When the subject is improvement, the first word for both Joey Gilbert and his trainer is “relaxation.”

Gilbert has a unique way of relaxing. Not only is he headlining Friday’s “Snowbrawl” card at MontBleu Resort, he is promoting the event. But no one could be surprised by the multi-tasking Reno resident with the unorthodox one-two combination: He is, after all, a boxing champion and a practicing lawyer.

“One of the reasons I went to law school was to be in sports, either as a sports agent or to work in the sports entertainment industry,” Gilbert said before a sparring session last week with junior middleweight Michael Peralta. “After working with other promoters and seeing how it was done I believed I could do a better job.”

Gilbert’s plan is to win a world championship and then faze himself out of the competitive part, remaining in the sport on the business side. He said he’s familiar with all aspects of the fight game, something that is required of a promoter.

“The nuts and bolts mean organizing the site, seeing to the insurance, to building the undercard, to getting the medicals for the fighters, to the transportation for the fighters, the weights, the licensing, the networks, the TV, the marketing, the public relations,” he said. “You have to be an efficient manager and utilize everybody’s strengths.”

Of course a major task at hand will be taking care of undefeated Michi Munoz in the main event, which will be Gilbert’s second defense of his WBO/NABO middleweight championship.

Although he’s 30 years old Gilbert has a relatively short resume of professional fights. That’s what can happen when you spend time in college – Gilbert was a four-time All-American at University of Reno, Nevada – attain a law degree and participate on the boxing reality show “The Contender.” Gilbert has won 13 of his 14 fights, with 10 wins coming by knockout. He and trainer Dan Birmingham acknowledge Gilbert’s ring skills need to be honed before he is ready for a run at a world title.

“We’re just trying to get him to relax more and be more consistent in his style,” Birmingham said. “We’re trying to get him to shorten his punches up and be more deliberate in his attack.”

Tahoe fight fans are quite familiar with Gilbert. Since November 2003, he is 5-0 with three knockouts at MontBleu, which formerly was named Caesars Tahoe. Gilbert’s strengths are his dedication to conditioning, courage and a cerebral desire to improve. His weakness is leaving his defense open when he throws multiple combinations.

Gilbert successfully defended his title Oct. 11 when he stopped verteran southpaw Keith Sims (25-12-1) in the sixth round.

“Sims was crafty, kind of a pain in the butt but eventually we caught up with him with some body shots,” Gilbert said. “Now we’re moving up again.”

Before returning to his South Lake Tahoe training camp three weeks ago, Gilbert spent three weeks in Florida at Birmingham’s camp where he sparred more than 60 rounds with world class fighters.

“Dan Birmingham is trying to redefine my style,” Gilbert said. “Trying to fight a little like (heavyweight) Winky Wright, a little more defensively, and with the offense of (super middleweight) Jeff Lacy. I am trying to not get hit as much and to stay relaxed.”

A shoulder injury to Cincinnati’s Robert Dula forced a change of opponents for Gilbert. Jorge Michi Munoz, “The Mexican Sensation,” took the fight on eight days notice.

While Munoz has an impressive record of 17-0 with 12 knockouts, all of his fights have been in Kansas and Missouri. The won-loss records are often deceptive in the Midwest, where the competition isn’t as strong as it is on the East and West coasts, or even the Southwest.

Birmingham said the only thing he knew about Munoz was his name.

“He’s beaten 17 guys so apparently he’s got something so we’ll find out when the bell rings,” he said.

Despite overseeing all aspects of the fight card, Gilbert said he won’t be distracted in the ring.

“Promoting is a different animal,” Gilbert said. “It’s a challenge, that’s for sure. Not only am I worried about my weight and my safety before the bout to make the card a success but I am also worried about the other fighters.

“But that’s what I learned at University of Nevada and law school. I learned to separate my work and my workout,” he said. “It’s just finding that comfortable medium which isn’t easy. But I am a jack of all trades and we’re making it happen.”

Joey Gilbert Promotions’ first effort should draw a crowd unlike most of those at casino fights. High rollers and visitors from the Bay Area and Sacramento usually fill the showroom. But with 800 seats already sold more than a week before the fight, most of the spectators will be hometown folks who will be there to see Peralta from Carson City, Reno fighters Jaime Rodriguez, Derek Hinkey and Gilbert, who often works out at the Push gym in South Lake Tahoe.

“It’s exciting to have these local kids,” Gilbert said. “We’re trying to provide Northern Nevada with the opportunity to see local kids, guys they care about. I am not just some promoter who brings in a slew of guys on the undercard who nobody knows and a main event with guys maybe some know.”

Undefeated Kermit “Bazooka” Gonzalez, who comes out of Birmingham’s Florida camp, also will be on the card. He said Gilbert is unique because he’s a promoter with a boxer’s perspective.

“Joey’s a good guy,” he said. “He’s trying to do good things for fighters. There are other promoters who just want to throw you in there and use you as bait just to make money off you. He’s trying to make us world champions. I think it’s a good thing that he is a current boxer.”

Gilbert is following in the footsteps of another fighter, Oscar de la Hoya, who went into promotions. Gilbert said he’d planned on becoming a promoter long before de la Hoya became one. He said being a boxer helps his credibility.

“A lot of these younger fighters look up to me,” Gilbert said. “I believe I can help guide their careers, keeping them focused and making the sacrifice. I think they respect a guy who is over at Push at 10 o’clock on a Friday night getting his cardio in. I think they respect a guy who’s inside the ropes getting hit with those 10 ounce gloves.”

MontBleu is the ideal venue for his first card, Gilbert said.

“I have to thank (President of Entertainment) Paul Reder for giving me an opportunity not only to promote my first card but be the main event in it,” he said. “I’ve always said Tahoe’s my second home. I spend the majority of my time when I am in Reno at the lake. I love the fan support from around the lake and Carson City, Incline, Reno. I am just happy to be at home defending my title. The second title defense is a step. It’s a step on my quest to become a world champion. That’s my goal, become a world champion, promote and stay in the sport, help clean it up.”

Snowbrawl

Friday, March 3 at the MontBleu Showroom

Joey Gilbert, Reno, 13-1, 10 KOs vs. Michi Munoz, Topeka, Kansas, 17-0, 13 KOs, WBO/NABO middleweight championship, 12 rounds

Undercard

Lenroy Thomas, St. Petersburg, Fla., 6-1, 4 KOs, vs. Wayne Hampton, Capital Heights, MD., 5-3, 3 KOs, heavyweights

Kermit Gonzalez, St. Petersburg, Fla., 4-0-1, 3 KOs, vs. Caesar Olmedo, Salt Lake City, 3-5, 1 KO lightweights

Michael Peralta, 1-1, Carson City, vs. Chris Montoya, Salt Lake City, 2-0, 1 KOjunior welterweights

Jaime Rodriguez, Reno, 1-1, vs. Pernell Jackson, Washington, D.C., 1-1-1 lightweights

Derek Hinkey, Reno, debut, vs. Patrick Sierra, 0-1, super middleweights

Doors open at 6 p.m., first bout at 7 p.m.

Tickets: http://www.ticketmaster.com, http://www.montbleuresort.com or call (800) 648-3353