Fitch excited for TV debut

Morgan “Big Chief” Fitch has made a name for himself in the local boxing scene with his powerful right hands and slippery ability to dodge an opponent’s punch.

Now, Fitch will get a chance to showcase his skills before a nationally televised audience — a chance to get the big break he’s been waiting for his entire career.

Fitch will appear on the next season of “The Contender” — a famous boxing reality TV show, which attempts to find and crown the next champion from a pool of worthwhile career contenders.

Fitch, a Riceland native, is 18-1 in his career with 8 knockouts.

A super-middleweight, Fitch said he can’t wait to watch himself on TV, adding that the entire experience is something he’s never going to forget.

“It was awesome, man. There was so much energy and there is just so much excitement being in the same house with all of those guys,” Fitch said. “Everyone there had a story worth telling. It was awesome. I know the show has had some awesome series, but I think this one will have a chance to be one of the best ones they’ve had so far.”

For Fitch, the path to national television sort of came out of the blue.

Fitch has won 18 of his 19 pro fights, yes, but his last bout was his only loss — a unanimous decision defeat in May 2017 at the hands of prospect Brazilian Yamaguchi Falcao.

Right after that fight, Fitch said he went into surgery for a hernia. The operation was supposed to be simple, but it ended up being a little bit more complicated than expected, which caused for a prolonged rehab and extra time on the shelf.

In that time away, Fitch said he started to build a foundation for himself away from the ring.

He and his family live in Pittsburgh and he’s started AYL Window Cleaning — a start-up company, which is beginning to take-off and have success.

“I just needed a break,” Fitch said. “I wasn’t closing the door on boxing or anything like that, but in this sport, you do this and you get beat up. I’ve had so many injuries and different things to my body. With the business and the fact that I was at home more, getting a chance to be a dad and be with my kids, I was enjoying that and I was making good money with the business. I was content with where I was being able to make sure that my kids never had to go without again.”

But an opportunity to get back into the ring caused an abrupt change in plans.

Fitch said executives with “The Contender” spoke to his management, who presented the idea to him shortly thereafter.

Fitch said he refused initially.

“I was happy and comfortable being with my family and building my business,” he said.

But as a few days passed, he said he started to have second thoughts, which caused him to change his mind.

“I knew that with an opportunity like this, if I didn’t do it, I was going to regret it — maybe for the rest of my life,” Fitch said. “No, not maybe. I definitely was going to regret it and ask myself ‘What if?’ for the rest of my life. So I went after it.”

And the rest, as they say, is history.

Fitch flew out for tapings of The Contender and quickly got back into his groove.

He said there was a little bit of ring rust initially because of the long layoff, but he said the first day he was bouncing around in the ring with the cameras rolling, he knew he was back at home.

“It was a rush of energy and excitement that you just don’t get every day,” Fitch said. “I knew once I got back at it, that I had made the right decision.”

Fitch cannot say how he did on “The Contender”, per contract regulations with the program, but he said the experience was amazing, adding that his fans will get some moments that they’ll like during the broadcast.

He called his appearance on the show a “big break” — one which he said he was due for after years of working hard in the ring trying to polish his craft.

Fitch said in the future, he plans to compete, while continuing to work on his business, hoping to continue to chase a championship in the future.

“This was just an awesome experience. I think the fans will love to see how it all went down,” Fitch said. “I can’t wait to watch it on TV, myself with my family. It will be awesome to look back on all those memories we made.”

Morgan Fitch

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