Victory Boxing League CEO Cyrus Tidwell Talks Victory III, ‘The Perfect Storm’

The VIP Crew: You obviously have a vested interest in the sport of boxing. Where does that stem from? 

Tidwell: Just a love for the sport and learning how to do it a few years ago. It’s been an exciting thing for me. Watching the “Rocky” movies, playing the boxing video games, and then actually trying it, was entirely different. The satisfaction that I got from learning the moves and being able to get in there and work with people, really brightened up my life and made it a better place. I wanted to give that same joy to other people. Being able to put on fights for people to see and let them experience is something that I really wanted to do, so that’s what got me into it. 

The VIP Crew: Victory III “The Perfect Storm” is happening on April 12th, in Dallas, Texas at The Bomb Factory. What can we expect from this card? 

Tidwell: This card is called “The Perfect Storm” for a couple of reasons. If you look at it, we have fighters from all across Dallas on there. Headlining the card is Samuel Arnold III, he is the WBC Youth Champion in Canada. He is a fantastic fighter. He is 11-0, looking to get another knockout. 

We have Alex Holley as our co-main. He is another top fighter from Dallas, Texas. He is looking to get another solid win on his record. He is 9-1 with 6 KO’s. He’s one of those guys who is always going to bring the fight, bring the pressure, as well as bring the crowd. Always happy to have him and excited to see what he does at this event. 

We have Fernado Garcia, who is another exciting fighter who brings the Mexican and Hispanic crowd here in Dallas. He’s someone who I enjoy watching work. He’s 13-5, and he doesn’t run away from any kind of challenge. He’s had a bit of a layoff, but he’s coming right back with another high-level opponent that’s going to challenge him and someone that’s going to make him work. If you look up and down the card… there are 12-fights and all of them will be action-packed. There is not a skip fight on here, from 118 all the way up to heavyweight, so you’re going to see a wide array of matchups and setups. It’s going to be a great night. 

The VIP Crew: From Victory I, Victory II, now headed into Victory III, as a promoter, what progressions do you feel you made from show to show?

Tidwell: The first event was just about getting my legs beneath me. You knew there would be things to go wrong, but you didn’t know what would go wrong. It was about preparing and doing the best you can to put on the best event possible. The goal for that first one was having a very strong product. You wanted the customer/consumer to be happy with the fights that they saw. Had some hiccups, some things I needed to work on, but the actual quality of the event was excellent. One of my favorite night’s of boxing ever. 

Going into Victory II, it’s just about cleaning things up, putting on a better, more polished event, and being able to work with fighters that I hadn’t on the first event. It ran without a hitch, ran smoothly, and of course the fights were excellent. 

Coming into Victory III, now that people are getting to know me a little bit, the coaches, managers, matchmakers, and fighters have all seen what I can do and what kind of product that I can put on, the way I promote and put the fighters first, more people are willing to work with me. It’s been great seeing the response and level of help I’ve been able to get for this third event. We have upgraded to a bigger more prominent venue with The Bomb Factory, so that’s great. 

The VIP Crew: Is there not a bad seat in the house at The Bomb Factory? 

Tidwell: There’s not a bad seat and that’s something that is very important to me when picking a venue. No matter where you sit or stand, you’re able to see the action. I’ve been to plenty of events in the past where, if you don’t get one of the more expensive seats, you just can’t see anything. The viewing experience is important. There are seats on the floor, elevated seats on the balcony, every seat will allow you to see the fights. That’s one of the advantages of having smaller venues. Everyone is close to the action. 

The VIP Crew: You also have a gym called, Brave Boxing Club. Not only do you promote fighters, but you have a gym to see the work being put in, and in many cases, you get to see some of these guys during their infancy stages. 

Tidwell: It is what helped me get plugged into the boxing community here in Dallas. I’m not originally from the area. Starting a gym and being able to interact with people on a personal level, that’s part of what has made it possible to have these events and be so successful. If I didn’t have the gym, I’d be cold calling people, but since I have established these relationships, people can be hearing about me from 3 or 4 other people before I get a chance to meet someone. That’s great for my reputation, it gives me a chance to show my love and passion and desire to see it grow and get better. That’s important. If you just lead with the business side without the relationships, it’s only about the money. When you have a reciprocal affection for each other and you realize you have a lot in common, it’s a lot easier to do business in the future. 

The VIP Crew: Do you feel the crop of fighters you have on your shows are eventually going to add to the impact that, Errol Spence Jr., Maurice Hooker, and guys like Derrick James has already done for the Dallas area in boxing? 

Tidwell: Absolutely! If you look at how boxing works, it’s people of similar age groups going through the process at the same time. I could look even further back because I own a gym, and look at guys that are in the amateurs right now getting their work in, making progress, and getting better. We are hearing about them much earlier into their careers. Being able to build up the promotion is important because more of those guys who are in the amateur system can see where they can go and end up. 

That’s why it’s important to me to make sure that I have a good number of fights happening every year. My first year I did two, this year the goal is to do three, and next year the goal is to do four, and slowly work that up to six. There’s plenty of shows for people to see across the city, regardless of what demographic you represent or what kind of audience you’re able to bring, we’re gonna have something for you. This current batch of fighter’s I am working with right now is great and I love working with them, they are intelligent, and it’s easy to explain these concepts of what I’m trying to do to them. They bought in, so I just had to make sure that I executed on my end and make it easy on them to just go and fight. You don’t want them to have to deal with all of the politics and administrative work. They just want to get to the fight. We want real fights. The goal is to make sure every fighter on the card is in a little bit of danger. That way they could show their skills the best way I can. 

The VIP Crew: Is the goal to keep VBL in Dallas or do you want to take it abroad? 

Tidwell: Dallas will always be the hub where everything is happening. But co-promotions are happening and will happen everywhere. The goal is for me to be very tightly plugged into the boxing scene. Regardless of where I end up or who I work with, I will always put on my four shows, maybe six shows in the near future, and everywhere else I’m working will be co-promoting with others, and help lend resources wherever I can.