Ross Puritty
Born
Ross Puritty

(1966-12-18) December 18, 1966
Phoenix, Arizona
NationalityAmerican
Other namesThe Boss and RA
Statistics
Weight(s)Heavyweight
Height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
StanceOrthodox stance
Boxing record
Total fights54
Wins31
Wins by KO27
Losses20
Draws3

Ross Puritty (born December 18, 1966) is an American former professional boxer. A high-level journeyman and occasional heavyweight contender, Puritty is best remembered for his shocking upset of Wladimir Klitschko in 1998 that won him the WBC international Heavyweight title, as well as for fighting former World Boxing Organization's world Heavyweight champion, Tommy Morrison, to a draw. He also holds fairly notable victories over former world title challengers Jorge Luis Gonzalez and Joe Hipp.

Professional boxing career

Purrity struggled in his early career, losing to Cleveland Woods by technical knockout after being knocked down twice in his second fight. Through his first six professional fights Puritty had compiled a mediocre record of 3-3, and after thirteen professional fights he was doing even worse, falling to 6-7. By this time Puritty was considered nothing more than a useful journeyman who could be used as a trial horse for other young heavyweights. But Puritty was learning the art and science of boxing, and with time and experience his results began to improve.

A July 1994 match against Tommy Morrison, 41-2 at the time, was a turning point in Puritty's career, as he was outlanded and tired out near the end of the fight, but the bout was scored a draw after ten rounds on the strength of Puritty's two knockdowns of Morrison.[1] Puritty then went on a tear, winning his next ten consecutive bouts, all by knockout. Puritty had made his name and was now considered a top-tier opponent, earning matches against Hasim Rahman and Michael Grant (both of whom beat him), and against Jorge Luis Gonzalez and Joe Hipp, both of whom Puritty beat. Following the win against Hipp, Puritty was matched against world title contenders Corrie Sanders, Larry Donald, and Chris Byrd, losing all three fights. Just when it appeared that his time as a contender was ending, Puritty upset the undefeated prospect Mark Hulstrom and the also undefeated future world champion Wladimir Klitschko in just 29 days in late 1998 on his way to a four fight win streak (he won the WBC international Heavyweight title from Klitschko).

Since a draw with Frankie Swindell in January 2000, Puritty has compiled a pedestrian record of just 4-7-2, and his time appears to have passed. But overall Puritty has salvaged a respectable career as a high-level journeyman and sometime contender for the heavyweight crown, amassing a career record of 31 wins and 20 losses with 27 wins coming by knockout.

Puritty has been generally acknowledged as a fighter with an "iron chin" due to his tremendous ability to absorb punishment.

Ross Puritty now resides in Wichita, Kansas living with his wife Twila and their five children: Chandler, Tonique, Ross, DeAundre, and Maleak. He works as a salesperson at Lexus of Wichita.[2]

Puritty has taken under his wing amateur boxers such as national contender Jeffery Page from Andover, Kansas and numerous other amateurs in a team known as Wichita Hard Hitters. Also for a short period he coached the Golden Glove champion Charles Ellis through a short but explosive professional career.

