By T.K. Stewart
Las Vegas based heavyweight Tye "Big Sky" Fields is finally making his move and facing perennial fringe contender Monte Barrett on the Manny Pacquiao vs. David Diaz "Lethal Combination" card on Saturday night at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.
Fields is trying to take the next step up in the moribund heavyweight division. But he is still a curiosity to most people that have seen him and for those who are waiting to see him.
Nicknamed "Big Sky" because of his Montana roots, those who first lay eyes on Fields are struck by his enormity. At 6’8" tall, Fields towers over his opponents. He has tipped the scales as high as 294 pounds, though he now routinely weighs in the vicinity of 270. Fields has a wingspan of nearly seven feet. The only other world class heavyweight on the planet that is larger than Fields is Russia's Nicolai Valuev who stands 7'0" tall and weighs 320 pounds.
Fields, a former college basketball player, sports an impressive ring record (on paper) of 41-1 (37) KO’s and he figures Saturday night is his chance to make a splash in the heavyweight division.
Should Fields win impressively on Saturday night he could very well become the next big thing. It doesn't hurt his popilarity that he's American because in this day and age American heavyweights are an endangered species.
The 33 year-old Fields is a whirlwind puncher who usually overwhelms his opponents with a non-stop bombardment of shots. "I have a heart of a lion," says Fields who is promoted by Bob Arum’s Top Rank, trained by veteran trainer Jesse Reid and managed by Billy Baxter who once guided the careers of Bruce and Donald Curry.
"Tye is totally prepared and he’s punching extremely hard in workouts," says the wise and outspoken Reid who has trained a multitude of word class boxers over the years. "We’re all proud and excited."
Many, however, see Fields as just another tough man type – which means a guy who gets in the ring and swings wildly with little regard for technique, defense or punch placement. The critics have lumped Fields into the same category as another heavyweight anomaly and curiosity that was also promoted by Arum – Eric "Butterbean" Esch.
Arum, however, sees more of an upside for Fields and views him as a much more serious fighter.
"Like a baseball player, Tye Fields is going from AA and AAA ball to the Major Leagues on June 28th," says the energetic 76 year-old Arum. "Tye did great in the minors, now he's going to the majors to fight Monte Barrett. We’ll see what’ll happen that night and move on from there. Me, I happen to believe Tye is the real deal."
And some others might be thinking the same thing.
Fields is coming off two first round knockout wins over minor league opposition, some would say softballs, but Fields' string of victories was enough to convince fellow Las Vegas resident and former two-time heavyweight titlist Hasim "The Rock" Rahman to turn down a fight with Fields in a match that Arum was going to bill as the "Heavyweight Championship of Las Vegas"
One thing is for sure, if Fields beats Barrett spectacularly on Saturday night, boxing fans will be hearing the "Sky's the Limit" for him.
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