Vincent Pettway was a boxing world champion. Tyrell Samuel wants to be a world champion.
So, when Pettway talks, Samuel listens.
Samuel, a 26-year-old Baltimore native, hopes to blaze a similar path as Pettway, 42, who finished with a 43-7-1 record and won the IBF junior middleweight title in 1994.
However, Samuel, a featherweight, knows before he can fight on the world stage, he must first pay his dues at a local level, including tonight when he takes on Washington, D.C. area fighter Thomas Snow in the main even at the latest Ballroom Boxing card at Michael?s Eighth Avenue in Glen Burnie.
Samuel, who trains with Pettway at the legendary Mack Lewis Gym in Baltimore, enters the fight 9-2 with 5 knockouts. Samuel has lost his last two fights, but he believes he is ready for Snow (10-0 8 KOs). Samuel last fought on Aug. 3 when he lost a unanimous decision to Philadelphia?s Eric Hunter in Doraville, Ga.
“Every fight is a stepping stone as you try to climb the professional ladder,” Samuel said. “Before you can fight on a world stage, you have to win at a local, regional and national level. I saw Vincent do that and I plan on listening to what he has to say.”
Pettway said Samuel has all of the tools to reach the same level he did. All he needs now is more experience and fights against the right type of fighters.
“A trainer can teach a fighter and help put him in position to win, but it?s all up to that fighter once they step through those ropes,” Pettway said. “A fight is only winnable if you have the discipline and make the sacrifices necessary to succeed.”
Samuel said there is no better venue for him to fight at right now than in the Ballroom, where he is 5-1. He also realizes he could eventually be the next in a line of Ballroom fighters to gain a major title shot. For example, Darnell Wilson (22-6-3) ? who has fought at the Ballroom 14 times ? will fight Firat Arslan on May 3 in Germany for the WBA cruiserweight title. Also, heavyweight Tony Thompson (31-1) ? a veteran of six Ballroom fights ? is in line to take on WBO world champion Vladimir Klitschko sometime this summer. Thompson, along with WBC and WBO middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik are expected to be in attendance tonight.
“Every young fighter in the area wants to fight in the Ballroom,” Samuel said. “The lights, the setup and the fans all make it a great environment. It?s like fighting in a big-time arena.”
Ballroom Boxing promoter Scott Wagner said he expects Samuel and Snow to give fans a highly-competitive fight, something which has become a staple of his cards over the last the last 13 years.
“Tyrell and Tony are two of the best young fighters in the area,” Wagner said. “You are not going to find a better match between two local boxers right now. These guys hve wanted this fight for a year and we made it happen.”
