Deion Pruitt after knocking down an opponent in a previous fight Photo Credit: DEION PRUITT
Virgin Islander Deion Pruitt, who won his first two professional fights by T.K.O. in the second round, will take on James Horne in his third professional match on Saturday in Clearwater, Florida as part of the “All or Nothing 4” T&K Boxing Promotions Fight event.
Even though both of his previous knockout wins were called in his favor in the second round, during a phone interview with the Consortium, Mr. Pruitt said there was still room for improvement.
In the upcoming fight, he intends to "look better than I did in my last fight.” Relative to lessons learned from his first two pro bouts, “just being relaxed and having fun in there, not getting too hyped up and finishing the job,” were some of his takeaways.
While Mr. Pruitt's first two fights ended with T.K.O. in the second round, he believes the upcoming match will last longer. He then stated, “If it went four rounds I would be able to showcase myself, showcase more of my talent. If I start landing clean in the first round this fight is not going to last that long, but it depends on my opponent and what he’s doing," Mr. Pruitt said.
He added, “I’m willing to take a punch to land my punch because I’m confident that my punch is going to be more damaging, and that’s just one way I know I can win a fight. I want to fight. If it turns into that and it turns into a real, good boxing match, may the best man win.”
When asked whether there was a fighter that he models his style after, Mr. Pruitt said while he has fighters that he admires, “everyone needs to find their own style… Their style can’t be my style because then I come in there and I’m thinking I'm too predictable. ”
He added, “The freedom that I have in my style, I am not thinking I am just flowing so my model can be the freest thing out there… When you are in there and you’re logically thinking, you become predictable, but when you’re just free and following your heart, when you actually have fun it’s less of a fight and more of just you enjoying yourself.”
Asked what the community should know about him, Mr. Pruitt stated, “Deion Pruitt is going to bring a world title back to the Virgin Islands.”
Mr. Pruitt trains locally at the boxing gym in Pearson Gardens on St. Thomas. He thanked his coaches Julian Jackson, Randy Williams, Joey Vialet and Melvin Donavon along with his sparring partners Julius Jackson, Clayton Laurent and Abdul Smith for helping him prepare for the upcoming bout.
The fight will be available live here for $19.99. A representative from T&K Boxing Promotions said the actual fight card will begin at either 6:30 p.m. or 7:00 p.m.
According to the promoter's website, part of the mission is to “highlight the next generation of boxers coming up the ranks and showcase experienced, fan-pleasing fighters.”
Some of Mr. Pruitt's top accomplishments during his amateur bouts include qualifying for the Pan-American Games and winning gold in the Caribbean Games and Creole Games.
After the upcoming fight, Mr. Pruitt will have a quick turnaround for his next match set to take place on September 18.
Correction: August 27, 2021 at 10:03 a.m.
A previous version of this story, because of a text error, spelt the last name of one of Mr. Pruitt's trainers incorrectly. It's Joey Vialet, not Joey Bialet. The story has been updated to reflect the correct spelling.
