Elijah Pierce. (Photo by Adam Hagy/OTX)
Life lessons, in and out of the ring, shaped Elijah Pierce into the fighter he is today.
Pierce is counting on those lessons to lead him to a world title event.
The hard-hitting Pierce, who was ranked by The Ring as no. 9 at 122 pounds, will face Jose Sanmartin tonight at the Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. The 10 round match will be a five match Cold Summa card that will stream live on DAZN (7:30 p.m. ET/ 4:30 p.m. PT).
At Thursday’s weigh-in, Pierce weighed in at the junior featherweight limit of 122 pounds. Sanmartin came in at 121.8 pounds.
In his last fight on March 29, Pierce (19-2-1, 16 knockouts) overcame a second-round knockdown to knock out Arthur Villanueva in the fourth round. Pierce admitted he made the mistake of overlooking Villanueva, something he shouldn’t have done and admitted it made him better at preparing for opponents.
“It was another humbling experience,” Pierce told The Ring on Tuesday. “I overlooked Villanueva. I didn’t know too much about him. I didn’t look at him much. One or two fights. I thought he was no match for me in terms of skill. I didn’t actually do the research, and actually, neither did my team research his background. We didn’t know he was (Ring Magazine junior bantamweight champion Naoya) Inoue’s sparring partner. We didn’t know he was a three-time world title challenger until after the fight. So those are the things that were important. He wasn’t just a slob. He was not one to be overlooked. He was actually someone tough and rough who had a tenacity to fight apart from the lack of skills.
“At the end of the day, hats off to him. He brought out that other side of me. It woke me up. Looking forward to this fight, I’m on my A game. I will be on my A game because this was one of those lessons I had to learn. We are not there yet. We have to stay sharp at all times.”
The 27-year-old was originally scheduled to face Colombia’s Sanmartin (35-8-1, 21 KOs) earlier this year, but the fight was rescheduled to tonight. Pierce has enjoyed a resurgence in recent years, winning his last 10 bouts since losing by majority decision to fringe featherweight contender Sulaiman Segawa in September 2019.
Pierce’s other loss as a pro came in June 2018, by unanimous decision against current lightweight Giovanni Cabrera.
Despite the setbacks, Pierce believes he is a more complete fighter, and is only going to keep getting better.
“Losing those fights, actually, was the first loss to a guy who was actually a lightweight,” said Pierce, who is co-managed by Trifon Petrov and Jessie Tanksley. “The second loss was due to personal problems. I trained for (only) two weeks for that fight. It was against a guy I could easily beat. I lost to him by majority decision, trained again with two weeks notice. It was another learning lesson. You can’t expect to be healthy in the ring if you’re not healthy upstairs. Once I gained knowledge and had the right team behind me, where they told me to drop and fight at 122 pounds because I wasn’t cutting weight properly. I didn’t eat right. I went through a lot of growing pains that I had to go through.
“When I gained the necessary insight, things around me began to improve significantly after that. I have always been blessed with God-given ability. Strength, speed, quick reflexes, good footwork. It’s all thanks to my Dad, who emphasizes footwork. All of those things played a role and turned me into who I am today. I am still unexplored and haven’t shown the world who I really am. I am a person who does not overcompensate. I like to judge the fight by what is needed. A lot of the time I beat these guys because of my natural athleticism, I haven’t really had to dig into my skills yet to beat these guys. At the same time, I had to be humble and hone these skills until it was time to bring them to the fore.”
After Inoue, the 122-pound division is a toss-up with several top contenders pushing for a chance to face the undefeated Inoue. Other top contenders include former unified world titleholder Murodjon Akhmadaliev, undefeated Sam Goodman, former world title challenger Luis Nery, and former world titleholder TJ Doheny, who faces Inoue on Tuesday.
Pierce has been pushing for a fight against a top contender at 122 pounds, but is convinced no one in the division is better than him.
“I believe I’m the best 122-pound fighter in the world,” Pierce said. “No doubt in my mind. I may not be the champion yet. And I’m big on the word ‘yet’. I have to keep putting in the work and staying focused. It will happen. I’m sure it will happen soon. I have to keep working hard and be patient. In terms of the natural skills that I have, the mindset that I have, no one is able to handle all the qualities that I really possess. I am eager to show them. I am not put in a position to show them as much as I can. That’s probably another thing I had to learn. “
“Sometimes you have to know when and where to play your cards. You have to know when to do certain things. Sometimes you have to go out and do it. All these little things play a role and I look at them after every fight and assess. What can I add to make myself that much more of a spectacle in the sport? What can I do better? What should I focus more on? I think this fight will be a perfect example of that. I went a little more outside of myself. I myself did more personal work for Sanmartin. I pretty much know from a personal standpoint what he brings and what he can do. I broke him down and I’m really excited to show what Elijah Pierce (Friday) can do.”
Tonight will be Pierce’s third fight under the Overtime Box/OTX banner. All of their fight cards so far have streamed on DAZN, providing a platform for Pierce and other undefeated fighters and contenders to showcase their talents.
Having previously fought on a few club shows in recent years, Pierce is grateful for the opportunity to fight on these OTX platforms, allowing him to be exposed to fighters.
Pierce is confident a world title shot is on the horizon. He hopes to get involved in philanthropy work and get involved in community projects outside of the ring once he becomes a world title holder. According to Pierce, this world title opportunity is on the horizon, after a long journey where he is now a contender.
“OTX has been nothing but gracious. The general managers and most of the guys who manage and do the operational work, we got very close. I like what they do. I like how they promote me. Everything happened organically. It is an honor in my opinion to be the face of a company that is up and coming and new because they are in the spotlight. I am grateful to bring a different kind of attention to the company. I think OTX was a match for me. I am blessed to have this partnership with them. I just look forward to continuing to hold a candle for OTX. They did a good job as far as it was behind me.
“I’m looking forward to what’s next. We are almost there, number 3 (by the WBA). After this battle we can be number 2. We hope to fight in an elimination fight next year, and possibly in a world title event sometime next year. It doesn’t get any better than that. I would love to be OTX’s first world champion and bring a title to the company.
“I just look at it as another milestone in my journey to a world title. That’s what it was all about. I want to be a world champion.”
Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached at (email protected)
