Thanjhae Teasley has always been determined to be a success story. He just didn’t know it would happen in a boxing ring.
Growing up in Bethlehem, Pa., or one of the other dozen or so places he called home, it was easy to see how things could have gone sideways. There were times when his mother was doing well financially and they had a nice place to live, but there were more times when he was “chilling in the hood” or staying with cousins.
“I grew up in good and bad times. A lot of people I grew up with who are in prison or died,” said 25-year-old welterweight prospect Teasley (10-0, 4 KOs). Red Owl Box show in Houston against Selassie Bey (8-0, 8 KOs), live on DAZN (8:30 p.m. ET).
“I didn’t want to end up dead or in jail. I didn’t want to disappoint my mom because I had some close calls.”
Teasley wanted more from life, and he saw college as a way to make that happen. A decent enough track runner and football player, filling the wide receiver, defensive back and other roles, he was scouted by a few NCAA Division II and III schools. There was even one D1 school looking at him, although his grades weren’t up to par to qualify to play there. He settled on Butte College, the same junior college in California where four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers began his collegiate career, then planned to improve his grades before getting the attention of a D1 school.
As so often Teasley would discover through life, there would be other plans in the works that would take him down a different path.
Before Teasley could play a single game for the Roadrunners, Teasley was hospitalized with a severe case of food poisoning that incapacitated him and caused him to lose 50 pounds in a matter of weeks. Soon he was out of school and would be moving to Utah, where his mother had moved to be closer to her son. To deal with the anger and frustration of having his collegiate sports dreams disappear, he walked into a boxing gym.
After five or six days of training, he had his first amateur fight. He lost that fight in March 2019, but the promise of a second chance at sporting glory ignited a passion in him.
“I’ve always wanted to box since I was younger, but my mother wouldn’t let me. Instead of doing that, I just fought outside. It wasn’t like I was fighting because I was a troublemaker, I was just trying to fight the bullies,” says Teasley, who is now a pescatarian, having given up all meat except fish because of digestive issues.
“When I entered the boxing gym, it saved me mentally, physically, everything. Instead of getting an assault charge and getting in trouble outside the gym, why do it when I can take out my anger inside the gym? But now I’ve generally started to fall in love with it. I have never worked harder for any other sport before.”
Teasley moved back to Pennsylvania in 2021, following his childhood best friend, bantamweight rival Jonathan Rodriguez, to Indio’s Boxing Gym in Allentown, Pa. in the region. That’s when his trainer, Lemuel “Indio” Rodriguez, made the decision that it was time to turn pro.
“I was caught off guard by turning pro, I actually planned to be an amateur a little longer. I wanted to be on Team USA and compete in national tournaments,” Teasley said.
“At first I was like damn, am I really ready for this? But I believe that God has a plan for me. I took it as a sign that I should work harder and learn.”
Manager Trifon Petrov says Teasley is someone who learned his hand on the job and thrived under the circumstances.
“Thanjhae is an extremely hardworking kid with a great story behind him. He’s very determined and mentally tough, which are some of his best qualities,” said Petrov, who also manages Rodriguez, plus prospects Maliek Montgomery and Elijah Pierce.
“He looked more and more impressive with each fight and I can’t wait for him to show the world his ability on Friday night.”
His eight-round fight against Bey is the toughest assignment of his two-year professional career. Bey, 26, of Louisville, Ky. has been pro since 2018 but has had long periods of inactivity and is fighting outside his home state for the first time.
Both fighters came in under the 147-pound limit, with Teasley weighing in at 146.1 pounds and Bey coming in at 146.6 pounds.
Like his opponent, Teasley is also fighting outside of his home region for the first time. A decision win would establish him as a legitimate prospect to watch at 147 pounds.
“I assume he’s going to come in there and try to bully me. I just know I’ll go in there, stay disciplined, stick to the game plan and do my best,” says Teasley.
“I feel it’s going to be a long time coming, because this is finally my chance to showcase not only my skills, but also my boxing gym.”
Ryan Songalia has written for ESPN, the New York Daily News, Rappler and The Guardian, and is part of the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism Class of 2020. He can be reached at (email protected).
