The lower weight classes were ignored for years, but in the last decade, fighters like Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez, Juan Francisco Estrada, and more recently, Naoya “The Monster” Inoue have done their part to get fans tuning in and paying attention. The super bantamweight division, which competes at 122 pounds, has a sole king in Inoue; however, 27-year-old contender Elijah “The WXXXLF” Pierce (19-2, 16 KOs) is quietly making the argument that he should be next to get a crack at the crown. He ranks #3 with the WBA and headlines an OTX card on August 30. Pierce’s life is full of promise, love and goals that will elevate him in life and in boxing.
Pierce’s Profile Continues to Elevate While His Family Blossoms
What you do outside of the ring is just as important as what you do inside of it, and Pierce is making sure that now not only his profile as a fighter evolves but that his support system at home is solidified and filled with love. On a personal note, Pierce recently got engaged, and his new fiancée is pregnant and expecting to add a sibling for his young daughter sometime in the fall. When speaking of this news, Pierce smiled ear to ear as he is genuinely happy with how life is turning out for him. “I’m excited about that (engagement and being a father again). A lot of great personal things are happening. I’m just looking forward to family life once again.”
Family life is important to Pierce, and his love for children is genuine, which is why he decided to take an unorthodox route for a fighter and collaborate with author JaBrenna A. Brown in putting out a children’s book titled The Hunt Continues (Available on Amazon). The book was released on June 22, and it’s a project that is very near and dear to his heart. “It was pretty much a joint venture. I’ve always taken a liking and have wanted to get more into philanthropic work. That’s something that’s really on my heart, and I would really like to get more involved in it.”
“As you know,” Pierce continued, “boxing kind of opens up those doorways to partner with foundations and maybe even start my own—like some nonprofits. I’ve learned so much in a short amount of time about all this stuff that I was unaware of before. So now these things are kind of coming together.”
The collaboration with JaBrenna A. Brown came together by her simply reaching out to Pierce, and the rest is history. It’s a collaboration that looks to continue in the future with more children’s books being released. “She (Brown) had published books before, so she just reached out and asked me if I was interested in collaborating on one. She became a very valuable asset to my team. She’s very productive in terms of carrying her own weight and connecting me with other people who are involved in that type of work. I’m thankful that God gave me the opportunity to do that.”
The Main Event on August 30 Means Everything
Pierce is approaching, if not already at, his physical prime, so the time is now to make the right moves to get him a shot at the title. His highest ranking is with the WBA, and the only fighters in front of him are Ramon Cardenas and former IBF champion Murodjon “MJ” Akhmadaliev. Pierce faces Jose San Martin (35-8-1, 21 KOs) in a fight promoted by Overtime Boxing and streaming live on August 30 on DAZN. If Inoue chooses to move up to featherweight after his fight in September, this could mean that Pierce would be in the position for either an eliminator or a title shot. A win gets him in that great position, but a loss would hurt all the momentum he has built up to now.
Pierce is not taking San Martin lightly and has even moved his training camp from Atlanta/Oklahoma to Las Vegas, NV, to get in the type of work he needs while getting a different perspective on preparation from someone other than his father: “My team has always been based there (Atlanta & Oklahoma), and this is one of my first camps where my head coach, my father, Andy Pierce, is not physically involved. We concocted the same game plan from the last time when we were going to fight. We are just more so focused on the internal work on this one. I’m working with another coach out here (Las Vegas), Bobby McRoy. He’s trained Ra’eese Aleem and other notable fighters. We’re just kind of going back to the basics and working on some different things for this particular fight.”
Not Looking Into The Future Too Much But…
In boxing, activity matters, and Pierce knows that staying busy will only make him sharper. This is his second fight this year, and according to Pierce, he is looking to return in November to finish the year. There are some big names like Murodjon Akhmadaliev, Sam Goodman, etc. but while those are intriguing matchups, he’s looking at accomplishing his goal of winning a world title and moving up to featherweight.
“I called out MJ [Akhmadaliev] several times already. I’ve called out Sam Goodman. I’ve called out all these guys. Everybody’s chasing the glory as they should; I understand. I’m thinking after Inoue fights, he probably has one more at 122 after September with [TJ] Doheny. I think he has one more against maybe Goodman or MJ. I don’t know who he fights, but I wish it were me. I know it probably won’t be, but either way, I’ll take whoever I can get to fight for the title…”
“That’s why I want to fight,” Pierce continued. “I’m not really looking like, ‘Oh, I want to fight him, etc.’ I’ll keep fighting until I get the title, then I will be a little bit more decisive on who I get at that point because I want to make the biggest money fights. We are prizefighters, and that’s what we’re here to do. I don’t know if I will stay at 122 that much longer, but once I solidify myself as a champion, no one can take that away from me. I’m forever in the history books. Then, once I move up, I’ll be in the position to fight for those titles. By early next year, I should be fighting for the title. Then I plan to go up after that, go up to 126. I would like to face Stephen Fulton Jr. as my first fight at 126.”
As our conversation concluded, Pierce was grateful for everything that happened to him throughout his life and boxing career. It hasn’t always been perfect, but he fully understands that it is all part of the process. “I’m very appreciative. I’m extremely appreciative of those who continue to support me. I should have been on top a long time ago but, ultimately, that wasn’t the road that God wanted me to travel. I went a different way. Everyone doesn’t have the same path. There are so many paths to glory. The only thing I can do is give thanks to God.”
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