The sport of boxing may have received a shot in the arm in the form of Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi. The diminutive Reality TV vixen of “Jersey Shore” fame has teamed with her father Andy to form Team Snooki Boxing. Polizzi doesn’t pretend to be a boxing aficionado but plans to learn as much as she can.”Anything that I do, I don’t just put my name on it and say OK, here we go,” stated Snooki. “I am 100% into this. If I wasn’t genuine about boxing I wouldn’t be doing anything with it.”
      
The boxing industry has struggled over the last five years to reel in the younger demographic of fans, especially as MMA becomes more and more popular. Some industry stalwarts view boxing as a dying sport but there is a newly licensed boxing promoter in the State of New York who plans to do her best to reverse the trend. “My fans range from literally babies to old women and men. I’m 100% down to help the sport become popular again,” added Snooki. 
      
Team Snooki Boxing has joined forces with Final Round Promotions and believes they have uncovered a gem in featherweight Patrick Hyland. The 28 year-old Dublin, Ireland native is 25-0 with 11 KOs and has relocated to New York. It seems that Nicole Polizzi’s stay in the sport may hinge on how far Hyland can take her but the 24 year old star could also be in it for the long haul. 
      
One of the most popular women in the world has chosen boxing as her next endeavor and that can only be a positive for the sport. “My daughter and I are relatively new to the boxing industry but we are here to stay,” said Andy Polizzi. “Nicole is very dedicated to this. We do understand that it is a challenge but we won’t spare an expense to make this happen.” Fortunately for father and daughter they have a close family friend in Mike Pascale to lean on for guidance. Pascale is a former member of the New York State Athletic Commission and, along with Brian Burke, he heads Final Round Promotions. 
  
Andy Polizzi described his  relationship with the entire Final Round team as family-like. “I have known Mike Pascale and his family for 40 years,” recalled Polizzi. “Patrick Hyland is like a son to me. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do to help him realize his dream.

What does Snooki add to the equation? Taking a closer look at Snooki’s popularity revealed some interesting results. Two of this era’s most well know fighters, Mike Tyson, and Floyd Mayweather COMBINED have significantly less followers on Twitter than Nicole Polizzi!  That fact alone should have boxing fans welcoming her with open arms. “This is not a publicity stunt, not a joke, nor should people take it that way,” said Snooki. 
    
Whatever Nicole Polizzi gets involved with these days will most likely garner a ton of skepticism. However, fans and especially those involved in the boxing industry should take a wait-and-see approach instead of discrediting her. If Snooki is able to introduce a small percentage of her huge following to boxing, the sport will benefit.  “Anything that I’m involved in, my fans will look into and become interested as well,” stated Snooki. “So I definitely think I can help the sport out with the younger age demographic. I’m just learning more and more about the sport. As a fighter you have to be very dedicated and put your heart into it 100%, blood, sweat, and tears. I definitely respect that.”
     
From a business standpoint, boxing is one of the easiest sports to break into, but as Andy Polizzi already knows, achieving lasting success is much more difficult. “Some of the top promoters in the world didn’t get there overnight, said Polizzi. “I hope that in the long run we will see more celebrities get involved in boxing. But for now, Nicole’s popularity should help boxing attract a crossover of fans from the entertainment industry.” 
     
Snooki has been in the gym on more than one occasion to watch her main charge train. “Patrick (Hyland) is very fast and his training is insane. I definitely admire him because he is so dedicated to the sport."  Hyland's next fight will be on May 12th, a ten-round main event against Frankie Archuleta (27-9-1 with 14 KOs in Poughkeepsie, NY.
     
There is no denying that the sport we love is in need of a fix. Boxing has been on a downward spiral for a while now and doesn’t seem to be making a comeback. Whether you are a fan of Snooki or not, let’s give her the benefit of the doubt and hope that she and her dad are able to help the sport become more relevant!