‘Stone’ Purlette rolls today
-dedicates fight to imprisoned father
Stabroek News
June 10, 2003
There are some fighters that are so soft spoken and tranquil in their demeanour, that it becomes surprising to see their ruthless aggression and viciousness in the ring. Such is the case with Andre ‘Stone’ Purlette.
With a fist big enough to cover the span between temple and chin, Purlette is a modest man who is eager to climb into the heavyweight ranks and will take his first serious step towards contention on ESPN2’s Tuesday Night Fights. As the main event, Purlette (35-1, 32 KO’s) will face Jeremy ‘Half Man-Half Amazing’ Williams (39-4-1; 35 KO’s) in an interesting match up.
Fightnews was at Gleason’s Gym in New York on several occasions to watch Purlette prepare for his fight. Looking incredibly fit and strong, Purlette’s most recent sparring session was a war with WBC cruiserweight champ, Wayne Braithwaite (a fellow Guyanese native).
Following his intense workout, Purlette spoke humbly to Fightnews of his upcoming bout with Williams: “Jeremy jumps on you in the early rounds and calms down a bit in the middle to later rounds. I expect a really tough fight from him. He is one of the toughest guys that I have ever faced and I expect him to come at me very early and try to test me. I’m conditioned and I’ll be prepared to go ten strong rounds if I have to.
“With a win against Jeremy, I want to prove that I belong up there with the top guys and hopefully I can get more exposure from the win. I need to sell myself with this fight. I’ve been around long enough and I’ve paid my dues. Now is my time to break from the pack and elevate my career to a whole new level.”
Last November, Williams lost a decision against Anthony Thompson in Cedric Kushner’s ‘Fistful of Dollars’, three round exhibition event. In January, Williams was unable to dispatch veteran warhorse Al Cole as they fought to a draw.
Purlette began his pro career in 1992 and scored KO wins over Crawford Grimsley, James Thunder and most recently, Wade Lewis in March. Purlette’s only loss was to Eliecer Castillo (KO5). Of that defeat Purlette states “My training was out of sync. Preparation is the key to any fight and I just wasn’t prepared. The game plan that my former trainers had for me didn’t work and I wasn’t as serious as I should have been. Now, I know that I can’t take any one for granted. I will never underestimate my opponents ever again.”
Several months ago, Purlette changed promoters and it has helped him gain much needed television exposure. He is now signed with Rick Lazes of Ark promotions.
Initially, Purlette was preparing for his fight in the Poconos with WBC heavyweight champ, Lennox Lewis (who was preparing to face Kirk Johnson). Lewis requested Purlette to be one of his sparring partners, yet when sparring wasn’t available, Purlette came to New York for his training. Purlette, who resides in Hollywood, FL offers, “I’ve been in a few camps with Lennox before. He’s a very experienced guy and you can learn so much from him. He’s been there and done it all. But, Lennox took some days off and I didn’t get any sparring in with him. So, I had to come to New York to get it. Lennox and I worked out together. He advised me on what to do and not to do in my career. He’s a pretty cool guy.”
Purlette’s trainer Darius Forde former (Guyanese bantam weight titleholder) states: “I brought Andre here to Gleason’s to get him some good sparring. If you don’t have a camp set up like Buddy (McGirt) has in Florida, it’s tough getting the right type of sparring. There are so many fighters to spar with here at Gleason’s. After this fight with Jeremy, we hope to step up the competition and bring Andre gradually up the rankings.”
Becoming accomplished in boxing and utilizing the advantages that come with success have never been more important to Purlette. Two years ago, Purlette’s father was incarcerated in Guyana for an unfortunate accident. Purlette states, “I’m working hard to get my father out of prison. He hurt somebody that he was living with and he is ashamed of what he did. Right now, I’m trying to do what I can to get him a new lawyer and a retrial. But, I am unable to do anything because I don’t have the money to help him out. With my father being shackled up in Guyana and me being in the U.S., it only motivates me more.”
Purlette’s co-trainer Patrick Forde (former Guyanese and British commonwealth title holder) offers “A man with Andre’s record should have been rated higher than this and given greater opportunities. I know Jeremy’s style and I know Andre’s. I’m telling you, Andre is going to win this fight. We are approaching this as if it were a title fight.”
The father of 2 children, Purlette began boxing at 16 years old and had an amateur career of 25-3, winning several Guyanese and Caribbean titles. At 6’2”, Purlette expects to enter the fight at 218 pounds.
Purlette concludes “This is a crossroads fight for me. I HAVE to win it. And, I’m going to win it. No if’s, and’s or but’s. I am so hungry to get to the top. Since my loss to Castillo, I’ve been pissed off. It was a setback for me and now I have to erase that loss from everybody’s mind. I deserve to be out there with the top fighters within the heavyweight division. It’s time for me to start making big money like everyone else is. I’ve got what it takes and I work harder than most guys.”
While observing Purlette’s shy demeanour outside of the ring as well as his fighting aggression, it brings to mind an old saying ‘Still waters run deep and treacherous.’ (Fightnews)
