PBC on ESPN Debut: Willie Nelson Feels More At Home with New Trainer

Something wasn’t right. The way he moved forward. How he moved his hands, his feet. His approach in the ring felt backwards, too, like a singles hitter in baseball stepping to the plate and lunging out with whirlwind swings trying to slug homers.

For one of the rare times in his life, Willie “The Great” Nelson wasn’t comfortable in a ring. That malaise led to a loss in his last fight, a 10-round junior middleweight unanimous decision to Vanes Martirosyan (98-92 on all three scorecards), back in October 2014.

This Saturday, the 28-year-old Nelson (23-2-1, 13 knockouts) is looking to change the course of his career in what could be the fight of the night against undefeated, power-punching Tony Harrison (21-0, 18 KOs).

What’s more is Nelson gets to prove his relevance in the 10-round middleweight fight on the Premier Boxing Champions debut show night on ESPN/ESPN Deportes, as the co-feature to the Keith Thurman-Luis Collazo main event, from Tampa, Fla., at 9 p.m. ET.

Related » Scout-Tape Analysis: Thurman vs. Collazo

During Nelson’s nine-month layoff from the ring, much has changed, starting with his trainer. Nelson opted to part with Jack Loew, the trainer of former middleweight world champion Kelly Pavlik, and will team with new trainer Brian Schwartz for the first time.

Right after losing to Martirosyan, Nelson spoke to his management team about making a corner change at dinner that night. He told his supporters that he didn’t feel right in the ring, that what Loew wanted him to do is not what he does, or where his strengths lie.

Nelson may need every facet of his A-game against the 6-foot-1 Harrison, 24, who has stopped his last 10 opponents -- four in the first round -- and owns an 86-percent knockout percentage.

“I never lost my confidence, even after I lost to Vanes, because I know what I can do and what I’m capable of doing,” Nelson said. “Jack worked better with more power punching guys that will walk you down. I couldn’t be that type of a fighter he wanted me to be; it’s not my style. I had some things to think about coming off the fight with Vanes.

“I’m better than what I looked like in that fight. The preparation for that was off. Jack wanted to make it a war, getting away from the things I know I do well like my boxing and defense. During the fight, I had no movement like I usually do. He wanted me to work inside. I work better from distance using my jab. I just kept coming forward on a straight line. I didn’t use angles, I used nothing and I paid for it. That wasn’t me.”

Enter Schwartz, at the instance of Nelson’s manager, the respected Cameron Dunkin. It was up to Schwartz to get Nelson back to where he once was, comfortable in his own skin as a boxer.

“Willie is 6-foot-3, he has reach and quickness, and it baffled me watching film, because he was fighting like he was 5-foot-8,” Schwartz said. “To me, he wasn’t using all of the physical tools he has, and the first one is his height and reach. We know Willie can fight and we know he’s tough. He had 150 amateur fights and a great pedigree. We’ve been taking what Willie has always had and improving it. Willie was ready for a change.”

When Dunkin called Schwartz about Nelson, the California-based trainer was immediately intrigued. Schwartz invited Nelson out for a week and they quickly bonded. Nelson bought into what Schwartz was selling: A return to what Nelson used to be.

“We looked over some of his old fights and it just made sense,” Schwartz said. “I think everyone is going to see an overall complete fighter on Saturday night, not someone one-dimensional. We know Harrison is strong and he has good speed, but he’s never fought someone like Willie before. He might feel confident what he thinks he can do against Willie. On Saturday night, though, he’s going to see a whole new different beast.”

Joseph Santoliquito is the president of the Boxing Writer's Association of America and a frequent contributor to Sherdog.com's mixed martial arts and boxing coverage. His archive can be found here.