Andre Purlette Still Believes, And So He Must Fight

Published

11 years ago

February 19, 2014

Michael Woods

Happens all the time.

Boxer’s been off, on hiatus, out of the mix, for a year, a two, or more.

But the infection still rages within him.

He can’t kick it, won’t kick it.

It needs to play out.

Organically.

The desires within swim through his bloodstream, with his brain sending perioidic bursts of messaging.

Need to give it one more shot.

Can’t end on this note. Can do better. Must do better. Must fight again.

That state of mind can still be present long after the body starts being less of an ally, and more so the foe. More than the person across from you in the ring, it is you who is the one who will derail the comeback. Not because of a detriment in your character, but because of the inevitable erosion which time’s passage usually brings.That need to compete, to push oneself, to attempt the ascent which seemed inevitable when envisioned decades ago, when it seemed like the stars were aligned just so to insure success, fame, fortune, could be likened to infection, truly, because comebacks can be cruel. Brutal truth–most don’t end tidy. They end with the fighter slumped on his stool, common sense, vicious reality having been pummeled into him. Many of the best of them need that, need their hopefullness, that useful stubbornness, to be whaled out of them.

Comebacks can be thought of as a medicine, to treat a psychiatric condition which often verges on what can look from afar like a perverted compulsion…and the ingestion of the medicine can be bitter, to the athlete who receives the cold truth, that his time on the stage has passed, and to the family, the friends, the loved ones who see the fighters’ need to give it…one…more…shot.

But the fighter needs to know, people.

He cannot be told, he cannot be counseled, he cannot be coerced.

He knows he has one life to live–because even if he believes in reincarnation, who’s to say he won’t return as a butterfly?–and he knows that his story arc as a fighter has chapters yet to be written. And we can sit safely on the sideline, and opine, and judge, and predict…but we are not in the arena, and thus, on this subject, our opinions shouldn’t sway. The fighter has to glove up, and, armed with perhaps a bit less muscle mass, a bit more flecking of gray in the hair, but a neccessary reservoir of what doubters might term delusions, he views as fuel. It is optimism. And until the comeback plays out, and he sees for himself what he has left, and if the ascent will ever be complete, or he falls short, he deserves something from us…Respect for his process. Respect for his innate yearning. Respect for his right to fight, again.

Andre Purlette is a name some of you might remember. He fought as a heavyweight, from 1992-2009.

Born in Guyana, ring announcers called out his nickname–TOMBSTOOOONE!–against some decent names from back in the day. Jimmy Thunder, Purlette beat him (KO2) in 2001.

Elieser Castillo, Purlette couldn’t get the better of him, got stopped in the fifth round of their 2002 encounter.

Jeremy Williams, him and Purlette fought a tight scrap, which saw Williams gets the nod after ten rounds of a 2003 fight.

Look at Purlette’s Boxrec today and he has what I call a “Boxrec ugly” last chapter. Back to back losses, to Aaron Williams, in 2008, and then Harold Sconiers, in 2009. TKO2, TKO3. From afar, you could look at that Boxrec, and nod your head, and say, hey, this Purlette did the right thing. He lost two in a row. He saw the writing on that wall, and he made a wise choice, to hang ’em up before the two fight slide turned into three, four, five. But that’s from afar..

To make that judgement, you ideally have to ask the guy what happened. That is, if he wants to go there. Purlette, it turns out, does want to go there. He does want to explain those two losses. And damn right, he does want to do what we touched on before.

See what he has left.

See if he can complete the ascent.

Can do better. Must do better. Must fight again.

“I still believe I can do it,” Purlette, age 40, told me in a phoner, from Florida, where he lives.

“I believe in my heart, I can do it, with the right kind of preparation.”

Another Florida resident, sportwear designer Champ Dulcio, thinks Purlette can too. Dulcio is building his brand, Muscle Wear, and wants hungry athletes, in boxing, football, and beyond, to wear his merch.

He reached out to me, and asked me to chat with Purlette, who he is advising and backing. Dulcio seems to be someone whose eyes are wide open, yes, but who likes to traffic in the realm of why something can be achieved, not one who looks to tick off reasons why it won’t.

