Ross Puritty


Ross Puritty is an American former professional boxer. A high-level journeyman and occasional heavyweight contender, Puritty is best remembered for his shocking upset of Wladimir Klitschko in 1998 that won him the World Boxing Council International heavyweight title, as well as for fighting former World Boxing Organization world heavyweight champion, Tommy Morrison, to a draw. He also holds fairly notable victories over former world title challengers Jorge Luis Gonzalez and Joe Hipp.

Professional boxing career

Purrity struggled in his early career, losing to Cleveland Woods by technical knockout after being knocked down twice in his second fight. Through his first six professional fights Puritty had compiled a mediocre record of 3–3, and after thirteen professional fights he was doing even worse, falling to 6–7, though he at least showed he was durable: five of the defeats were on points. By this time Puritty was considered nothing more than a useful journeyman who could be used as a trial horse for other young heavyweights. But Puritty was learning the art and science of boxing, and with time and experience his results began to improve.
A July 1994 match against Tommy Morrison, 41–2 at the time, was a turning point in Puritty's career, as he was outlanded and tired out near the end of the fight, but the bout was scored a draw after ten rounds on the strength of Puritty's two knockdowns of Morrison. Puritty then went on a tear, winning his next ten consecutive bouts, all by knockout. Puritty had made his name and was now considered a top-tier opponent, earning matches against Hasim Rahman and Michael Grant, and against Jorge Luis Gonzalez and Joe Hipp, both of whom Puritty beat. Following the win against Hipp, Puritty was matched against world title contenders Corrie Sanders, Larry Donald, and Chris Byrd, losing all three fights again on points. Just when it appeared that his time as a contender was ending, Puritty upset the undefeated prospect Mark Hulstrom and the also undefeated future world champion Wladimir Klitschko in just 29 days in late 1998 on his way to a four fight win streak.
Since a draw with Frankie Swindell in January 2000, Puritty has compiled a pedestrian record of just 4–7–2, and his time appears to have passed. But overall Puritty has salvaged a respectable career as a high-level journeyman and sometime contender for the heavyweight crown, amassing a career record of 31 wins and 20 losses with 27 wins coming by knockout.
Puritty has been generally acknowledged as a fighter with an "iron chin" due to his tremendous ability to absorb punishment. After the two early stoppages - one TKO and one retirement - he was only stopped again once in his career, by a small cut to the eyebrow, by Vitali Klitschko: the other 17 of his defeats all went the distance.
Ross Puritty now resides in Wichita, Kansas living with his wife Twila and their five children: Chandler, Tonique, Ross, DeAundre, and Maleak. He works as a salesperson at Lexus of Wichita.
Puritty has taken under his wing amateur boxers such as national contender Jeffery Page from Andover, Kansas and numerous other amateurs in a team known as Wichita Hard Hitters. Also for a short period he coached the Golden Glove champion Charles Ellis through a short but explosive professional career.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound,
time		DateAgeLocationNotes
54WinCarl GathrightMD8Oct 27, 2007River Rock Casino, Richmond, British Columbia, Canada
53Loss30–20–3David CadieuxUD10Feb 10, 2007Montreal Casino, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
52Loss30–19–3Eddie ChambersUD10May 17, 2005Blue Horizon, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
51Loss30–18–3Alexander DimitrenkoUD8Nov 6, 2004Erdgas Arena, Riesa, Sachsen, Germany
50Win30–17–3Tommy ConnellyTKO4, 3:00Jan 24, 2004Fire Lake Casino, Shawnee, Oklahoma, U.S.
49Win29–17–3John DixonKO2, 1:28Aug 2, 2003Northern Lights Casino, Walker, Minnesota, U.S.
48Loss28–17–3Attila LevinUD10Sep 8, 2002Great Plains Coliseum, Lawton, Oklahoma, U.S.
47Loss28–16–3Timo HoffmannUD12Jun 1, 2002Nuernberg Arena, Nürnberg, Bayern, GermanyFor IBF Inter-Continental heavyweight title
46Loss28–15–3Vitali KlitschkoTKO11, 1:16Dec 8, 2001Koenig Pilsener Arena, Oberhausen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, GermanyFor WBA Inter-Continental heavyweight title
