By Ryan Burton

After a ring hiatus of more than three years,  Mohammed Faisal, aka Fes Batista (1-0), will return to the ring Saturday in Pensacola, Florida.  His opponent will be Lawrence Purifoy (0-7) whom he defeated in his pro debut. Roy Jones will promote the event.

Batista went down early in the fight but came back to dominate the final three rounds to win a unanimous decision.  After such a long layoff, Batista feels that facing Purifoy again is a perfect measuring stick to the progress he has made under Jones who is also his trainer.

"This is perfect because I can measure this against the first fight to see how far I have come since then.  I beat him before but I was wild and reckless. Roy has been teaching me how to be a boxer puncher and use my brain," Batista told BoxingScene.com.

The 28-year-old Batista broke his foot in late 2015 which contributed to his extended ring absence but hopes that this is the starting point of a much more active 2018 campaign.

Batista credits Lady Gaga's music with saving his life when he was a victim of racism and bullying while growing up in the United Kingdom. It was so bad that contemplated committing suicide.

Batista, who is of Pakistani and Indian descent, hopes to inspire others with his exploits in and out of the ring.

"Less than five years ago I was suicidal. Now I'm fighting and winning on a legend Roy Jones Jr. card on Lady Gaga's birthday.  I'm so blessed and grateful.

"Less than five years ago I was a victim of racism and bullying to the brink of suicide.  Now I'm in an amazing arena in front of almost 10,000 people in America, the land of opportunity, winning my first pro fight after coming back from adversity. If you have a dream go out and chase it. God bless America," said Batista right after winning his pro debut

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