Comeback ‘Chief’ coming home for bout

Raceland native Morgan “Big Chief” Fitch has fought 12 professional fights in his three-year pro career.

He’s won 11 of the dozen.

It just so happens that the one that got away was the Fitch’s last bout – a 6-round draw against journeyman Darnell Boone on Nov. 30, 2013 in Chester, WV.

Fitch is returning home to fight in front of his family and friends in the Tri-parish area, in an effort to get back on track and again find the winner’s circle.

The touted local professional boxer is slated to headline a boxing card on April 11 at the Cut Off Youth Center. The event is sponsored by In Ya Face Fight Productions, and it will pit Fitch (11-0-1) against Illinois native Skyler Thompson, a veteran fighter with 23 career bouts under his belt.

The bout will be scheduled for 6 rounds. But Fitch hopes it doesn’t go that far. The local said he is itching to put on a show to avenge the draw he had in his last fight.

“When I get back home and I step into the fight with my family and my friends around me, it’s wild,” Fitch said. “It’s like I get that diamond on my chest with the big ‘S’ in the middle,” Fitch said. “It gets wild, man. It feels good to fight in front of my people. And after the last fight I had, hell yeah, you better bet I’m ready to get back in the win column.”

Fitch’s story is a tale worth telling – an event-filled three decades filled with both highs and lows.

The 30-year-old boxer grew up in Raceland and enjoyed a normal childhood. Fitch said he enjoyed playing sports, and participated in gymnastics, basketball and swimming as a youth.

Boxing has always been in Fitch’s blood, but he never stepped into the ring as a child. That was per the request of Fitch’s grandfather Richard Jones, a boxing trainer. He told Fitch’s mother to make sure that Fitch stayed out of the ring until his body fully developed.

“My family is into boxing – it’s in my blood,” Fitch said. “I’ve been around the sport, and a fan of the sport my whole life.”

But while waiting to mature physically, Fitch had to deal with a lot of real-life drama – problems that he said built him into the man that he is today.

Fitch attended Central Lafourche High School as a teenager, a time that the boxer admits was one of the hardest in his life.

The boxer said he quit school in 11th grade. Shortly thereafter, he experimented with drinking and drugs – something that quickly shifted from an experiment to a habit.

Fitch said he did those things as a response to the world around him – a world that wasn’t always filled with good news. The boxer lost nine close friends in a two-year span, two of whom took their own lives.

“I didn’t know where to turn. I didn’t really know what to do,” Fitch said. “I was young, and I was not going in the right direction at all. But I didn’t have the answers at that time. I didn’t know how to fix it, so I did those things to take my mind off what was going on around me.”

But after doing some soul searching, Fitch said he decided that it was time to put on the head gear and gloves and delve into a career as an amateur boxer.

Fitch started his training in a small shack with local trainer Elzie Verdin, who immediately recognized the fighter’s raw talent and skill within the sport.

But after fighting a couple local amateur bouts, Fitch said he wanted to elevate himself to the next level. He said he wanted to train harder and do more to polish his craft in an attempt to become a world champion.

To do that, Fitch said he needed to find a new trainer. The fighter said he loved his work with Verdin, but the local just had other priorities in life that kept him from being as dedicated to Fitch’s career as he wanted him to be.

“I was looking everywhere for a trainer, and I really didn’t have any luck at all,” Fitch said. “I couldn’t find anyone willing to do the things that I wanted to get done.”

Fitch said he was about to tap out on his search when his fiancée Jamie suggested that he look in Boxing Digest. While doing so, the fighter came across heavyweight boxer Brian Minto and trainer Tom Yankello.

That was the exact match that Fitch was looking far. Just weeks later, the fighter, Jamie and his young daughter packed their bags and headed 20 miles to the north to Pennsylvania – the place Fitch still calls home.

“I’ve been here my whole career,” Fitch said. “I fought a few amateur fights in Louisiana, but for the most part, my entire amateur and professional career has been based here. This is where I have my family. I knew that I needed something new if I was going to chase my dream. I had to come out here and do this for myself and my family.”

While in Pennsylvania, Fitch became a polished amateur, owning a record of 45-12 on that circuit. He then turned pro in June 2010, where he enjoyed immediate success by recording a decisive decision victory over Damion Reed.

Through the years, Fitch has fought pro fights in four states, and he’s established himself as an up and coming contender.

The boxer is coming off a draw in his last bout to Boone, a boxer with a 19-21-3 record at the time of the fight.

But Boone is known around the boxing circles as being a guy promoters put against young, challenging fighters to test their gusto.

Boone has given similar runs to a list of some of the top names in the sport, including Adonis Stevenson and Sergey Kovalev.

“I got knocked down two times in that fight,” Fitch said. “I had to rally back to earn the draw. That was an eye-opening experience for me. I think I used everything I learned in that fight to make me better and to power me into this fight. I’m coming down there to win.”

Fitch said he doesn’t know much about Thompson, adding that he’s only seen bits and pieces of his opponent on tape.

Fitch said it doesn’t matter. He added that if he executes his game plan, the local fans will be in for a treat.

“I don’t worry about that too much, because you never know what’s going to happen,” Fitch said. “That’s what got me in my last fight. I worried so much about what my opponent would do in every situation, and I ended up losing track of my style and what I do best. You can prepare for months, but when the fight comes, he might have a new plan and all of that work was for nothing. So for me, I just worry about making myself better. I am in the best shape of my life, and I know I am going to win this fight, because there is no way this guy is training as hard as I am.”

Fitch said he hopes the bout is the beginning step in another long winning streak that eventually leads to becoming a champion.

But he added that his biggest goal is to motivate young people and show them that they, too, can do things in life – no matter how bleak things might look.

“I want to show people that if you work hard, dreams can come true,” Fitch said. “Look at me. I came from nothing. So many people along the way have doubted me and told me to quit. But I keep grinding and I keep working hard, because I want to rise to the top and walk around with that belt strapped to my waist. I want everyone to see that if you dedicate yourself, anything is possible.

“I can’t wait to fight before my friends and my family. It’s just a special, special feeling. Like I said earlier, it makes me feel like Superman. It really does. I just can’t wait to get home and put on a show.”

To purchase tickets for the April 11 show, contact Tina Jones at 985-209-0780.

Raceland native Morgan “Big Chief” Fitch throws a jab during a fight last year. Now a resident of Pennsylvania, Fitch has emerged as a top-flight professional boxer. With a 11-0-1 record, Fitch is hungry to get his 12th win on April 11 when he fights Skyler Thompson at the Cut Off Youth Center. Fitch said he feels like Superman when he fights before his friends and family. He is hopeful to rebound in a big way after earning a draw in his last fight, which snapped his 11-bout winning streak. 

COURTESY PHOTO