However, he got it that Purlette, after five years away, isn’t going to come back to the ring, dust off a light coat of rust dust, and get a crack at a Klitschko. Question is, does Purlette get that? Optimism is a good thing, but it needs to be tempered with a measure of pragmatism. I wondered, does Purlette’s comeback quest carry a whiff of excessive delusion, or is he right-minded?

“I tell you this, Mr. Tiger Woods,” Purlette told me, a few seconds after I introduced myself as ‘Michael Woods, of The Sweet Science, like Tiger Woods, no relation.’

“I’m mature to the point I can give you my word. If my word dont mean sh*t, I don’t mean sh*t. It is an uphill climb, but it’s not something that can’t be done. Look at George Foreman, that tells me it can be done.”

But, I pressed, how and why will it be different this time?

Purlette explained that back then, his in the ring inconsistency largely stemmed from the fact that he wasn’t able to go all in as a prizefighter. He was working as a nightclub bouncer in the leadup to the Sconiers fight, working 10 PM to 5 AM, training not enough. He worked the night before the fight, in fact, and hopped on a plane, assuming he’d go and knock out the guy with the sub .500 record out. This time around, he insisted, he will give the sport, and each and every foe, the respect it and they deserve.

I heard other things that left me believing a bit in Purlette, thinking that just maybe he can do what the odds say he won’t. His views on what the fans want, and what the majority of fighters I believe should enter the ring looking for, align with mine.

“I think every fighter should have that desire to knock the other guy out,” he told me, and explaining that back in Guyana, friends and guys in the hood know him as “Stone,” because he has hard hands. “They should look for it. I hit any guy the right way, I can hurt anybody.”

OK, if he can put that mindsight on display in the ring, in this era of heavyweights, who wouldn’t give the comebacker at the very least the benefit of the doubt of a long look?

He said he knows he can get it done on an even higher level than he did in his first go round, if he can get the backing to train fulltime. He recalls that he more than held his own training with Wladimir Klitschko before Wlad’s second bout with Lamon Brewster, in 2007.

From the video I watched, Purlette isn’t a mere headhunter. He agreed with that assessement when I shared that bit of scouting with him: “I worked with the late Angelo Dundee and he told us years ago, in 1996, ’97, kill the body, see the hands start falling, and the head will open.”

Add in that the guy can talk a little smack, never a bad thing in this information age, where you have to be able, ideally, to set yourself apart from the next guy with an ability to stir the buzz, in 140 characters or less.

“Right now the heavyweight state is garbage,” he said. “I just need the right people to come behind me, and I’m going to do my part.”

Purlette was candid, and admitted his missus isn’t so keen on the comeback idea. But he won’t be dissuaded, he told me. And let’s not gloss over another reason folks come back. This “every man for himself” world economy leaves many of us scrapping for crumbs while the titans–in all vocations and sectors– scarf most of the pie. Purlette would but of course like to make a mark in the division, and leverage himself into some decent money fights. No one should ever underplay the motivation which can be conjured when a man labors knowing the fruits will be of immense benefit to himself, and his loved ones.

Confession; I’m pulling a little bit for Purlette, and in fact, identify with him at a root level, being to being, when he says, in summation, “I’m a fighter in the ring and life; I’m going to find a way to make it work.”

Get in touch with Woods at MJWoods99@aol.com

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Michael Woods

Skylar Lacy Blocked for Lamar Jackson before Making his Mark in Boxing

Published

3 days ago

January 19, 2025

Arne K. Lang

Skylar-Lacy-Blocked-for-Lamar-Jackson-Before-Making-his-Mark-in-Boxing

Skylar Lacy, a six-foot-seven heavyweight, returns to the ring on Sunday, Feb. 2, opposing Brandon Moore on a card in Flint, Michigan, airing worldwide on DAZN.

As this is being written, the bookmakers hadn’t yet posted a line on the bout, but one couldn’t be accused of false coloring by calling the 10-round contest a 50/50 fight. And if his frustrating history is any guide, Lacy will have another draw appended to his record or come out on the wrong side of a split decision.

This should not be construed as a tip to wager on Moore. “Close fights just don’t seem to go my way,” says the boxer who played alongside future multi-year NFL MVP Lamar Jackson at the University of Louisville.

