Ain’t that a Fitch?

Apr

Boxing Nation turns its lonely eyes left and right and center and far and wide for someone to challenge IBF/WBA middleweight titlist Gennady Golovkin.

HBO analyst Roy Jones Jr. volunteered a name right after “GGG” degraded Dominic Wade, with three knockdowns in five minutes of easy work Saturday at the Forum in Inglewood, California.

“I want to see competitive fights as well. I know that there’s a guy – and I’m not trying to be a promoter – there’s a guy by the name of Morgan Fitch down the Pittsburgh area that would definitely be a good fight for Gennady Golovkin,” Jones said, as Wade was having his gloves removed in the ring.

“Nobody knows Morgan Fitch,” Hall of Fame blow-by-blow man Jim Lampley responded.

“Well,” Jones stated, “they need to find out who he is, because GGG needs competition on our network, so we can enjoy him longer.”

Lampley spoke: “Listen, if there’s somebody good who is willing to get in with him, let’s find out who he is,” because some people think Canelo Alvarez-GGG happens next May or not at all.

We touched base with Tom Yankello of Pittsburgh, who has trained the 33-year-old Fitch aka “Big Chief,” since 2006, to learn more.

Yankello told me the Louisiana-bred fighter had a few amateur fights and, while he’s battled injuries, is now in a healthy place. He could, Yankello believes, hang with world-class 160s and Jones thinks the same.

Now, Roy, who does not promote Fitch, came to that place, how exactly?

Yankello trained Jones and RJJ and Fitch (16-0-1, 7 knockouts, drew with Darnell Boone in 2013) sparred a ton, the tutor told me. “I’m not blowing smoke and say Morgan will go in there right now and beat Golovkin. But he has a ton of potential and is looking to prove it,” Yankello said.

“And I do believe that right now, Morgan would put up a better fight than Wade did with Golovkin.”

Ideally, Fitch hooks on with a promoter, gets a TV fight, impresses and buzz builds, Yankello said.

Indeed, Yankello knows Fitch is coming off a win in February off a 9-20 guy, so he’s not in a delusional mode.

Really, all he is saying, is give “Chief” a chance.

OK, so Morgan Fitch is nicknamed “Big Chief.” But can he make a wicked frybread? Didja bother to ask him THAT, Woodsy?! (This message was approved and paid for by Coyote Duran’s National Frybread Coalition.)