DeMarcus Rogers is a living example of bouncing back, and he has returned to his background in boxing to do it.
Tonight he is both overseeing and starring in a professional fight card at the Chattanooga Convention Center, the second one he's run locally in three months. There are six bouts scheduled, highlighted by 12-0 super middleweight Tyler Howard from Crossville (with eight knockouts) against Quincy Minor from Missouri and the finale of super welterweight Rogers against Clifford McPherson from Cleveland, Ohio.
The doors to exhibit hall A will open at 6 p.m., and the boxing will start at 7. Two lightweight contests, a welterweight fight and a middleweight bout are scheduled before intermission, followed by the co-main events. General-admission tickets will be available at the door for $20, and ringside seats cost $50.
Ringside tables are sold out for the Grind Nation Promotions event, Rogers said Friday.
"Ticket sales are going really well," he said.
In his return to the ring after nearly a year off in his early-May production at Camp Jordan Arena, Rogers won in a 30-second knockout. But he was more gratified by the turnout. He just started Grind Nation Promotions in February, as an outgrowth of the Grind Nation Performance Training business he began last year.
"We had 1200 people in attendance (at Camp Jordan) with very little advertisement," Rogers said.
"At least that many, and it was a good show," an East Ridge city official said.
Rogers wrote in a biographical release that "many of those in attendance expressed their excitement and gratitude about the expectation of future pro boxing events. The crowd at this event was very diverse, and there were no incidences of violence or tension amongst the crowd."
He emphasized that he wants "to promote positivity within the community."
Rogers, who will turn 24 next month, grew up in Brainerd and went to Central High School, where he played football for four years. He began boxing at the age of 8 and spent six years with the Westside Knockouts - now the YCAP Boxing Club - run by Joe and Andy Smith. He won a couple of junior national championships as well as state and regional titles along the way.
As he readily admits, he got in trouble with the law at age 18, costing him a choice of college football scholarships, but he eventually enrolled at Tennessee State University and decided to turn pro as a boxer. That was in 2013, and he fought throughout the nation, even on a Showtime card.
His court case was settled in 2014 and he spent another year in Nashville before returning to Chattanooga, where he wanted "to bring something positive back to my hometown." And through his performance training company he has worked with more than 40 young athletes from about a dozen local schools.
But he couldn't shed his love for boxing, and tonight is a key part of his ascent as both an entrepreneur and an athlete.
"I plan on staying active as a fighter," he said this week. "I don't know too much about (McPherson), but my trainer looked him up and we hear that he's decent. He's a step up from our last opponent. We're not at a championship level right now, but every fight we're stepping up."
He did add, "I think I will dominate the fight."
And he thinks Chattanooga will enjoy the chance to see it.
"I didn't have it easy growing up. I went through my struggles, but I bounced back and never gave up," he said. "And I want to keep focusing on the positive and bring something positive to bring the community together."
YCAP's Andy Smith is one of those pulling for Rogers.
"I applaud the guy," Smith said Friday. "He's really a great kid and he's trying to do the right thing, and I was impressed with the event he held at Camp Jordan. It was a clean atmosphere, and for a first event he did a really good job. He has a great work ethic, and I hope it pays off for him."
Contact Ron Bush at rbush@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6291.