45Draw28–14–3Sedreck FieldsPTS10Sep 21, 2001Sport Palace Yunusabad, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
44Win28–14–2Ronnie SmithTKO4, 1:26Nov 4, 2000Music Hall, Austin, Texas, U.S.
43Loss27–14–2Eliecer CastilloUD10Aug 20, 2000Casino Queen, East Saint Louis, Missouri, U.S.
42Draw27–13–2Frankie SwindellSD10Jan 14, 2000Don Haskins Center, El Paso, Texas, U.S.
41Win27–13–1Louis MonacoPTS8Apr 22, 1999Adam’s Mark Hotel, Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.
40Win26–13–1Lorenzo BoydTKO3 Mar 23, 1999KC Market Center, Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
39Win25–13–1Wladimir KlitschkoTKO11, 0:18Dec 5, 1998Sport Palace, Kiev, UkraineWon WBC Inter-Continental heavyweight title
38Win24–13–1Mark HulstromKO2 Nov 6, 1998K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
37Loss23–13–1Chris ByrdUD10Jul 14, 1998Casino Magic, Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi, U.S.
36Loss23–12–1Larry DonaldUD10Apr 21, 1998Players Island Casino, Lake Charles, Louisiana, U.S.
35Loss23–11–1Corrie SandersUD12Nov 15, 1997Carousel Casino, Hammanskraal, Gauteng, South AfricaFor vacant WBU heavyweight title
34Win23–10–1Joe HippKO10, 1:43Jun 15, 1997Grand Casino, Biloxi, Mississippi, U.S.
33Win22–10–1Calvin JonesTKO5 Apr 17, 1997Adam’s Mark Hotel, Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.
32Win21–10–1Jorge Luis GonzálezTKO7, 2:28Dec 5, 1996Brady Theater, Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.
31Win20–10–1Lionel JacksonKO1 Sep 14, 1996Matte Sports Arena, Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.
30Win19–10–1Michael SealsTKO2 Sep 3, 1996Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
29Loss18–10–1Michael GrantUD10Jul 21, 1996Teamster's Hall, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
28Loss18–9–1Hasim RahmanUD10Mar 26, 1996Blue Cross Arena, Rochester, New York, U.S.
27Win18–8–1Ron BrooksTKO1 Mar 2, 1996Civic Center, Sanford, Connecticut, U.S.
26Win17–8–1Stan JonesKO3 Sep 23, 1995Kissimmee, Florida, U.S.
25Win16–8–1Andre SmileyTKO1, 0:52Aug 26, 1995Argosy Riverboat, Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
24Win15–8–1Cedric HarbaughDQ3 Aug 22, 1995Civic Center, Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S.
23Win14–8–1Andre SmileyTKO1 Aug 18, 1995Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico
22Win13–8–1Tom WilliamsTKO1 Jul 25, 1995Columbia, South Carolina, U.S.
21Win12–8–1Lamar JohnsonTKO3 Jul 18, 1995Civic Center, Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S.
20Win11–8–1Tyrone DixonKO1 Jun 22, 1995Virginia Beach, Virginia, U.S.
19Win10–8–1Max KeyTKO2 Apr 26, 1995Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S.
18Win9–8–1Ron GulletteTKO4 Feb 17, 1995Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S.
17Draw8–8–1Tommy MorrisonSD10Jul 28, 1994Convention Center, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
16Loss8–8Kirk JohnsonUD6May 5, 1994Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
15Win8–7Derrick RoddyUD6Mar 27, 1994Expo Square Pavilion, Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.
14Win7–7Jason WilliamsUD4Mar 12, 1994MGM Grand, Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Vegas, U.S.
13Loss6–7Brian NielsenUD6Mar 5, 1994Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
12Loss6–6Will HintonUD6Aug 5, 1993Aladdin Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
11Win6–5Juan Ramon PerezKO4 Apr 3, 1992Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico
10Win5–5Mike BardwellKO2 Mar 25, 1992Sports Arena, San Diego, California, U.S.
9Loss4–5King IpitanUD4Feb 25, 1992Country Club, Reseda, California, U.S.
8Loss4–4Derek IsamanUD4Feb 24, 1991Bally's Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
7Win4–3Jose AvilaTKO1, 0:32Feb 3, 1991El Paso Convention Center, El Paso, Texas, U.S.
6Loss3–3John SargentUD6Jan 6, 1991Civic Center, Bismarck, North Dakota, U.S.
5Loss3–2Aleksandr MiroshnichenkoRTD6 Oct 29, 1990Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
4Win3–1Troy TutwilerTKO3 Jun 10, 1990Sunland Park, New Mexico, U.S.
3Win2–1Sergio HernandezTKO1 Jan 15, 1990Sunland Park, New Mexico, U.S.
2Loss1–1Cleveland WoodsTKO1, 2:31Jun 27, 1989Showboat Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
1Win1–0Sergio AraujoKO1 May 29, 1989County Coliseum, El Paso, Texas, U.S.