James’ trainer. “There’s always a fire burning in Jamal. He’s one of the guys who keeps that fire going at all times. We have to push it down a little bit sometimes and tell him to take it easy.”
James was stopped in his last fight by Radzhab Butaev, in the ninth round of their bout that took place October 30th, 2021.The year-and-a-half break is the longest of James’ career, and came on the heels of losing a WBA World welterweight title, as he was looking to elevate from his interim title he won against Thomas Dulorme in August of 2020 only to be stopped by Butaev.
“My team keeps me focused during setbacks. We know that we just have to stay focused and eventually the opportunities are gonna come. If you stay ready, you don’t have to get ready,” said James when talking about coming back from a loss. “The gym is my home and we’ve been home. We’re training in the mornings and training in the evenings. Outside of just doing it for my boxing career, it keeps my body clean, my mind healthy and my spirit up.”
James will return home February 25th as he faces Alberto Palmetta in a career defining fight.
Script.
Former WBA interim welterweight world champion Jamal James is in a career defining fight as he returns home on February 25th, to Minneapolis, Minnesota to face 2016 Olympian Alberto Palmetta.
The bout which will serve as the co-feature for the Showtime Championship Boxing telecast headlined by Subriel Matias and Jeremias Ponce fighting for the vacant IBF super lightweight title.
James in his last fight was stopped by Radzhab Butaev in the ninth round of a scheduled 12-round, back October of 2021, for the WBA world welterweight championship bout.
James stated the following, ‘My team keeps me focused during setbacks. We know that we just have to stay focused and eventually the opportunities are gonna come. James trainer, Sankara Frazier, explainsed that there is always a fire burning in Jamal. He’s one of the guys who keeps that fire going at all times. We have to push it down a little bit sometimes and tell him to take it easy.