Professional boxing record

54 fights 31 wins 20 losses
By knockout 26 3
By decision 4 17
By disqualification 1 0
Draws 3
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round(s),
time		 Date Age Location Notes
54 Win 31–20–3 Carl Gathright MD 8 Oct 27, 2007 40 years, 313 days River Rock Casino, Richmond, British Columbia, Canada
53 Loss 30–20–3 David Cadieux UD 10 Feb 10, 2007 40 years, 54 days Montreal Casino, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
52 Loss 30–19–3 Eddie Chambers UD 10 May 17, 2005 38 years, 150 days Blue Horizon, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
51 Loss 30–18–3 Alexander Dimitrenko UD 8 Nov 6, 2004 37 years, 324 days Erdgas Arena, Riesa, Sachsen, Germany
50 Win 30–17–3 Tommy Connelly TKO 4 (6), 3:00 Jan 24, 2004 37 years, 37 days Fire Lake Casino, Shawnee, Oklahoma, U.S.
49 Win 29–17–3 John Dixon KO 2 (6), 1:28 Aug 2, 2003 36 years, 227 days Northern Lights Casino, Walker, Minnesota, U.S.
48 Loss 28–17–3 Attila Levin UD 10 Sep 8, 2002 35 years, 264 days Great Plains Coliseum, Lawton, Oklahoma, U.S.
47 Loss 28–16–3 Timo Hoffmann UD 12 Jun 1, 2002 35 years, 165 days Nuernberg Arena, Nürnberg, Bayern, Germany For IBF Inter-Continental heavyweight title
46 Loss 28–15–3 Vitali Klitschko TKO 11 (12), 1:16 Dec 8, 2001 34 years, 355 days Koenig Pilsener Arena, Oberhausen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany For WBA Inter-Continental heavyweight title
45 Draw 28–14–3 Sedreck Fields PTS 10 Sep 21, 2001 34 years, 277 days Sport Palace Yunusabad, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
44 Win 28–14–2 Ronnie Smith TKO 4 (8), 1:26 Nov 4, 2000 33 years, 322 days Music Hall, Austin, Texas, U.S.
43 Loss 27–14–2 Eliecer Castillo UD 10 Aug 20, 2000 33 years, 246 days Casino Queen, East Saint Louis, Missouri, U.S.
42 Draw 27–13–2 Frankie Swindell SD 10 Jan 14, 2000 33 years, 27 days Don Haskins Center, El Paso, Texas, U.S.
41 Win 27–13–1 Louis Monaco PTS 8 Apr 22, 1999 32 years, 125 days Adam’s Mark Hotel, Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.
40 Win 26–13–1 Lorenzo Boyd TKO 3 (6) Mar 23, 1999 32 years, 97 days KC Market Center, Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
39 Win 25–13–1 Wladimir Klitschko TKO 11 (12), 0:18 Dec 5, 1998 31 years, 352 days Sport Palace, Kiev, Ukraine Won WBA Inter-Continental heavyweight title
38 Win 24–13–1 Mark Hulstrom KO 2 (6) Nov 6, 1998 31 years, 323 days K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
37 Loss 23–13–1 Chris Byrd UD 10 Jul 14, 1998 31 years, 208 days Casino Magic, Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi, U.S.
36 Loss 23–12–1 Larry Donald UD 10 Apr 21, 1998 31 years, 124 days Players Island Casino, Lake Charles, Louisiana, U.S.
35 Loss 23–11–1 Corrie Sanders UD 12 Nov 15, 1997 30 years, 332 days Carousel Casino, Hammanskraal, Gauteng, South Africa For vacant WBU heavyweight title
34 Win 23–10–1 Joe Hipp KO 10 (10), 1:43 Jun 15, 1997 30 years, 179 days Grand Casino, Biloxi, Mississippi, U.S.
33 Win 22–10–1 Calvin Jones TKO 5 (?) Apr 17, 1997 30 years, 120 days Adam’s Mark Hotel, Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.
32 Win 21–10–1 Jorge Luis González TKO 7 (10), 2:28 Dec 5, 1996 29 years, 353 days Brady Theater, Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.
31 Win 20–10–1 Lionel Jackson KO 1 (?) Sep 14, 1996 29 years, 271 days Matte Sports Arena, Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.
30 Win 19–10–1 Michael Seals TKO 2 (?) Sep 3, 1996 29 years, 260 days Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