A 2021 National Golden Gloves champion, Skylar Lacy came up short in his final amateur bout, losing a split decision to future U.S. Olympian Joshua Edwards. His last Team Combat League assignment resulted in another loss by split decision and he was held to a draw in both instances when stepping up in class as a pro. “In my mind, I’m still undefeated,” says Lacy (8-0-2, 6 KOs). “No one has ever kicked my ass.”

Lacy was the B-side in both of those draws, the first coming in a 6-rounder against Top Rank fighter Antonio Mireles on a Top Rank show in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, and the second in an 8-rounder against George Arias, a Lou DiBella fighter on a DiBella-promoted card in Philadelphia.

Lacy had the Mireles fight in hand when he faded in the homestretch. The altitude was a factor. Lake Tahoe, Nevada (officially Stateline) sits 6,225 feet above sea level. The fight with Arias took an opposite tack. Lacy came on strong after a slow start to stave off defeat.

Skylar will be the B-side once again in Michigan. The card’s promoter, former world title challenger Dmitriy Salita, inked Brandon Moore (16-1, 10 KOs) in January. “A capable American heavyweight with charisma, athleticism and skills is rare in today’s day and age. Brandon has got all these ingredients…”, said Salita in the press release announcing the signing. (Salita has an option on Skylar Lacy’s next pro fight in the event that Skylar should win, but the promoter has a larger investment in Moore who was previously signed to Top Rank, a multi-fight deal that evaporated after only one fight.)

Both Lacy and Moore excelled in other sports. The six-foot-six Moore was an outstanding basketball player in high school in Fort Lauderdale and at the NAIA level in college. Lacy was an all-state football lineman in Indiana before going on to the University of Louisville where he started as an offensive guard as a redshirt sophomore, blocking for freshman phenom Lamar Jackson. “Lamar was hard-working and humble,” says Lacy about the player who is now one of the world’s highest-paid professional athletes.

When Lacy committed to Louisville, the head coach was Charlie Strong who went on to become the head coach at the University of Texas. Lacy was never comfortable with Strong’s successor Bobby Petrino and transferred to San Jose State. Having earned his degree in only three years (a BA in communications) he was eligible immediately but never played a down because of injuries.

Returning to Indianapolis where he was raised by his truck dispatcher father, a single parent, Lacy gravitated to Pat McPherson’s IBG (Indy Boxing and Grappling) Gym on the city’s east side where he was the rare college graduate pounding the bags alongside at-risk kids from the city’s poorer neighborhoods.

Lacy built a 12-6 record across his two seasons in Team Combat League while representing the Las Vegas Hustle (2023) and the Boston Butchers (2024).

For the uninitiated, a Team Combat League (TCL) event typically consists of 24 fights, each consisting of one three-minute round. The concept finds no favor with traditionalists, but Lacy is a fan. It’s an incentive for professional boxers to keep in shape between bouts without disturbing their professional record and, notes Lacy, it’s useful in exposing a competitor to different styles.

“It paid the bills and kept me from just sitting around the house,” says Lacy whose 12-6 record was forged against 13 different opponents.

As a sparring partner, Lacy has shared the ring with some of the top heavyweights of his generation, e.g., Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte. He was one of Fury’s regular sparring partners during the Gypsy King’s trilogy with Deontay Wilder. He worked with Joshua at Derrick James’ gym in Dallas and at Ben Davison’s gym in England, helping Joshua prepare for his date in Saudi Arabia with Francis Ngannou and had previously sparred with Ngannou at the UFC Performance Center in Las Vegas. Skylar names traveling to new places as one of his hobbies and he got to scratch that itch when he joined Whyte’s camp in Portugal.

As to the hardest puncher he ever faced, he has no hesitation: “Ngannou,” he says. “I negotiated a nice price to spend a week in his camp and the first time he hit me I knew I should have asked for more.”

