Ross Puritty
| Ross Puritty | |
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Real name | Ross Puritty |
| Nickname(s) | The Boss and RA |
| Rated at | Heavyweight |
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Nationality | American |
| Born |
December 18, 1966 Norman, Oklahoma |
| Stance | Orthodox stance |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 54 |
| Wins | 31 |
| Wins by KO | 27 |
| Losses | 20 |
| Draws | 3 |
Ross Puritty (born December 18, 1966 in Norman, Oklahoma) is a retired heavyweight 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.
Professional Boxing career
Purrity made his professional debut on May 29, 1989, with a first-round knockout of Sergio Araujo. He then lost his second professional fight to Cleveland Woods. 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. 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. Throughout his whole professional career of 54 fights he has never been knocked out, and he was stopped only once, by Vitali Klitschko in 2001.
Ross Puritty now resides in Wichita, Kansas living with his wife Twila and their three children. There he 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
| 31 Wins (27 knockouts, 4 decisions), 20 Losses (3 knockouts, 17 decisions), 3 Draws | |||||||
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Type | Round | Date | Location | Notes |
| Win | 31-20-3 |  Carl Gathright |
MD | 8 | 27/10/2007 |  River Rock Casino, Richmond, British Columbia, Canada |
|
| Loss | 30-20-3 | David Cadieux |
UD | 10 | 10/02/2007 | Armory, Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
|
| Loss | 30-19-3 | Eddie Chambers |
UD | 10 | 15/05/2005 | Blue Horizon, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States |
|
| Loss | 30-18-3 |  Alexander Dimitrenko |
UD | 8 | 06/11/2004 | Erdgas Arena, Riesa, Sachsen, Germany |
|
| Win | 30-17-3 | Tommy Connelly |
TKO | 4 (6) | 24/01/2004 | Fire Lake Casino, Shawnee, Oklahoma, United States |
|
| Win | 29-17-3 | John Dixon |
KO | 2 (6) | 02/08/2003 | Northern Lights Casino, Walker, Minnesota, United States |
|
| Loss | 28-17-3 |  Attila Levin |
UD | 10 | 08/09/2002 | Great Plains Coliseum, Lawton, Oklahoma, United States |
|
| Loss | 28-16-3 | Timo Hoffmann |
UD | 12 | 01/06/2002 | Nuremberg Arena, Nuremberg, Bayern, Germany |
For IBF Inter-Continental Heavyweight title. |
| Loss | 28-15-3 |  Vitali Klitschko |
TKO | 11 (12) | 08/12/2001 | Koenig Pilsener Arena, Oberhausen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany |
For WBA Inter-Continental Heavyweight title. Fight was stopped after Puritty suffered a large cut. |
| Draw | 28-14-3 | Sedreck Fields |
PTS | 10 | 21/09/2001 |  Sport Palace Yunusabad, Tashkent, Uzbekistan |
|
| Win | 28-14-2 | Ronnie Smith |
TKO | 4 (18) | 04/11/2000 | Music Hall, Austin, Texas, United States |
|
| Loss | 27-14-2 |  Elieser Castillo |
UD | 10 | 20/08/2000 | Casino Queen, East St. Louis, Illinois, United States |
|
| Draw | 27-13-2 | Frankie Swindell |
PTS | 10 | 14/01/2000 | Don Haskins Convention Center, El Paso, Texas, United States |
|
| Win | 27-13-1 | Louis Monaco |
PTS | 8 | 22/04/1999 | Adam’s Mark Hotel, Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States |
|
| Win | 26-13-1 | Lorenzo Boyd |
TKO | 3 (6) | 23/03/1999 | KC Market Center, Kansas City, Missouri, United States |
|
| Win | 25-13-1 | Wladimir Klitschko |
TKO | 11 (12) | 05/12/1998 | Sport Palace, Kiev, Ukraine |
For WBC International Heavyweight title. Klitschko's corner stopped the fight in the eleventh round. |
| Win | 24-13-1 |  Mark Hulstrom |
KO | 2 (6) | 06/11/1998 | K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark |
|
| Loss | 23-13-1 | Chris Byrd |
UD | 10 | 14/07/1998 | Casino Magic, Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, United States |
|
| Loss | 23-12-1 | Larry Donald |
UD | 10 | 21/04/1998 | Players Island Casino, Lake Charles, Louisiana, United States |
|
| Loss | 23-11-1 |  Corrie Sanders |
UD | 12 | 15/11/1997 | Carousel Hotel & Casino, Temba, North-West, South Africa |
For vacant WBU Heavyweight title. |
