Fight night at the Fox

A year ago, however, Ragan shifted gears and started the third chapter of his boxing life when he formed Westside Promotions as a way to inspire and help lead the next generation of championship hopefuls and to bring club boxing back to the Bay Area in general, and the Peninsula, specifically.

“I believe in the Bay Area as being a fight town and having a rich history,” said Ragan, 59. “I am the promoter. I’m not training anyone at the moment. I have eight guys signed with us. We have a really good boxing roster.”

After hosting three boxing cards at the venerable Cow Palace last year, Ragan and Westside Promotions is hosting its third card at Redwood City’s Fox Theater this Saturday, Nov. 16, with former International Boxing Federation heavyweight champion “Prince” Charles Martin (29-4-1) headlining the night against Matt McKinney (17-8-3).

Doors open at 5 p.m. and the first bout is scheduled for 6 p.m.

While promoting boxers pays the bills for Ragan, he does it as much for his love of the sport as he does the money. But his intent is not just as a payday, which is what many small regional promoters try to do, he said.

“There is a big change happening (at the grassroots boxing level). There are small-time promoters who are just looking to sell the gate with terrible fights. Showcase lower-level talents to line their pockets,” Ragan said. “I’m building champions and futures for these guys.”

Not only is bringing club boxing back to the Bay, he’s doing it with a roster of fighters mostly from Northern California and the greater Bay Area. Also scheduled to fight on Saturday night’s card include Union City southpaw welterweight Jacob “The Westside Dragon” Macalolooy (8-0). Kevin Montano (6-0-0) is a Concord native; Malachi “Machine Gun” Johnson (13-0-1) is a Sacramento featherweight who is the current National Boxing Association continental champion; David Delgado is a superflyweight from Woodland who participated in the 2024 Olympic boxing trials and is making his pro debut , while Jalen “Sky” Walker (12-1-1) is a lightweight out of South Central Los Angeles.

And then there is heavyweight “Big” Jett Blackwell (3-0-1) out of Fresno, who has spent the last seven weeks as a sparring partner with Mike Tyson as he prepares for his bout with social media influencer-turned-boxer Jake Paul this weekend.

“I have boxers from LA to San Francisco to Fresno. We have guys from all over,” Ragan said. “We’re bringing some of the biggest fights to the Bay Area.

“I put my guys up against really good competition because that’s the progression we need to go. I’ve been in this business my whole life. We treat our fighters right. We sit down and talk about their future (in the sport).”

In all, there are eight fights scheduled for the Saturday night’s event and of the guys signed to his promotion, there is a combined one loss.

“My main interest as a promoter … is I try to sign guys who are ascending. … I get them the right fights to build their records,” Ragan said. “But not just build boxers, but build the (boxing) community.”

Additionally, current Stanford student Dante Kirkman, a super welterweight out of Palo Alto, is scheduled. Training with Eddie Croft out of San Mateo’s B Street Boxing, Kirkman is 2-0 as a professional after an extensive amateur career.

Kirkman isn’t currently signed to a promotion, but considering he’s a local fighter and given Ragan’s ties to San Mateo, he added the Stanford senior to the card.

“It’s an opportunity for me to allow a local kid to get his feet wet and be safe. … I’m willing to help a local guy, coming from a group of guys I know,” Ragan said. “They called me and asked if I had room on the card. You’re trying to help the community of boxers.”

And like all good promoters, Ragan makes his cards events because he knows there has to be a draw to bring people in to watch relatively unknown, ascending fighters. His connections in the boxing world — he was recently named to the board of directors of the World Boxing Council’s Legends museum in San Bernardino — enables him to bring in some big names to add to the uniqueness of the event. He’s had the likes of former champions Evander Holyfield and Fernando Vargas at previous events and, this Saturday, former two-weight world champion, Michael “Second To” Nunn will be in attendance to greet fans, sign autographs and serve as a commentator.

“We’ve created a buzz with boxing in the Bay Area. We have tremendous support from the (trade) unions. We have a wonderful group of sponsors who see the benefit. … We have tremendous backing. The plan from the beginning has been to have a slow build and try to find local guys we can help build,” Ragan said. “The promotion is going wonderfully. … You can’t promote thinking small. You have to get other people on board.

“We’re doing great. We have fights scheduled through 2025, scheduled every eight weeks. We’re very busy for 2025. There is some great talent.”

To purchase tickets, you can follow the prompts at Westside-Promotions.com, or go to the Fox Theater website at Foxrwc.com.

Nathan Mollat is in his 24th year covering high school sports in San Mateo County for the San Mateo Daily Journal. He can be reached by email: nathan@smdailyjournal.com.