Lacy is confident that having shared the ring with some of the sport’s elite heavyweights will get him over the hump in what will be his first 10-rounder (Brandon Moore has never had to fight beyond eight rounds, having won his three 10-rounders inside the distance). Lacy vs. Moore is the co-feature to Claressa Shields’ homecoming fight with Danielle Perkins. Shields, basking in the favorable reviews accorded the big-screen biopic based on her first Olympic journey (“The Fire Inside”) will attempt to capture a title in yet another weight class at the expense of the 42-year-old Perkins, a former professional basketball player.

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Mizuki Hiruta Dominates in her U.S. Debut and Omar Trinidad Wins Too at Commerce

Published

5 days ago

January 18, 2025

David A. Avila

Mizuki-Hiruta-Dominates-in-her-U.S.-Debut-and-Trinidad-Wins-Too-at-Commerce

Japan’s Mizuki Hiruta smashed through Mexico’s Maribel Ramirez with ease in winning by technical decision and local hero Omar Trinidad continued his assault on the featherweight division on Friday.

Hiruta (7-0, 2 KOs), who prefers to be called “Mimi,” made her American debut with an impressive performance against Mexican veteran Maribel Ramirez (15-11-4) and retained the WBO super flyweight world title by unanimous decision at Commerce Casino in Commerce, Calif.

The pink-haired Japanese southpaw champion quickly proved to be quicker, stronger and even better than advertised. In the opening round Ramirez landed on the floor twice after throwing errant blows. On one instance, it could have been ruled a knockdown but it was not a convincing blow.

In the second round, Ramirez again attacked and again was met with a Hiruta check right hook and down went the Mexican. This time referee Ray Corona gave the eight-count and the fight resumed.

It was Hiruta’s third title defense but this time it was on American soil. She seemed nervous by the prospect of getting a favorable review from the more than 700 fans inside the casino tent.

For more than a year Hiruta has been training off and on with Manny Robles in the L.A. area. Now that she has a visa, she has spent considerable time this year learning the tricks of the trade. They proved explosively effective.

Though Mexico City’s Ramirez has considerable experience against world champions, she discovered that Hiruta was not easy to hit. Often, the Japanese champion would slip and counter with precision.

It was an impressive American debut, though the fight was stopped in the eighth round after a collision of heads. The scores were tallied and all three saw Hiruta the winner by scores of 80-71 twice and 79-72.

“I’m so happy. I could have done much more,” said Hiruta through interpreter Yuriko Miyata. “I wanted to do more things that Manny Robles taught me.”

Trinidad Wins Too

Omar Trinidad (18-0-1, 13 KOs) discovered that challenger Mike Plania (31-5, 18 KOs) has a very good chin and staying power. But over 10 rounds Trinidad proved to be too fast and too busy for the Filipino challenger.

Immediately it was evident that the East L.A. featherweight was too quick and too busy for Plania who preferred a counter-puncher attack that never worked.

“He was strong,” said Trinidad. “He took everything.”

After 10 redundant rounds all three judges scored for Trinidad 100-90 twice and 99-91. He retains the WBC Continental Americas title.

Other Bouts

Ali Akhmedov (23-1, 17 KOs) blasted out Malcolm Jones (17-5-1) in less than two rounds. A dozen punches by Akhmedov forced referee Thomas Taylor to stop the super middleweight fight.

Iyana “Roxy” Verduzco (3-0) bloodied Lindsey Ellis in the first round and continued the speedy assault in the next two rounds. Referee Ray Corona saw enough and stopped the fight in favor of Verduzco at 1:34 of the third round.

Gloria Munguilla (7-1) and Brook Sibrian (5-2) lit up the boxing ring with a nonstop clash for eight rounds in their light flyweight fight. Munguilla proved effective with a slip-and-counter attack. Sibrian adjusted and made the fight closer in the last four rounds but all three judges favored Munguilla.

More Winners

Joshua Anton, Tayden Beltran, Adan Palma, and Alexander Gueche all won their bouts.

Photos credit: Al Applerose

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 309: 360 Promotions Opens with Trinidad, Mizuki and More

Published

6 days ago

January 16, 2025

David A. Avila

Avila Perspective, Chap. 309: 360 Promotions Opens with Trinidad, Mizuki and More

Best wishes to the survivors of the Los Angeles wildfires that took place last week and are still ongoing in small locales.

