Houston featured on Showtime's 'Fight Towns with Stephen Jackson'

Houston boxers Jermell Charlo, Raul Marquez, Regis Prograis (left side of the table), Jermall Charlo and O'Shaquie Foster (right side of the table) eat and talk with Stephen Jackson at Turkey Leg Hut on Showtime's episode of "Fight Towns with Stephen Jackson," released in June 2023.

Being born in Houston and growing up in Port Arthur, former NBA veteran Stephen Jackson knows all about Houston, but he explored the city's flourishng boxing scene for Showtime's newest digital episode of "Fight Towns with Stephen Jackson," which will be released on Showtime Sports' YouTube channel Monday night.

In the hour-long episode, Jackson spends time with Houston's world champions Jermell and Jermall Charlo, Regis Prograis and O'Shaquie Foster, as well as former world champion Raul Marquez and trainer Ronnie Shields.

Shields and Jackson have a bond since Shields grew up in Port Arthur, and Jackson was born in Houston's Third Ward, but moved to Port Arthur when he was 5 years old.

"If you don't know how to fight in Port Arthur, you might as well move," Jackson joked with Shields as they talked at Shield's gym in Stafford.

Jackson hung out with Jermall Charlo, the WBC's middleweight champion, at the undefeated boxer's home, went through a workout with him and Shields and then on a shopping trip to A Ma Maniére off Kirby. That's where Jermall flashed the usual Charlo confidence, claiming to be the best-dressed boxer as well the ability to beat Jackson in any game of his choosing, even a shooting competition.

"I ain't lost in 20 years," Jermall said, talking about his record in the boxing ring. "Just imagine how it feels walking around undefeated."

The visit with Jermell, the undisputed junior middleweight champion, included a visit to Jermell's house as well as a workout at Houston's Ollin Athletics, and a shot of the iconic Alief water tower on the drive to the gym. The Charlo twins both proudly represent Alief, where they graduated from Hastings High School.

Jermell also challenged Jackson to a shooting contest — I’m not getting in the ring with y’all because I know it wouldn't be fair. Give me that same respect on the court."— and got riled up when Jackson pointed out that he's not on some pound-for-pound lists despite winning all the belts at 154 pounds.

"These guys never boxed before," Jermell said of the experts who put together the list. "They never punched nobody, they never got punched before."

Jackson also went to Prograis' house which includes a boxing gym where Foster, who won the WBC's junior lightweight belt in February, also stopped by for a workout.

Prograis, the WBC's junior welterweight champion, told Jackson of his journey from New Orleans to Houston after Hurricane Katrina and the diversity he experienced when he graduated from Westside High School.

"I don't want this to be the end of our relationship," Jackson told the two fighters. "I’m going to continue to support y’all. I want y’all to look to me as an ally. There might be something that the media might be portraying or is trying to control the narrative. But I’m here for y’all to control your own narrative and tell your own story."

The visit with Marquez included a workout at Raul Marquez Boxing Fitness Gym in Humble and lunch at nearby Tita's Taco House.

"George Foreman, myself, Rocky Juarez, Juan Diaz, Reggie Johnson," Marquez says, running down Houston's boxing history for Jackson. "And now we've got the Charlo brothers. Now, we've got Regis. Now, we've got O’Shaquie. Houston has always had that. Kids who are hungry that want to be there. They want to be like those guys. It's beautiful, man."

The episode also gave all the champions a reason to sit down together for a dinner at Turkey Leg Hut where Jackson tried to engineer a fight between the Charlo brothers, where it sounded like they might have settled on a $500 million payday as the requirement to make it happen.

"Man, they don't have to give me that much, dog," Jermall joked.