New Faces: Ronald Ellis

Feb

Ronald-Ellis_NFstory

RONALD ELLIS
Age: 26
Hometown: Lynn, Massachusetts
Weight class: Super Middleweight
Height: 6-foot (183 cm)

Reach: 74 inches (189 cm)
Amateur record: 21-4
Turned pro: 2011
Pro record: 12-0, 10 knockouts
Trainer(s): Nasir Graham, Willie Moses
Manager: Sheer Sports Management
Promoter: free agent

Best night of pro career: In his ninth pro bout, Ellis outboxed Josue Castaneda Perez to a six-round unanimous decision in Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico.

“It was only the third time I went the distance,” Ellis recalls. “I tried to take him out, I hit him with everything, but the fight was his home town and he wasn’t going down. I won every round but he pushed me to the limit. That’s why I’m proud of that fight. I went six rounds for the first time. It was a good experience.”

Worst night of pro career: In his last fight, on the undercard of the Shane Mosley-Ricardo Mayorga rematch last August at The Forum in Inglewood, California, Ellis stopped Jas Phipps in the second round of their scheduled six-round bout.

Ellis was uncharacteristically hell-bent on taking the fight to the cagey spoiler. He continually beat Phipps to the punch and scored a technical knockdown in Round 2, but the Texas journeyman’s glove touched the canvas more from an injury to his left shoulder than from the shots he took. Phipps was deemed unable to continue soon after the referee’s count, earning Ellis a TKO but it was an unsatisfying victory.

Ronald Ellis – Jas Phipps (Bilgehan Demir… by yucehan777

“I should have boxed more in my last fight,” Ellis told RingTV.com. “I would have looked way more impressive. I was too focused on getting him out of there. I could have looked way better if I would have got on my toes and jabbed him. I let him bug me because he was talking a little bit before the fight. I won’t make that mistake again.”

Next fight: Ellis faces 22-year-old Maryland-area puncher Jerry Odom (13-2, 12 KOs) in the eight-round co-feature to a “ShoBox: The New Generation” telecast on Friday at the Adrian Phillips Ballroom in Historic Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J. The program airs live on Showtime (10:00 p.m. ET/PT; delayed on West Coast).

“I’m excited,” Ellis said. “It’s my first eight rounder, it’s on ShoBox and it’s the co-main event. I’ve been waiting for my chance for a long time so it’s time to put up or shut up. I’m 26. I can’t waste any more time. I expect a good fight from Odom. He’s a tough kid, who comes forward. I like that he has a good record and high KO percentage. I know he’s hungry, but so am I.”

Why he’s a prospect: Ellis is gifted with a lot of natural talent. Despite a very limited amateur background (only 25 bouts) he upset heavily favored 2012 U.S. Olympian Terrell Gausha in the national Golden Gloves middleweight finals in 2010.

He’s a versatile boxer who generally utilizes his height and reach with speed, power, accuracy and a lot of lateral movement.

“My movement sets me apart from other super middleweights I see out there,” said Ellis, who likes to switch stances during his bouts. “I move more than others. I love to box.”

During a three-year stay in Southern California at the start of his pro career, his talent and style was put to the test on a daily basis at Robert Garcia’s Boxing Academy in Oxnard and at Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood. Ellis held his own in sparring sessions with former middleweight champ Kelly Pavlik and numerous super middleweight and light heavyweight prospects from Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

Why he’s a suspect: Ellis’ amateur background was limited and his professional opposition has been soft (until the Odom fight was made). Having turned pro in 2012, Ellis should have faced someone of note – even a veteran journeyman – by now. However, the momentum of his pro career was hampered by inactivity due to failed drug tests, which put his dedication to the sport in question.

Ellis tested positive for marijuana after scoring a four-round unanimous decision to Steven Tyner on the Mikey Garcia-Orlando Salido undercard in New York City in January 2013 (his only fight that year), resulting in the result of the bout being changed to a No Contest.

2013-01-19 Ronald Ellis vs Steven Tyner by sweetboxing8

He failed a subsequent random drug test (again for marijuana), which put him in hot water with his former manager (Cameron Dunkin) and promoter (Top Rank). When he injured his elbow later in the year, Top Rank cut him loose from their roster.

Although he’s 6-0 since returning to the sport in April 2014, he remains unsigned by a major promoter.

Story lines: Ellis comes from a stable working-class family (his father is an electrician and his mother teaches kindergarten) in the greater Boston area. He found a boxing gym at 13 after giving karate a try, and stuck with boxing. (His younger siblings followed him into the sport and enjoyed extensive amateur careers – his brother Rashidi, a welterweight prospect, just signed with Golden Boy Promotions, and his sister, Rashida, has won national titles and is considering a pro career.)

After a brief but successful amateur career, Ellis signed with Top Rank in early 2012, but after failed a drug tests and an injured elbow (broken in sparring), he was let go by the major promotional company after one fight in 2013.

Ellis, who had recently become a father, considered moving on from boxing and was doing electrical work with his father in Lynn, Massachusetts, to make ends meet.

“I was down and out,” Ellis said of this period. “But one day I received a phone call from Rachel Charles (publicist for Sheer Sports Management). We had met when I was living in Hollywood and working out at Wild Card. She asked if I was still fighting. When I told her I wasn’t, she asked if I still wanted to fight because she could get me a try-out with her management company. I did.

“Next thing I know, they put me on a plane back to Southern California. Ken Sheer (founder of Sheer Sports Management) watched me spar with the 2012 Olympic gold medalist from Russia (Egor Mekhontsev). I did well and Ken was impressed.”

Ellis signed with Sheer Sports Management in 2014.

Fight-by-Fight Record

2011

Feb. 5 – Anthony Adomo – TKO 1

June 17 – Arnaldo Decelet – TKO 2

2012

May 5 – Delvery Wofford – KO 1

Oct. 13 – Katrell Straus – UD 4

Oct. 20 – Tierre King – KO 1

Dec. 1 – Damon Antoine – KO 1

2013

Jan. 19 – Steven Tyner – NC 4