[Interview by Pattee Mak – February 24, 2015]
New England fans are keeping a watchful eye on up and coming 22 year old Middleweight, Khiary “Too Sharp” Gray-Pitts (5-0-0, 3 Kos) from Worcester, Massachusetts. He has an upcoming bout scheduled for Good Friday, April 3, 2015 at Twin River Casino in R.I. which will be promoted by CES. His fan base has grown since his amateur days and plain and simply put not many fighters want to fight him. I’ve watched him in the amateurs and witnessed an abundance of talent.
Pattee Mak: Your 6th fight is scheduled for Friday, April 3, 2015 at Twin River Casino. You have fought there on three previous occasions. Do you have an opponent yet or is it the same ole same?
Gray-Pitts: Yes I’m glad to be fighting again for the third time this year but glad its back at Twin River and yes we have a name on who we may face. We are just trying to make it a 6 rounder and seeing if his camp will take it and after that we will sign the contract.
Pattee Mak: Is that frustrating for you that your opponents change at the last minute for whatever reasons?
Gray-Pitts: Yes it is frustrating for me because I’ll have a opponent, I’ll train just for that opponent then two or three days before the weigh in I got a new guy I’m fighting. It is hard but it just reminds me like the amateur days.
Pattee Mak: So you are moving up to a six round fight?
Gray-Pitts: We are trying to make it a 6 rounder. My team and I want my 6th fight to be a 6 rounder.
Pattee Mak: Are you ready to fight a six round fight?
Gray-Pitts: Yes I been ready to fight a 6 rounder since my third fight. My trainer Ken [Ball] has gotten me in the best shape and April 3rd you will see 6 rounds won’t be nothing to me.
Pattee Mak: To date you have won all of the rounds you boxed. Some never even went the distance cause of the TKO/Kos. What’s going to happen when you get challenged and the round could go either way? Will you be able to make the proper adjustments while fighting in the ring without the commands of your corner?
Gray-Pitts: Yes I have won every round I have fought in. I only went the distance twice out of my five fights but I know at anytime there can be a round that can be close and the opponent could win that round but I feel I can adjust in the next round and win that round big to make everyone forget about the last round. My corner and I talk about that and we know that I can adjust and make the right moves for the next round.
Pattee Mak: Back on May 31, 2014 you fought as an amateur on the pro/am card at Mohegan Sun. On June 6, 2014 you made your pro debut at Twin River Casino. At what point did CES sign you under a promotional contract and how long are you under contract for?
Gray-Pitts: Yes just six days later I made my pro debut. I signed the CES contract two weeks later. I signed a 3 year deal with them. I’m happy with them. They got me the right fights, they have me take little step ups in each fight. They are keeping me busy.
Pattee Mak: Sooner or later you are going to face an opponent who is going to challenge your skills in the ring. Are you mentally and physically up for the challenge?
Gray-Pitts: Yes I am mentally and physically ready for a challenge within the next few fights. I have got the skills, the heart, the will to win. I don’t see anyone that can give me my first L. I work too hard.
Pattee Mak: And who is that fighter that you are saying to yourself, I can beat him if the opportunity arose for the main event?
Gray-Pitts: I really don’t have that fighter in mind that I say I can beat yet I am just taking it one fight at a time.
Pattee Mak: You are currently training at Camp Get Right out of Worcester, Mass. Have you always trained with Kenrick Ball and how do you see him as a trainer?
Gray-Pitts: Yes I have been training out of Camp Get Right for the past 5 years now. I first started off with Carlos Garcia at the Boys and Girls Club but as far as me training with Kenrick, I feel he is the trainer to get me to where we both want to get. He pushes me hard in and out of the gym. He always reminds me it’s a kill or be killed sport. This is a serious sport and you can get hurt. Kenrick and I work well. He is like another father to me and that’s how a fighter should feel about his trainer.
Pattee Mak: Let’s go back to your amateur days. I read that boxing saved you. I always love bringing the realness in my interviews and having boxers tell their story and how boxing saved you. Talk to me about this.
Gray-Pitts: Yes I started boxing at 10 years old. I didn’t have my first fight until I was 11. I made it all the way to Lake Placid. When I was 15 I made it to the finals and I lost to who is now a top prospect in the pros now, Eddie “E Boy” Gomez. After that loss to him I gave up boxing. I ended up in the streets smoking weed everyday not caring about anything in the world. I joined and started hanging out with a street gang doing dumb things. I have been shot at plenty of times by the age of 17. I ended up catching a big case beating up a guy, he was an inch away from dying. I did some time in jail. I never made it more than a week. Every time I got out of jail the last time I went back in jail. I told myself I need to get back into boxing. I came out, went to Camp Get Right and after that I never seen the inside of a jail cell again.
Pattee Mak: What is your amateur record and what titles have you won?
Gray-Pitts: My record was 48-21. I won the silver gloves, silver mittens. Don’t know how many times I won those. Then I was a finalist in the regionals for the Jr. Olympics. I won the central golden gloves, finalist in the New England Golden Gloves then a finalist in the Western Golden Gloves, winner in the USA New England, then the finalist 2x in the USA New England.
Pattee Mak: Besides boxing, what else do you like to do in your spare time
Gray-Pitts: In my spare time I have my two year old daughter. I spend time with her a lot. I chill with my loyal friends and family but that’s rare cause I’m a gym rat. Hahaha
Pattee Mak: Tickets!! How can some grab tickets to watch you in action on the 3rd
Gray-Pitts: You can grab tickets from my gym at 55E Millbrook St., Worcester, Ma.
Pattee Mak: I’ve watched your fan base grow from your 1st fight to your 4th. What would you like to say to all your fans out there?
Gray-Pitts: I would like to thank all my fans for coming and supporting me in my journey to become a world champion. Wanna thank you for coming out and seeing me grow as a fighter. I also wanna say that without my fans there is no me. I wouldn’t not of gotten this far without them. I’m a crowd pleasing fighter. You will always get my best in every fight and every round. Thank you.
Follow Khiary on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Toosharpboxing.
Other bouts of the evening include the main event showcasing Shelito Vincent; Nick DeLomba vs. Jabbin Joe Wilson, Jr.; Kevin “The VT Bully” Cobbs; Zachary Christy vs. Bobby Flynn; “Pynce” Ray Oliveria, Jr. vs. Yves Thevenin; Briam Granado; Jean Pierre Augustin vs. Solomon Maye; and Timmy Ramos. All bouts are subject to change.
As in September, I once again ran out of gas in the 10th & 11th championship rounds of October & November with this column, but I recovered to complete them and will unleash a few more flurries to close out the 12th and final round.
In the first week of October, Hassan N’Dam won a UD over Curtis Stevens in an eliminator for the right to challenge Jermaine Taylor who defeated aging Sam Soliman to regain the IBF Middleweight title. How Taylor even earned this title shot is another story altogether, but it is all irrelevant as he is now the champion. However he will not have too much time to savor his victory as he has assault and battery charges pending against him and an upcoming court fight that may turn out to be the toughest fight of his life, just when things started to look up for him in boxing, we wish him luck.
