LAKE CHARLES — Southwest Louisiana now has its own Rocky story.

Just like the famous movie series, this tale surrounds boxing and the ultimate underdog.

Lake Charles pulled off an upset last week with national implications that could lead to bigger and better things coming to town. In December, the Olympics and USA Boxing will be in town to crown national champions and the team for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. 

“This is going to be the largest single sporting event in Lake Charles’ history,” Lake Charles Mayor Nic Hunter proclaimed to KPLC-TV.

The boxing trials will be held Dec. 10-15 at the Civic Center. 

This will mark the first time any Olympic trials will be held in Louisiana in 27 years. In 1992, Ted Gormey Stadium in New Orleans hosted the Track and Field trials. 

The City landed the event despite competition from bigger metro areas like Las Vegas and Dallas. 

“When they come to Lake Charles, they will be the top dog,” said Eric Zartler, sales director for the Lake Charles Convention and Visitors Bureau. “I think that is a huge reason they chose us. There is nobody who will give them the type of attention that we can.”

It was that attitude which helped sway Michael Campbell, manager of USA Boxing Operations and Events, to take a good, long look at Lake Charles. Obviously he liked what he saw.

“The biggest thing about Lake Charles is the hospitality,” Campbell said. “Not only do we want to bring our participants to a place that they feel welcome, but we also want lots of options. 

“There is great weather and great food. The best food in the country is Cajun cuisine. It’ll be a great experience for our participants and the community.”

Zartler, who submitted the winning bid, is hoping he can make this a more than one-time event.

“We would like to be the permanent home to the U.S. Boxing Championships, which takes place every year,” he said. “And we would like to be the place the Olympic trials come every four years.”

“That is up to us. We have to put on a good show to make that happen. I think we will do just that.”

Rolling out the red carpet is nothing new to Zartler and his crew. The group have hosted high school state baseball and softball championships in Sulphur for years, and also brought the basketball championships to Lake Charles in the past. 

They have also had the U.S. Fastpitch Pro Softball championships in Sulphur as well.

“This will be bigger than all those,” said Zartler. “This is exciting for us and the area.”

He said that the expectation is the event will need over three times as many hotel rooms as the softball state championships use.

Hunter said he expects to boxing event to bring about $2 million to the area. More than that, it is a chance to showcase Southwest Louisiana to the nation. 

“We are trying to erase the stigma that other cities along the I-10 corridor or other cities in the South can do great things, but Lake Charles can’t,” Hunter said. “This is just more proof that Lake Charles is heading in the right direction.” 

Landing the event goes along with the area’s growth that has seen McNeese State open its own new arena this season. That has led to a huge gain in attendance at Cowboy games, as they have moved to second in average crowds in the Southland Conference.

Also, the arena has opened the door to bigger things itself. The Houston Rockets spent part of their preseason camp practicing at the site and have talked of playing an exhibition game in the arena as early as next fall. 

Zartler admitted that if the City lands an extended deal with USA Boxing, or other doors are open, it may be time to consider upgrading its own facilities, including the Civic Center. 

“That is definitely something we may need to look at in the future,” Zartler said. “We are not there yet, but we hope to be one day.”

For now, area sports fans can only hope that by landing this surprise punch Southwest Louisiana can become a contender in other heavyweight national events.

At least Lake Charles has entered the ring.