“My job is to fight!”
-Interview with Rising Star Middleweight, Chris “The Irish
Ghost” Fitzpatrick
by Todd “Jake” Jacobson
September 17, 2009
(SEPT 17) In talking to Chris, the
“Irish Ghost” Fitzpatrick in our recent interview, the clear impression
is of Chris’ total commitment to becoming a great fighter. When I think
back on this interview, these words have crystallized in my memory, “My
job is to fight”. Chris said these words with a tone of seriousness,
reflecting a strong, single-minded sense of purpose. He elaborated, “I
don’t smoke. I don’t drink. I don’t chase women. I don’t go to bars. I
just train, work, and fight”.
This message of single-minded purpose, of
strong work-ethic, is the message that the “Ghost” gave me in my recent
interview in Columbia, South Carolina. This is the also the message for
potential future opponents. Be advised, when the “Irish Ghost” puts on
the gloves, it’s all business.
I had the opportunity to interview Chris, along with Billy Stanick, Sr.
and Billy Stanick, Jr. of Stanick Sheet Metal and Roofing recently in
Columbia on September 10, 2009. The Stanicks, particularly Billy Stanick,
Sr. are well known in boxing circles as benefactors for the sport in
South Carolina. Billy, as all his friends call him, has over fifty years
in boxing and is the owner of White Rock Gym, whose website
WhiteRockBoxing.com has had over 90,000 hits since January of this year.
Billy, along with Andrew Stokes, the promoter (Palmetto Boxing), is
doing great things for boxing in South Carolina.
Chris is coming off his recent dominating
victory over Torrence King of Ohio on August 29. His training is
intensive. He stated that his present training goals are to sharpen his
tools and to get more aggressive in the ring. His preparation for a
fight includes morning roadwork, afternoons in the gym, two days a week
of strength training at Fort Jackson, and a light workout, doing mostly
abdominal work, in the evening. The roadwork consists of 3 mile days and
5 mile days. As to the roadwork, he commented, “we run ‘em real hard”.
He also said that he’s working more on his bodywork – that is, punching
to the body. “Going to the body is a good way to break down a fighter”,
Chris commented. He certainly made good use of bodywork in his last
fight against King. He added, “when I fight, the goal is to outwork my
opponent, to go to the body repeatedly, and to win every round so they
can’t get the decision, and then, if the knockout is there, I’ll take
it. But, the focus is on winning every round. That’s what we’re working
on – putting it together to win every round”.
I asked Billy Sr., when he knew that Chris had what it takes to become a
great fighter. “I could tell Chris had it from the first time I saw him
in the gym. I was impressed by his work ethic. I noticed that he went
right to work. He didn’t do a lot of talking. I watched him spar and
immediately could tell how good he was, particularly when I saw him spar
with Berry Butler, a local light heavyweight, (ranked 31 in the U.S.
according to Boxrec.com). Berry has come into White Rock and has really
shown that he’s a very tough fighter. He’s sparred Shelby, Johnny Brooks
(some solid local fighters) and others and he has really proven himself
to be a very, very strong fighter. Chris really held his own when he
sparred with Berry”. Billy added, “That’s when I decided that I’m going
to start watching this kid. That was the turning point for me”.
Billy Jr., added that another test for Chris that Chris passed with
flying colors was in a fight in May of this year when he fought super
middleweight Roger Locklear in Raleigh. This was Chris’ second fight
while fighting out of the White Rock Boxing Gym for Palmetto Boxing
Promotions, and he was head butted in the first round causing a lot of
blood. Billy Jr., said that this was impressive for him because Chris
had kept his composure and had gone on to win the fight despite the
blood and partially closed eye (from the head butt). “The kid has
heart”, he said.
Chris was born in Las Vegas and moved to Ohio when he was eleven and
began boxing at that tender age. He chalked up an excellent amateur
career. His amateur successes include two Silver Glove championships. He
also fought in one Golden Glove tournament and the Junior Olympics where
he fought Shawn Porter on both occasions and lost. Chris stated: “Porter
was their favorite and they wouldn’t let me beat him in Ohio. I was
always in Shawn Porter’s shadow”. Porter is currently 10 and 0 as a pro
and ranked 23rd in the U.S. as a light middleweight by Boxrec.com. Chris
is 7 and 0 as a pro and ranked 79th in the U.S. as a super middleweight
by Boxrec.com.