Most of the heavy damage took place in the western part of L.A. near the ocean due to Santa Ana winds. Another very hot spot was in Altadena just north of the Rose Bowl. It was a horrific tragedy.

Hopefully the worst is over.

Pro boxing returns with 360 Boxing Promotions spotlighting East L.A.’s Omar Trinidad (17-0-1, 13 KOs) defending a regional featherweight title against Mike Plania (31-4, 18 KOs) on Friday, Jan. 17, at the Commerce Casino in Commerce, Calif.

“I’m the king of L.A. boxing and I’ll be ready to put on a show headlining again in the main event. This is my year, I’m ready to challenge and defeat any of the featherweight world champions,” said Trinidad.

UFC Fight Pass will stream the Hollywood Night fight card that includes a female world championship fight and other intriguing match-ups.

Tom Loeffler heads 360 Promotions and once again comes full force with a hot prospect in Trinidad. If you’re not familiar with Loeffler’s history of success, he introduced America to Oleksandr Usyk, Gennady “GGG” Golovkin and the brothers Wladimir and Vitaly Kltischko.

“We’ve got a wealth of international talent and local favorites to kick off our 2025 in grand style,” said Loeffler.

He knows talent.

Trinidad hails from the Boyle Heights area of East L.A. near the Los Angeles riverbed. Several fighters from the past came from that exact area including the first Golden Boy, Art Aragon.

Aragon was a huge gate attraction during the late 1940s until 1960. He was known as a lady’s man and dated several Hollywood starlets in his time. Though he never won a world title he did fight world champions Carmen Basilio, Jimmy Carter and Lauro Salas. He was more or less the king of the Olympic Auditorium and Los Angeles boxing during his career.

Other famous boxers from the Boyle Heights area were notorious gangster Mickey Cohen and former world champion Joey Olivo.

Can Trinidad reach world title status?

Facing Trinidad will be Filipino fighter Plania who’s knocked off a couple of prospects during his career including Joshua “Don’t Blink” Greer and Giovanni Gutierrez. The fighter from General Santos in the Philippines can crack and hold his own in the boxing ring.

It’s a very strong fight card and includes WBO world titlist Mizuki Hiruta of Japan who defends the super flyweight title against Mexican veteran Maribel Ramirez. It’s a tough matchup for Hiruta who makes her American debut. You can’t miss her with that pink hair and she has all the physical tools to make a splash in this country.

Mizukii Hiruta

Two other female bouts are also planned, including light flyweight banger L.A.’s Gloria Munguilla (6-1) against Coachella’s Brook Sibrian (5-1) in a match set for six rounds. Both are talented fighters. Another female fight includes super featherweights Iyana “Right Hook Roxy” Verduzco (2-0) versus Lindsey Ellis (2-1) in another six-rounder. Ellis can crack with all her wins coming via knockout. Verduzco is a multi-national titlist as an amateur.

Others scheduled to perform are Ali Akhmedov, Joshua Anton, Adan Palma and more.

Doors open at 4:30 p.m.

Boxing and the Media

The sport of professional boxing is currently in flux. It’s always in flux but no matter what people may say or write, boxing will survive.

Whether you like Jake Paul or not, he proved boxing has worldwide appeal with monstrous success in his last show. He has media companies looking at the numbers and imagining what they can do with the sport.

Sure, UFC is negotiating a massive billion dollar deal with media companies, as is WWE, both are very similar in that they provide combat entertainment. You don’t need to know the champions because they really don’t matter. Its about the attractions.

Boxing is different. The good champions last and build a following that endures even beyond their careers a la Mike Tyson.

MMA can’t provide that longevity, but it does provide entertainment.

Currently, there is talk of establishing a boxing league again. It’s been done over and over but we shall see if it sticks this time.

Pro boxing is the true warrior’s path and that means a solo adventure. It’s a one-on-one sport and that appeals to people everywhere. It’s the oldest sport that can be traced to prehistoric times. You don’t need classes in Brazilian Jiujitsu, judo, kick boxing or wrestling. Just show up in a boxing gym and they can put you to work.

It’s a poor person’s path that can lead to better things and most importantly discipline.

Photos credit: Lina Baker

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