Boxer Iannuzzi makes life change, discovers ring opportunities

Nick Iannuzzi admits there was a time in his life when he didn’t have very many equals.

“I had a big head, I felt like I was better than everyone,” Iannuzzi said. “I treated people differently. Sometimes you need to be knocked down to see what kind of man you’re made of. You get back up and you change your life.”

That change came following an April 2010 arrest, which led to domestic abuse charges and several days in jail. Two months later, Iannuzzi, a rising talent in boxing’s cruiserweight division, was cleared of any wrongdoing, compelling him to alter his life.

“Everybody I meet, everybody I talk to, I treat them equally,” the Tampa boxer said. “It doesn’t matter. … My life has changed and because of it, I’ve found God and because of this, everything has happened for me.”

Tonight inside Drury University’s O’Reilly Family Event Center in Springfield, Mo., Iannuzzi (16-2, 9 KOs) will face B.J. Flores (24-1-1, 15 KOs) for the NABO and NABA cruiserweight titles.

The fight can be seen live at www.gfl.tv and the cost is $9.99. The webcast begins at 8 p.m.

This opportunity is one of several Iannuzzi believes came his way in light of his soul-searching transformation. In February, he stood toe-to-toe with Lateef Kayode on Showtime.

Iannuzzi lost a disputed, 10-round unanimous decision, but that performance opened eyes.

“After Nick fought Lateef, we started getting phone calls from several different people wanting to fight,” Iannuzzi’s manager Mike Asmer said. “Believe it or not, before the Lateef fight, we were trying to put together a fight with B.J. for a while, it just never seemed to come through. Then eight or nine weeks ago, finally he called me up and said they were trying to put together a fight and would we be interested in doing it. We were like, ‘Hell yeah!’ We’ve wanted to fight that guy for a while.”

Adding to Iannuzzi’s growing list of opportunities is the fact his new head trainer is now Dan Birmingham, a two-time Boxing Writers Association of America Trainer of the Year (2004 and 2005) and 2010 Florida Boxing Hall of Fame inductee.

“He brings a lot of energy,” Iannuzzi said of Birmingham. “The things he points out during sparring, it’s like, ‘Wow, I didn’t know that’ or ‘I didn’t see that.’ Just little things.

“He was the man for a long time, before Freddie Roach became the man. It really is a blessing and something I thank God for everyday.”

Birmingham has been able to tighten up a few things with Iannuzzi, including his defense and footwork. Meanwhile, the winner of this fight will hold two titles and gain and a Top 5 ranking amongst the world’s cruiserweight fighters.

“For this fight, I’ve never seen him this focused and this prepared. I think people are going to be really shocked,” Asmer said. “I’m telling you, I think he’s going to shock a lot of people once this fight happens.”

Ironically, Flores’ lone lost came in his last fight in November when he lost a 12-round, unanimous decision to Danny Green. Yep, that Danny Green who lost his IBO cruiserweight title to Tampa’s Antonio Tarver on Wednesday.

Despite enduring plenty of hardships – some self inflicted – in life to reach this stage of his career, Iannuzzi believes he has weathered the bad stuff and now has his eyes set on the positive. 

“I’ve always kept my head up high and I’m just living proof that if you follow a few rules that God gives you, just try to live your life right, that anything is possible,” Iannuzzi said. “I’ve gotten opportunity after opportunity after opportunity and I just think it’s phenomenal. I’m just really blessed to be here.”