JERRY ZOLYNSKY

jews d

in
the

Mr. Alan’s
Opens In West
Bloomfield

Buck
Doesn’t
Stop
When It
Comes To
Boxing

Former fighter
working to promote
Detroit boxers.

Scott Buchzeiger

STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

B

oxing and Scott Buchzeiger
are intertwined once again.
Fifteen years after his last
match, the man known in the box-
ing ring as Scotty Buck has taken
to social media and created a
website to promote Detroit boxers
and a sport that is struggling to
remain relevant.
“I’m doing it all for free,”
Buchzeiger said. “I want to give
back. I didn’t box for the money.
I did it because I loved to fight. I
have a passion for the sport.”
Buchzeiger, 45, was quite a story
back in the 1990s.
He was a Jewish guy from
the unlikely boxing incubators
of Farmington Hills and North
Farmington High School, who
was befriended and mentored
by champion James “Lights Out”
Toney, managed by ground-break-
ing manager Jackie Kallen and a
member of Kallen’s Galaxy boxing
team.
Buchzeiger turned professional
when he was 22 after only two
amateur fights and made his
pro debut in 1993 on a card at
the Most Holy Redeemer Church
near Mexicantown in Detroit. He
retired from boxing with a 13-12-1
record and nine knockouts as a
pro.
He boxed at the Palace of
Auburn Hills, in Las Vegas,
Chicago, Pennsylvania,
Connecticut, California and on
national TV. He won the Michigan
junior lightweight title, and he
was on an undercard for an event
at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas
headlined by multiple world
champion Bernard Hopkins.
“I was 11-5 at one time. That’s
when I should have retired,”

16

March 16 • 2017

jn

Buchzeiger said. “I fought some
tough opponents toward the
end of my boxing days. You can’t
knock my career. I took on the
best guys I could.”
In one of his matches at the
Palace, Buchzeiger suffered a deep
cut under his left eye when he
was the victim of a head butt. The
match was stopped because of the
injury and Buchzeiger lost.
A barely visible scar remains
to remind him of that night. He
recently acquired a tape of the
fight and watched it.
“I shouldn’t have lost. The head
butt was unarguable,” he said. “I
remember it like it was yesterday.”
After a brief time as a manufac-
turer’s representative following his
retirement as a boxer, Buchzeiger
switched gears and was a personal
trainer for 11 years.
Five years ago, Buchzeiger
became a stay-at-home dad.
His wife, Mary, is CEO of
Auburn Hills-based Lucerne
International, which requires
her to go out of town on busi-
ness often. The couple have three
children: Ryan, 11, Shane, 8, and
Cody, 6. They live in Bloomfield
Township.
“My family is my life,”
Buchzeiger said.
The man who had 26 profes-
sional boxing matches found
himself in another fight after
he decided to be home full time
instead of in the work world.
“I had a difficult time with the
transition,” he said. “It wasn’t
pretty.”
It was during those tough
days about three years ago
that Buchzeiger decided to get
involved in boxing again. He cre-

ated a Facebook page — Team
Buck Real Talk Boxing — that he
has kept private because he wants
those who read and contribute to
it to be reputable and genuinely
interested in boxing.
After the Facebook page, came
Buchzeiger’s website, www.
teambuckmetropolitan.com.
The website is an eclectic col-
lection of Buchzeiger’s biography,
boxing blog, profiles of Detroit
boxers, boxing news, nutrition and
fitness advice, and music “battles.”
The current battle pits Motley
Crue against Def Leppard.
“I want people to be aware
of the Detroit boxing scene,”
Buchzeiger said. “It’s an untapped
resource, but it’s not being mar-
keted like it used to. Detroit is
a great sports town — you see
people wearing Tigers, Lions, Red
Wings and Pistons gear all over
the place — but Detroit boxing
isn’t getting enough publicity.”
In the nutrition and fitness sec-
tion of his website, Buchzeiger
offers suggestions “that cost no
money at all to try, just effort.”
The suggestions include incor-
porating spirituality into your
life, developing a strong, positive
attitude, focusing on creating
positive relationships with people,
following a healthy lifestyle and
being active with regular physical
activity.
Buchzeiger has a Twitter
account (@ScottyMBuck),
Instagram account (Team Buck
Boxing Talk), YouTube channel
(Team Buck Boxing Talk) and
email address (Scotty@
teambuckmetropolitan.com) in
additional efforts to get people
talking about boxing. •

Mr. Alan’s CEO
Jacob Bishop is
going back to
his roots, with
the opening of
a new store in
West Bloomfield
located at 33140
Jacob Bishop
Northwestern
Highway, down
the road from his old high school
and next door to Pieology Pizzeria.
It is an exciting year of expan-
sion for the 43-year-old family-
owned sneaker and sports
apparel retail chain: The company
opened its first store in Lansing in
February and, by summer 2017,
will open its first outlet store in
Detroit, plus stores in Clinton
Township and Grand Rapids.
“I spent my youth growing up in
the West Bloomfield area, so to be
opening a store here is energizing
for me personally,” says Bishop, 31,
who had his bar mitzvah at Temple
Israel in West Bloomfield. “I am
looking forward to connecting
with customers and friends in this
area as we continue to host the fun
in-store events we are known for,
as well as offering the latest
in- demand sneakers and apparel.”
To celebrate the West Bloomfield
opening, five highly coveted
sneakers from Bishop’s own col-
lection will be donated through
a fundraiser for West Bloomfield
High School’s prom program for
students with autism and cognitive
impairments. In addition, Bishop
will be giving a talk at the school
about his road to business success.
On Thursday, March 23, at
5 p.m., radio personality Mojo,
from Channel 95.5’s “Mojo in the
Morning” show, will officially open
the store, with entertainment
including a DJ and giveaways. On
Friday at 5 p.m., Jumpman Bostic
Museum will be in the store, featur-
ing sneaker collector Mark Bostic’s
extensive range of rare sneakers,
and on Saturday at noon there will
be a live “Art Battle.”
For more information on the
upcoming events, see Mr. Alan’s
Instagram @mralans. •

The new Mr. Alan’s

