Switzer, O’Grady attend news conference

Barry Switzer walked across the stage with a smile.

“What the hell am I doing here!” Switzer yelled.

He was at Top Rank’s news conference, a boxing promotion company with fights scheduled Saturday at Chesapeake Energy Arena. It’s an unusual news conference when one of Oklahoma’s greatest football coaches crashes it.

So what was one of OU's legendary coaches doing at a boxing news conference? He came to send a message.

“Alex, good luck to you,” Switzer said.

Switzer was talking to Alex Saucedo, an Oklahoma native who, with a win against Leonardo Zappavigna, will have an automatic bid for a chance at the WBO Junior Welterweight title.

“Alex is an Oklahoma City boy,” Switzer said. “I have to give a shout out to him.”

Switzer stood next to Saucedo and Trey Morrison, son of the late Tommy Morrison. Trey is boxing in Saturday’s event. Switzer was in unfamiliar territory at a boxing news conference, but that’s where the state sits, too. On Saturdays, Oklahomans are used to watching college football, or driving downtown to watch a Thunder game.

But this Saturday night, the biggest sporting event taking place in Oklahoma is boxing.

A top tier boxing event in Oklahoma City seemed impossible. Looking at past events, Top Rank has had fights in Las Vegas, New York City and Philadelphia, a little different from hosting an event in Oklahoma City.

But this is something Saucedo had been pleading for ever since he became a professional boxer. For Saucedo, he’s feeling a little more pressure than a normal fight. This is Oklahoma City’s first major boxing event. While Saucedo is focused on staying undefeated, he also recognizes what the event could mean for boxing in Oklahoma.

“I know if everything goes good, (the popularity of) Oklahoma boxing will go up,” Saucedo said.

Just before Switzer spoke to Saucedo, another Oklahoma legend had made his way to the stage: Sean O’Grady. O’Grady is Oklahoma’s only world champion boxer, winning the lightweight title in 1981.

Like many Oklahomans, O’Grady goes to as many Thunder games as he can. He has lower level seats, and though he is right next to the action, O’Grady has trouble paying attention.

He couldn’t help but picture a boxing event in his hometown arena.

“I never thought I would see a boxing match here at the Chesapeake Arena,” O’Grady said.

O’Grady and Switzer were beaming as they talked about the boxing event taking place in OKC. Even though OKC is a smaller market, the event didn’t pull any punches in who they brought to fight. The card consist of a title defense, two Olympians and eight undefeated boxers.

Saucedo is one of the eight undefeated boxers, and he’s hoping he makes Oklahomans proud on Saturday night.

“We have a tough, tough fight coming up,” Saucedo said. “But I know I’m ready for it.”