In his hometown of Kansas City, KS, Jim Strickland learned about the sweet science of boxing as a teenager under the tutelage of Golden Gloves Hall of Fame trainer Arrington “Bubble” Klice.

Jim then began his second career as a boxing manager, trainer and cutman, the latter being the corner person who enables the fight to continue by tending to bloody noses, lacerations or facial swelling.

The first world champion Jim trained was Lee Roy Murphy, who won the 1979 National Golden Gloves.

Chicago boxing trainer and gym owner Sam Colona says that when he thinks of Jim, “The first thing that comes to my mind is how caring a person he was.

Jim stayed in the ring well into his 80’s, travelling across five continents to work the corner for 25 world champions, 75 world title fights and hundreds of boxers including: Michael Spinks, Cory Spinks, Leon Spinks, Andrew Golotta, David Tua, Mike McCallum, and Jeff Lacy.