MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WTVF) — There's someone at Champion's Corner in Murfreesboro training for a Dec. 5 match he says could set a record. Scot England is almost 59-years-old.
"I think the black eye, it helps in my role as an aging boxer," Scot laughed, pointing to his eye.
Scot's story is not like anyone else's. Truly. He's a former radio DJ turned news anchor turned author of country music books turned boxer. Who else can say that?
"I'm it, man! I'm it!" he said.
Scot said a large part of what got him here was a very good friend. As a teen, Scot's fan letter to Muhammad Ali led to a friendship.
"The first time I walked into his living room, he said, 'are you a boxer?'" Scot remembered. "I said, 'no champ. I'm not tough enough for that,' and I wasn't. 40 years later, I am tough enough."
To see him in the ring, watch the player above.
Perhaps knowing "the Greatest" has lent to Scot's ambition for that Dec. 5 match.
"When I step into the ring, I will become the oldest professional welterweight boxer in the world," Scot said. "147, that's what the welterweight is, and I have not been that since the 3rd grade."
It's something he couldn't do alone. Scot's working with friend and fellow fighter, Eric Draper.
"The biggest advice I can give him is believe in his ability," Eric said. "Make sure he's doing his push ups and sit ups. He's been in here every day working out hard."
He's working with Champion's Corner boxing coach Galen Turner.
"One day he approached me with his vision," Galen remembered. "Me and Scot are the same age, so I was impressed with it. When he said we're going to set a record, I said, 'well, let's run it!'"
"I've been sparring three guys," Scot said. "They're 16, 17, 18-years-old, so you put these three in the ring at the same time, I'm older than all three put together!"
This is seven days a week of hard training. Scot's team knows this DJ, news anchor, country music writer can do this and this is why.
"He's a grinder," Galen said. "Scot doesn't believe in quitting."
"All he's gotta do is put God first and go in there and let his hands go," Eric added.
"You got one life to live," Scot said. "You need to go for your dream. This is absolute proof. If I can do this, if I can become the oldest welterweight boxer in the world, you can do whatever you're dreaming in life."
Scot's match is at the Troubadour Theatre in Nashville on December 5. He hasn't stopped writing about country music either. He's hoping to write a book on Crystal Gale next.
