Ashley first learned about Jimmy Bivins several years ago when he came across an article on Jimmy’s career. The article struck Ash for two reasons. First was the fact that Jimmy fought – and fought well - in both the light heavyweight and heavyweight classes. Second was that Ash had never heard of Jimmy before even though Ash considers himself a dedicated boxing fan.

After reading the article, Ash set out to track Jimmy down. After several months of searching with few leads, Ash all but gave up the hunt. Little did he know that at the same time, many of Jimmy’s family and friends were trying to find Jimmy as well. A year or so later, Jimmy would be found living with his daughter in distressing circumstances.

In the ensuing years, Jimmy has received renewed attention from both sports fans and community members in his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio. Fans have worked to gain Jimmy the recognition they feel he deserves yet never received for an illustrious career in fighting. Family and friends have worked to provide Jimmy with the care, comfort and safety they feel he lacked in the not-too-distant past.

We have great respect for Jimmy’s career. And it’s hard not to consider Jimmy a friend once you meet him. But in fact we started this project because we both have a great deal of love for the sport and what it reveals about human nature. We hope that by exploring the memories and thoughts of friends and opponents, historians and pundits, journalists and fans and – of course - Jimmy, we will contribute to a greater understanding of the sport of boxing, the business of boxing and the love of boxing.

One last thought. While “For the Duration” is not our first film, neither of us is a full-time filmmaker. We both have day jobs that help fund our creative pursuits. We don’t expect either financial gain or a Hollywood reception at the end of this endeavor. What we hope is to create a fair and engaging tale and to learn a lot and enjoy ourselves along the way. We thank everyone who chooses to participate in this journey with us.

-Ashley and April Spicer