29 Loss 18–10–1 Michael Grant UD 10 Jul 21, 1996 29 years, 216 days Teamster's Hall, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
28 Loss 18–9–1 Hasim Rahman UD 10 Mar 26, 1996 29 years, 99 days Blue Cross Arena, Rochester, New York, U.S.
27 Win 18–8–1 Ron Brooks TKO 1 (8) Mar 2, 1996 29 years, 75 days Civic Center, Sanford, Connecticut, U.S.
26 Win 17–8–1 Stan Jones KO 3 (8) Sep 23, 1995 28 years, 279 days Kissimmee, Florida, U.S.
25 Win 16–8–1 Andre Smiley TKO 1 (8), 0:52 Aug 26, 1995 28 years, 251 days Argosy Riverboat, Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
24 Win 15–8–1 Cedric Harbaugh DQ 3 (?) Aug 22, 1995 28 years, 247 days Civic Center, Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S.
23 Win 14–8–1 Andre Smiley TKO 1 (?) Aug 18, 1995 28 years, 243 days Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico
22 Win 13–8–1 Tom Williams TKO 1 (?) Jul 25, 1995 28 years, 219 days Columbia, South Carolina, U.S.
21 Win 12–8–1 Lamar Johnson TKO 3 (6) Jul 18, 1995 28 years, 212 days Civic Center, Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S.
20 Win 11–8–1 Tyrone Dixon KO 1 (?) Jun 22, 1995 28 years, 186 days Virginia Beach, Virginia, U.S.
19 Win 10–8–1 Max Key TKO 2 (?) Apr 26, 1995 28 years, 129 days Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S.
18 Win 9–8–1 Ron Gullette TKO 4 (?) Feb 17, 1995 28 years, 61 days Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S.
17 Draw 8–8–1 Tommy Morrison SD 10 Jul 28, 1994 27 years, 222 days Convention Center, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
16 Loss 8–8 Kirk Johnson UD 6 May 5, 1994 27 years, 138 days Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
15 Win 8–7 Derrick Roddy UD 6 Mar 27, 1994 27 years, 99 days Expo Square Pavilion, Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.
14 Win 7–7 Jason Williams UD 4 Mar 12, 1994 27 years, 84 days MGM Grand, Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Vegas, U.S.
13 Loss 6–7 Brian Nielsen UD 6 Mar 5, 1994 27 years, 77 days Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
12 Loss 6–6 Will Hinton UD 6 Aug 5, 1993 26 years, 230 days Aladdin Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
11 Win 6–5 Juan Ramon Perez KO 4 (?) Apr 3, 1992 25 years, 107 days Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico
10 Win 5–5 Mike Bardwell KO 2 (?) Mar 25, 1992 25 years, 98 days Sports Arena, San Diego, California, U.S.
9 Loss 4–5 King Ipitan UD 4 Feb 25, 1992 25 years, 69 days Country Club, Reseda, California, U.S.
8 Loss 4–4 Derek Isaman UD 4 Feb 24, 1991 24 years, 68 days Bally's Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
7 Win 4–3 Jose Avila TKO 1 (?), 0:32 Feb 3, 1991 24 years, 47 days El Paso Convention Center, El Paso, Texas, U.S.
6 Loss 3–3 John Sargent UD 6 Jan 6, 1991 24 years, 19 days Civic Center, Bismarck, North Dakota, U.S.
5 Loss 3–2 Aleksandr Miroshnichenko RTD 6 (8) Oct 29, 1990 23 years, 315 days Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
4 Win 3–1 Troy Tutwiler TKO 3 (?) Jun 10, 1990 23 years, 174 days Sunland Park, New Mexico, U.S.
3 Win 2–1 Sergio Hernandez TKO 1 (4) Jan 15, 1990 23 years, 28 days Sunland Park, New Mexico, U.S.
2 Loss 1–1 Cleveland Woods TKO 1 (4), 2:31 Jun 27, 1989 22 years, 191 days Showboat Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
1 Win 1–0 Sergio Araujo KO 1 (4) May 29, 1989 22 years, 162 days County Coliseum, El Paso, Texas, U.S.

References

  1. ↑ BOXING, Northwest Florida Daily, July 30, 1994, p. 44.
  2. ↑ "Meet Lexus of Wichita | Lexus Dealer near Goddard, KS". www.lexusofwichita.com. Retrieved 2017-07-09.
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