By Keith Idec
GARFIELD, N.J. — Richard Pierson (11-2, 8KOs) knows why he has been brought to Atlantic City.
The relatively unknown super middleweight is the supposed “B” side in an ESPN2 co-featured fight Friday night against Philadelphia’s Farah Ennis at Resorts Casino Hotel.
The 29-year-old Ennis is 19-1 (12 KOs) and a former NABF 168-pound champion attempting to overcome a costly loss 15 months ago to then-unbeaten Alexander Johnson (12-1, 5 KOs). The 31-year-old Pierson is an enigmatic former Kelly Pavlik sparring partner who has fought just three times in the past four years.
“These guys are looking at me as an opponent,” Pierson said before a recent workout at the Intelligent Soldiers of Boxing Gym. “It’s kind of like I’m used to it. I can’t be mad at people if they look at me that way. This kid is 19-1. He has the record that looks as if he is ready to fight for a world title. I still look like a beginner. So it’s understandable.”
Perception, Pierson contends, is meaningless, too.
The Paterson, N.J., native is confident he can compete at the highest level and plans to display the skills against Ennis that led Pavlik to label him a future middleweight champion after Pierson helped prepare Pavlik for his victories over Jermain Taylor in 2007 and 2008.
Helping raise his six children hasn’t always allowed Pierson the time to commit fully to boxing, but the 6-foot-3 Pierson realizes this nationally televised opportunity is one he absolutely must exploit if he is ever to take a significant step toward being a contender at 168 pounds. He has a technical knockout loss to unknown Houston brawler Don Mouton (9-4-1, 8 KOs) on his record and age is becoming a factor for the graduate of Eastside High School, depicted in the critically acclaimed, 1989 motion picture “Lean On Me.”
“Hopefully, after I win this fight they’ll continue to let me fight, they’ll continue to keep me fighting challenging fighters,” said Pierson, who stopped Philadelphia’s Charles Hayward (7-5, 3 KOs) in the fourth round of his last fight, April 18 in Newark, N.J. “I’m not known for fighting losers and I’m not afraid of boxing anyone.
“I just want to showcase my skill and my talent. I don’t want to go out there and win and have somebody say, ‘He won by luck.’ I don’t want to win like that. I want to win convincingly. Once I win, I want to be where I deserve to be.”
Pierson took the Ennis fight on less than four weeks notice. He took the aforementioned Mouton fight, which was stopped with one second remaining in it nearly four years ago in Las Vegas, on less than two weeks notice.
He believes, however, he is more prepared than he was four years ago to succeed despite performing amid less-than-ideal circumstances.
“The difference between me mentally now and then is I didn’t know what I was into before,” said Pierson, who had just nine amateur fights before turning pro in October 2005. “Even though I was being thrown to wolves, I didn’t know I was being thrown in with wolves. I just thought it was a fight, an even matchup. Now I understand that it’s not just a fight, that there’s a business behind it. I’m the opponent [Friday night], but I’ve still got to go out there and execute.”
The 10-round Pierson-Ennis encounter will be broadcast by ESPN2 as part of the network’s “Friday Night Fights” series (10 p.m. EDT/7 p.m. PDT). The main event will pit Philadelphia lightweight contender Hank Lundy (22-1-1, 11 KOs) against Phoenix’s Raymundo Beltran (25-6, 17 KOs) in another 10-rounder for the NABF 135-pound crown.
Tickets ($40-$125) to the card can be purchased by visiting ticketmaster.com or by calling 800-745-3000.
Keith Idec covers boxing for The Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, N.J., and BoxingScene.com.
