Lange brings boxing relevance back to D.C.

Any list of sports franchises in the D.C. area starts with the Redskins and includes other prominent clubs like the Capitals and Nationals. Then there are the not-so-prominent outfits like the Washington Freedom and D.C. Armor.

Somewhere on that list is Jimmy Lange Enterprises.

Lange, an Arlington-based fighter, has become more than just a fan favorite in the local boxing scene. He has become the area’s boxing franchise, reviving a sport that has been on the ropes around the country.

He has done this through an ambitious series of shows at Patriot Center. The latest arrives Saturday night, when Lange (29-3-2, 20 knockouts) faces Frank Houghtaling (19-15-5, four knockouts) for the World Boxing Council U.S. National Boxing Championship super welterweight title, the main event of an eight-fight card.

“I think Jimmy is solely responsible for the resurgence of boxing in Virginia over the past five years,” said Gary “Digital” Williams, a longtime local boxing writer, commentator and blogger. “When I [started] doing my blog in July of 2005, Virginia was a dormant boxing state, especially in Northern Virginia. Jimmy’s shows at the Patriot Center changed all of that.”

This will be Lange’s seventh show at Patriot Center - a huge and unlikely venue for boxing. Most local shows have been held at smaller sites - save for the few Don King shows in the District in the mid-1990s - and have drawn crowds of as many as 1,500.

It seemed destined to fail, but Lange drew 5,000 fans to his first show in Fairfax. The crowds since have been between 2,500 and 5,000 - not nearly filling the arena but dwarfing other area shows.

Barry Geisler, general manager of Patriot Center, said he is pleased with the events.

“We have been thrilled,” he said. “You have a charismatic local fighter who is able to attract large numbers of people to come out to a sport that has been down a little bit.”

“Charismatic” is the key word there. Lange is right out of central casting, a modern-day Jimmy Cagney, a good-looking Irish kid who refers to people as “mister” and is well-connected in the community.

In 2004, that charisma landed Lange on “The Contender,” the reality TV show produced by Sylvester Stallone and Sugar Ray Leonard. On the show, Jimmy fought Joey Gilbert and lost but was voted back on as a fan favorite to fight again, and he defeated Tarick Salmaci in May 2005.

Before then, Lange, who made his professional debut in the District in 1998 by stopping Robert Hunt in one round, fought on club show cards in Maryland, the District and Virginia. He had become a local favorite, but the television appearance raised his profile.

“He is also an exciting fighter to watch,” Geisler said. “His bouts are always action-packed. People see that, and they decide to come back for the next fight.”

In September 2005, Lange fought his first match at Patriot Center, stopping Perry Ballard in four rounds.

“My popularity was as high as it had been to that point, so it made sense to try to build something there,” Lange said. “And we are doing that. It has grown. I am the hometown fighter. People take pride in that, and I take pride in that.”

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