Jason Litzau goes from an easygoing Bill Bixby to an evil Incredible Hulk within a matter of seconds in the ring. His “before- your-eyes" metamorphos is titillating for the average fan, but a migraine for his die hard followers.

This Friday on ShoBox The Next Generation, Litzau, 23-1- (19 KO’s), faces Robert Guerrero, 21-1-1 (14 KOs) for Guerrero’s IBF title, but unlike most challengers, Litzau’s stiffest feat is how to control his emotions so that he can give himself the best chance of seizing the crown.

24-year old Litzau is a perplexing man in and out of the ring; as a “normal” person, he’s warm and sensitive. However, in the ring, he’s careless at times, has little regard for his health, and loses focus. In fact, in his only defeat to Jose Andres Hernandez, Litzau was winning until Hernandez knocked him out in round eight when Litzau got careless.

To make matters worse, in his last fight, he professes he wasn’t motivated against, Edel Ruiz, 29-19-4 (19 KOs ), “Nobody was going to see it [the pay-per-view of Ricardo Mayorga verses Fernando Vargas] why was I going to impress 20 people?”

Like a bad marriage, fans are exhausted by the emotional ups and downs of Litzau. In a 2007 interview, Bob Van Syckle, Litzau’s head trainer, reportedly told a boxing site, “He’ll [Litzau] be hurting the opponent, but he lets his emotions get in the away.” Van Syckle, also told an ESPN 2 writer that Litzau usually changes his game plan the night of the fight after talking with the media.

Yet, Van Syckle points out his warrior is dammed if he does or dammed if he doesn’t when it comes to truly understanding him. “I blame the media. The big papers don’t cover his fights. We did press conferences and no one showed up.” Both he and Litzau maintains when the boxer fought on ESPN 2 in his backyard of St. Paul Mn in April 2007, against Aldo Valtierra, 24-9 (13 KOs), Main Events put up huge dough only to take a hit because of an unsatisfactory turnout.

Litzau’s “schizoid” style is easy to discern from a human nature standpoint: if he were an employee, you’d want his confidant attitude, he has a strong work ethic- training twice a day, and what he and older brother Allen, also a professional boxer, did to overcome a disadvantage childhood is the perfect script.

Litzau, whose ring alias “American Boy,” has reached a level few Minnesota boxers’ embrace. He’s promoted by Main Events; his budget allows him to leave for training camps, and he’s broken the stereotype that Midwest fighters aren’t talented. Given all this, Litzau, the father of two, expected to have the boxing status that Minnesota’s hometown musician Prince enjoys as a rock star; Prince undergone frequent alterations but was still endorsed by his fans. This hasn’t been the case for Litzau.

So for now, Litzau’s focus is on Guerrero; team Litzau is tight lipped about their blueprint; however, for this interview, he wasn’t his habitual sociable self. He made no bold predications, and in matter-of-factness tone, he ended the interview by asking, “You got any more questions?”

Boxing writers and fans are notorious for reading into pre fight actions. Litzau’s low-key demeanor can be analyzed from many perspectives. Is he scared? Does he really want the pressures of winning a title? Is he really in great shape mentally and physically?

A more accurate assessment might be he’s planning to not be the rabbit that falls for the carrot without first checking to make certain there isn’t a trap lingering above. To give an indication of how important this fight is to him, Litzau’s used some of his expenses to hire one of the smartest boxers of his time in James “Buddy” McGirt. “Buddy” was a skilled boxer who didn’t get bent emotionally when things went south. “I’ve been working with Buddy for two years, this didn’t happen overnight.”

All in all, Litzau discovered early in life how to entertain people. Litzau will face the toughest challenge of his boxing career against Guerrero, nevertheless, if he can harness his emotions, he’s a live underdog; but we are talking about Litzau, and that’s an enormous task, yet a mission he’s isn’t worried about, “If I want to box and not slug I can do it. Iv'e got lots of control over myself.”

Ray Kilgore, Boxing Writer
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