Asked why he moved to South Carolina and joined White Rock gym, Chris
elaborated: “I was basically living in the hood (in Ohio), running the
streets a lot. Got in with a bad crowd and started to do some pretty
stupid things. I needed to change my life. My mom was living down here
at the time and she told me about White Rock (gym) and I decided to come
down. Since I’ve been here they’ve been very good to me. Both Andrew
Stokes (the promoter) and Billy Stanick treat me like family. I came
down here and changed my life”. For the record, I would like to add that
Chris told me that he moved to South Carolina in August 2008 and had his
first pro fight on a Palmetto Boxing Promotions card in January of this
year. Since January he has been fighting at almost a blistering pace,
logging five victories in just 9 months, including the January fight.
When I first met Chris for the interview he was wearing his sunglasses.
Let me share with you his entrance at the Radisson for his last fight.
When he was coming to the ring he was wearing sunglasses and was
half-trotting, half bouncing, down the aisle towards the ring. As he
came closer you could feel the electricity build in the crowd as they
became energized by his presence. And, he looked so intimidating and
fierce in his sunglasses, wearing his warrior’s stare. This was the
first thing I noticed about the “Ghost” as he emerged towards the ring.
It was a very powerful and electrifying entrance. And, the whole time he
was wearing his sunglasses.
So, I asked Chris, “what’s up with the sunglasses?” “The sunglasses help
me to focus and to concentrate (on the fight). It gives me a little
tunnel vision and this helps me to focus. And, it also helps to block
out the distractions. When I come down the aisle towards the ring, I
want to be able to focus on nothing but the ring and my opponent. And,
the sunglasses help me to do this. Actually, somehow, from somewhere, I
can feel my energy level grow, my power, and my strength grow, as I come
down to the ring. And, I think the sunglasses are a big part of that”.
And, indeed they clearly electrify the crowd. I can attest to that.
Billy Sr., added, “The sunglasses are his signature”.
I asked the “Ghost” how he got his nickname. “The gym I worked out at… I
was the only white guy. So they started calling me the “Ghost”. Then,
they added “Irish” to it because of my last name, Fitzpatrick. “It’s a
good name… ‘Irish Ghost.’ I like it. And, it has some memories for me”.
I asked Chris how he maintains his motivation. He said that music is
part of it. He never does roadwork without his MP3 player. He said that
he is old school when it comes to his music. He likes Rap and R & B. His
favorites are all old school: Tupac, Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dog, and
50 Cent were some of the artists he mentioned as his favorites. He also
likes some of the old rock like Ozzie Osborn and ACDC. “The music helps
me find my rhythm. Boxing is all about rhythm”. He added that at White
Rock they always have the music going. He said that “it (White Rock)
really comes alive when we’re all in there working out with the music
going. “You gotta have it (the music)”. He said that when they have a
full house of ten to twenty or so fighters in there working-out and the
music is going, it always makes for a great workout.
Billy Sr. pointed out that the White Rock gym is truly a first-class
boxing facility. It is over 7,000 square feet and the ceilings are about
24 feet high. He said they can have as many as thirty fighters working
out their comfortably and that it seats around 300+ for smokers.
Chris comes across very well in an interview. It is readily apparent
that he is an emotionally strong young man with a quiet demeanor, who is
clearly dedicated to the craft of boxing, to his goal of honing his
boxing skills in pursuit of further success. The words that I think of
to describe his personality would be: sense of purpose; inner strength;
quiet storm. He’s a very dedicated young fighter with an excellent
future in front of him.
His next fight is going to be on November 21st at the Radisson in
Columbia against an as- of- yet unidentified opponent. Get your tickets
early because this could well be a sell- out. And, perhaps in the not
too distant future may be a fight for the Carolina’s Boxing Organization
Middleweight championship, but there is nothing solid on that front
quite yet.
As I concluded the interview I asked Chris if there was anything else he
would like to add. “We have a nice little team here at White Rock. We’re
kind of like a family”. And, the White Rock/Palmetto boxing family is
obviously doing an excellent job of bringing the “Irish Ghost” along in
the early stages of his career. We look forward to future victories from
him. And, like I said above, get your tickets for November 21st early
because this could well be a sell-out.
