A man moves to Nashville, Tennessee, from Little Rock, Arkansas, to pursue his lifelong dream of becoming a country-music star. After living out of his car for a week or two, he enters the world of professional boxing to earn rent money. He doesn't know if he can recapture his past ring glory as a distinguished amateur boxer. Much to his own surprise, he wins bout after bout, culminating in a world championship. One may imagine this scenario outlines the plot of a fictional, Hollywood screenplay from the fertile mind of a creative genius. But it is not. Rather, it represents the reality of Mike Rodgers, a country music singer and former professional boxing champion.
In 1997, Rodgers traveled to Music City to give his music career a boost. In the past, he had performed on the club circuit throughout the South, opening for such legends as his idol Merle Haggard, David Allan Coe, and many others. After performing on the road for four years with his band Gator-Dilla out of Shreveport, Rodgers ventured to Nashville to make his dreams a reality.
When he came to Nashville, Rodgers had no money, which forced him to live out of his car. "I came to Nashville with a beat-up car, a guitar and three garbage sacks full of clothes," he says. The story of his pro career is nothing short of legendary. Upon his arrival, Rodgers learned about weekly professional boxing shows held at the notorious Music City Mix Factory. Because his car was his home, Rodgers' first professional boxing license bears the address of a local honky tonk bar. He still keeps that license in his wallet to this day as a reminder of his tremendous struggles.
In June 1997, Rodgers entered the boxing ring at the Mix Factory with a pair of tennis shoes, swimming trunks and his cowboy hat. Before his introduction, a drunk in the crowd yelled: "Hey cowboy, who in the hell are you, the
Honkytonk Hitman?" When Mike knocked out his 6'6" opponent in the first round, the nickname stuck and the legend of the Honkytonk Hitman began.
The promoters had thought Mike would serve as a tomato can, a mere opponent for pampered prospects, unaware of his extensive amateur career (155 wins - 26 losses) in which he compiled numerous state and regional titles 8 years earlier. Instead, the underdog became the crowd favorite after kayoing a string of foes in less than two rounds. "I went from homeless to hero with one punch," Rodgers says. As his hit song "Honkytonk Hitman" tells his fans, he fought his way up the rankings and continued to make a name for himself in the sport of boxing. He reached his ring aspirations when he won the WBF Super-Cruiserweight World Championship in 2002.
After retiring from the sport of boxing with a shoulder injury, Rodgers continues to pursue his dream of a world title in the country music business, thrilling local crowds across the country with his amazing energy, voice and talent. Rodgers opened Honkytonk Hitman Enterprises, Inc. and is busy producing his next album which will succeed his critically acclaimed 2004 "Honkytonk Hitman" CD.
Rodgers' new album - "Shake That Twang" is now available at
www.HonkytonkHitman.com. It is his fourth CD since 1992.
Rodgers plans to continue performing his high-energy shows across the country to promote his new recordings. Some may doubt that Rodgers can achieve his goals in the competitive world of music. But, people doubted him in the ring and he kayoed those foes. Rodgers says: "If you think that I am going to quit then you better start counting to ten, because if I don't get up then you know I'm dead."
Rodgers believes with all his heart and soul that boxing and music are in his blood. The bloodlines are certainly there, as Mike is the son of Hall-of-Fame, world-class cutman and amateur boxing legend Ray Rodgers and a descendant of Hall-of-Fame country artist Jimmie Rodgers.
"Music and Boxing are in my blood so I really didn't have a chance," he says. "Some things in life you can choose, some you can't. I feel like this was my destiny, I was born to be the 'Honkytonk Hitman'."