| Win | 23-10-1 | Joe Hipp |
KO | 10 (10) | 15/06/1997 | Grand Casino, Biloxi, Mississippi, United States |
|
| Win | 22-10-1 | Calvin Jones |
TKO | 5 (8) | 17/04/1997 | Adam’s Mark Hotel, Biloxi, Oklahoma, United States |
|
| Win | 21-10-1 | Jorge Luis Gonzalez |
TKO | 7 (10) | 05/12/1996 | Brady Theater, Biloxi, Oklahoma, United States |
|
| Win | 20-10-1 | Lionel Jackson |
KO | 1 (?) | 14/09/1996 | Matte Sports Arena, Biloxi, Oklahoma, United States |
|
| Win | 19-10-1 | Michael Seals |
TKO | 2 (?) | 03/09/1996 | Memphis, Tennessee, United States |
|
| Loss | 18-10-1 | Michael Grant |
UD | 10 | 21/07/1996 | Teamster's Hall, Baltimore, Maryland, United States |
|
| Loss | 18-9-1 | Hasim Rahman |
UD | 10 | 26/03/1996 | Rochester, New York, United States |
|
| Win | 18-8-1 | Ron Brooks |
TKO | 1 (8) | 02/03/1996 | Civic Center, Sanford, North Carolina, United States |
|
| Win | 17-8-1 | Stan Jones |
KO | 3 (8) | 23/09/1995 | Kissimmee, Florida, United States |
|
| Win | 16-8-1 | Andre Smiley |
TKO | 1 (8) | 26/08/1995 | Argosy Riverboat, Kansas City, Missouri, United States |
|
| Win | 15-8-1 | Cedric Harbaugh | TKO | 3 (?) | 22/08/1995 | Raleigh, North Carolina, United States |
|
| Win | 14-8-1 | Andre Smiley |
TKO | 1 (?) | 18/08/1995 |  Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico |
|
| Win | 13-8-1 | Tom Williams |
TKO | 1 (?) | 25/07/1995 | Columbia, South Carolina, United States |
|
| Win | 12-8-1 | Lamar Johnson | TKO | 3 (?) | 18/07/1995 | Raleigh, South Carolina, United States |
|
| Win | 11-8-1 | Tyrone Dixon |
KO | 1 (?) | 22/06/1995 | Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States |
|
| Win | 10-8-1 | Max Key |
TKO | 2 (?) | 26/04/1995 | Raleigh, South Carolina, United States |
|
| Win | 9-8-1 | Ron Gullette |
TKO | 4 (?) | 17/02/1995 | Raleigh, South Carolina, United States |
|
| Draw | 8-8-1 | Tommy Morrison |
SD | 10 | 28/07/1994 | Convention Center, Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States |
Morrison was knocked down in rounds 6 and 10. |
| Loss | 8–8 | Kirk Johnson |
UD | 6 | 05/05/1994 | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States |
|
| Win | 8–7 | Derrick Roddy |
UD | 6 | 27/03/1994 | Expo Square Pavilion, Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States |
|
| Win | 7–7 | Jason Williams |
PTS | 4 | 12/03/1994 | MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States |
|
| Loss | 6–7 | Brian Nielsen |
PTS | 4 | 05/03/1994 | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States |
|
| Loss | 6–6 | Will Hinton |
PTS | 6 | 05/08/1993 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States |
|
| Win | 6–5 | Juan Ramon Perez |
KO | 4 (?) | 03/04/1992 | Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico |
|
| Win | 5–5 | Mike Bardwell |
KO | 4 (?) | 25/03/1992 | San Diego, California, United States |
|
| Loss | 4–5 |  King Ipitan |
PTS | 4 | 25/02/1992 | Country Club, Reseda, California, United States |
|
| Loss | 4–4 | Derek Isaman |
PTS | 4 | 24/02/1992 | Bally's Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States |
|
| Win | 4–3 | Jose Avila |
TKO | 1 (?) | 03/02/1991 | Civic Center, El Paso, Texas, United States |
|
| Loss | 3–3 | John Sargent |
UD | 6 | 06/01/1991 | Civic Center, Bismarck, North Dakota, United States |
|
| Loss | 3–2 |  Alexander Miroshnichenko |
TKO | 6 (8) | 29/10/1990 |  Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan |
Fight stopped on cuts after 6 rounds. |
| Win | 3–1 | Troy Tutwiler | TKO | 3 (?) | 10/06/1990 | County Coliseum, El Paso, Texas, United States |
|
| Win | 2–1 | Sergio Hernandez | TKO | 1 (?) | 15/01/1990 | Sunland Park, New Mexico, United States |
|
| Loss | 1–1 | Cleveland Woods |
TKO | 1 (4) | 27/06/1989 | Showboat Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States |
|
| Win | 1–0 | Sergio Araujo | KO | 1 (4) | 29/05/1989 | El Paso, Texas, United States |
Pro debut for Puritty. |
External links
| Preceded by Wladimir Klitschko |
WBC International Heavyweight Champion December 5, 1998 – March 18, 2000 Vacated |
Vacant Title next held by Wladimir Klitschko |