LYNN — This may not be the most unlikely marriage of talents, but it has to be right up there.
Saturday night, when Salem’s Matt Doherty faces Ireland’s Ray Moilette Marine Sports Bay Complex in Quincy, he’ll climb into the ring accompanied by the strains of an original tune by Lynn’s Kaleo Jacobs, a Fitchburg State student who played basketball at Salem High before transferring to Lynn Classical, from which he graduated.
Jacobs, according Lynn’s Jason Thompson — a longtime friend — is an up-and-coming rapper, who has just released an album, “The Escape Plan.” Jacobs’ song is called, “Stop Me,” and it’s basically a story of Doherty’s life.
Thompson is the connective tissue between the two. He is one of Doherty’s closest friends, who acts as a sort of business manager/ticket-seller/and all-around assistant. He went to high school with Jacobs’ father, Larry, who is among the top basketball players to play at Salem High.
“I introduced them to each other after I heard Kaleo’s music, which I thought was pretty good,” said Thompson.
Doherty has been fighting for seven years. He began in mixed martial arts and was ranked as the No. 1 amateur before going pro and switching to boxing.
Now 8-3-1, Doherty is riding a 4–match winning streak.
Among his sponsors are Reck Fitness, JustInPodcast, O’Hare Construction, Elite Gutters, Temp-Rise, T&L liquors, Lynnway Sportscenter, TacSwap, Java Grind & Grill, Flannery’s Handymen, and Tanner City Barbers.
“I want to thank (Jacobs) for taking the time to meet me, chat it up and get to know each other a bit, and to put his time into producing/writing a song for me to come out to,” Doherty said.
