Murfreesboro Middleweight Boxer Eric “Juggernaut” Draper Still Rising at Age 45; Catch Him at Jan. 13 Battle in the Boro

How do you earn the nickname “Juggernaut?” You do it by being an undeniably powerful force in the ring.

Local 45-year-old Eric “Juggernaut” Draper’s diligent training is why he’ll end his next fight with a knockout, according to his coach Bill Taylor, owner of Champion’s Corner Boxing and Kickboxing Gym and Bill Taylor’s Bushido School of Karate.

Draper will box Lionel Jimenez as the co-main event at the Battle in the Boro presented by Matt Young and Tri-Star Boxing on Friday, Jan. 13, at Embassy Suites in Murfreesboro. This middleweight fighter is looking to make this eight-round title fight his 20th win and 14th knockout, and is working hard to stop Jimenez from adding an 11th loss to his record.

“He’s a good fighter,” Draper said. “He’s gonna come out and make his attempt to try to win . . . and it’s my responsibility to stop him. [I] do not take anything for granted. That’s why we’re here working hard and doing the stuff that we need to do so we can be fully prepared in what we’re getting ourselves into.”

Draper has been preparing for nearly 15 years. He started boxing while stationed in Fort Carson, Colorado. He made it onto the Army basketball team, and their barracks were across from the Army’s boxing gym, according to Draper. His inquiry into what they were doing in the gym sparked a new interest and resulting career.

According to Taylor, Draper’s military background makes him a standout star thanks to his disciplined and organized approach.

“You can almost set the clock by what he’s doing when he comes in to start a workout,” Taylor said. “He has a regimen that he sticks with. Eric’s work ethic is just amazing.”

Taylor is grateful for Draper’s self-motivation—a trait not everyone possesses. In his long history as a trainer, Taylor has even had to go as far as picking up some fighters from their house to get them to the gym.

Taylor knows a good fighter when he sees one—he’s been in the ring himself in various disciplines. Among his many accomplishments are his nearly 50 years of martial arts training and the black belt he earned in 1978, according to his boxing gym’s website. He began boxing at 16 years old with Sheriff Fate Thomas’ boxing team out of Nashville. He was coached by Olympic bronze medalist and professional boxer Clint Jackson, according to Taylor.

He competed in kickboxing and in full-contact karate, but stepped away to concentrate on running Bushido School of Karate, the first martial arts school in Murfreesboro.

However, after training many students in Murfreesboro in Wado Ryu karate, Taylor opened Champion’s Corner Boxing and Kickboxing in October 2021. What was supposed to be just a side project was met with an overwhelming response from the community.

“It just exploded,” Taylor said. “There have been times when we’ve had a waiting list. It’s gotten to the point now where we’re gonna expand. We’re gonna double our square footage . . . what was going to be a side hustle turned into a pretty good-sized business. There’s a lot of interest in boxing in the area.”

This firsthand experience, among other things, is what sets Taylor’s school apart from the rest.

“We’re a fighting gym,” Taylor said. “We’re not [a gym] where the coaches have never been in the ring . . . you can come do it for a while and get in shape or learn how to fight.”

Taylor personally trains about 20 boxers and kickboxers, Draper included. He’s been training Eric for about a year, and Battle in the Boro is their first fight with Taylor as the head trainer.

“This is like an unveiling of the work that Eric and I have put in together to get him ready for this fight,” Taylor said. “We’re just coming to put on a show. This will be a good one. We’re really looking forward to it.”

Finding an opponent for Draper can be somewhat of a challenge, Taylor said.

“The risk/reward for a young fighter is just not there,” he said. “If they win [the boxing community will say] they beat an old man; if they lose, ‘you got beat by an old man.’”

They had two previous fights scheduled, but both had been canceled. Taylor said it broke his heart to see Draper train so hard for events now off the calendar, but he’s been impressed with his resilience.

“We had a fight canceled on a Thursday,” Taylor said. “It was supposed to be on Saturday, and he was back in the gym that Monday. He looks at it like a job and that’s why I think he’s gonna be so successful, because of his discipline and his work ethic.”

That respect is mutual. Draper believes Taylor is the reason he’s boxing at a professional level. He said he probably spends more time training with Taylor than he spends with anyone else. Taylor is a big part of Draper’s support system.

“He’s basically like the driving force,” Draper said. “You got to have somebody else in your corner that’s going to believe and support you all the way to get you to where you got to go.”

Draper said he has other people rooting him on, but whether they believe in him is another story. But he has plenty of belief in himself.

“You just want people to support you,” Draper said. “You got to believe in yourself. That’s your responsibility. You can’t give someone else that responsibility as well. But you may need their support.”

His goal is to be in an exhibition fight with Floyd Mayweather, but not for the money. He wants to set an example of hard work paying off.

“It’s solely on the fact that somebody can say, ‘Well, I’ve seen somebody do it. I’ve seen him from, you know, boots on the ground all the way up,’” Draper said. “Once you see it, then you can actually start to believe that you can do it as well.”

Look out, Mayweather. The “Juggernaut” is coming for you. But first, catch him fighting Jimenez at the Battle in the Boro on Jan. 13.