By Ray Hamill — The Bear River Casino Resort is bringing back an old tradition this New Years, with a Tuff Man Boxing Tournament scheduled for Dec. 29.

Rumble at the River III will feature three divisions for local athletes who want to showcase their boxing talents, including several former H-DNL athletes, as well as a pair of scheduled bouts between established pros and two up-and-coming fighters.

“This is for tough guys who still want to compete,” event organizer John McGinnis of Red Thunder Promotions said. “And we’re excited about bringing it back to where it all started.”

The last Rumble at the River was held back in 2015 and McGinnis and his partner at Red Thunder Promotions, Jesse Sherman, are hoping to make it a regular event at the local casino resort.

And judging by the early response, there seems to be plenty of interest, with one of the three divisions already full.

“We’re trying to really target local guys that don’t have time to train full-time, local athletes that have day jobs,” Sherman said.

The Black Bear Division will feature eight fighters between 159 and 179 pounds battling it out for $1,500 in prize money and all eight spots are already taken, although the organizers are still looking for an alternate for the division.

Additional Brown Bear (180 to 200 pounds) and Grizzly Bear (201 pounds and up) Divisions will each feature four fighters battling for $1,000 in prize money, with spots still available in both divisions.

The fights will feature 16-ounce gloves and three rounds of 60 seconds in each division, or “60 seconds of fury,” as McGinnis described it.

The night will also feature a Kodiak Championship fight between pro fighters Scottie Stockman and Josh Eaton.

Stockman, who recently fought at one of the Bear River MMA fight nights, is 8-2 in the boxing ring, while Eaton is based in Redway after moving to Humboldt County from Boston and has a record of 13-5-5.

In addition, the night’s action will get under way with a Cubs Challenge between a pair of up-and-coming young fighters, Eureka’s Nolan Price and Hoopa’s Talon Borden, the latter of whom was a recent three-sport standout for the Warriors and is the son of three-time Tuff Man champion, Bob Borden Jr.

David Plascencia will compete in the Brown Bear Division

Shawn Robinson

The promoters are hoping to add a lower weight division for the next Rumble at the River fight night, which they hope to host sometime in 2024.

There were some Tuff Man fight nights held at Cher Ae Heights Casino (now The Heights Casino) back in the early 2000s, which proved to be popular events.

But that’s no surprise considering how boxing has a storied tradition in Humboldt County and fight nights at the Eureka Municipal Auditorium were a regular occurrence in the 1980s and early 90s.

Those fights were organized by the Albers Boxing Club and proved to be popular among local fans.

The upcoming fight night will feature several well-known local athletes, including Ferndale’s Grant Manzi, Fortuna’s Jordan Black and Hoopa’s Rodney McKinnon III in the Black Bear Division, along with Carlos Castillo, Cesar Kartaltepe, Michael McCovey, Shawn Robinson and a fighter known simply as Gio.

Scottie Stockman

Cesar Kartaltepe

The event will take place in Bear Rivers’ newly remodeled Tish-Non Ballroom, with 305 tickets available and it is expected to sell out.

Tickets can be purchased through the Bear River website.

There will also be a Bawlers Bonus for the fighter who throws the most punches.

“We’re really trying to find the right athletes what will bring the thunder,” Sherman said.

The Grizzly Bear Division will feature Oscar Perez and Justin Mixon, while David Plascencia and Mike Sandoe will compete in the Brown Bear Division, with spots still open in both of those divisions.

Gio