When Stevie “Sledgehammer” Morgan turned professional two years ago at age 33, she couldn’t have imagined that her fate would one day become entwined with Mike Tyson’s.
But when Tyson suffered an ulcer flare-up on a flight in May, it prompted the postponement of his scheduled July 20 date with Jake Paul, as well as the planned rematch between Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor. Those fights have been rescheduled for November, but Paul and Serrano both wanted to keep the July date, and while Paul turned his attention to Mike Perry, Serrano reached out to Morgan.
“I was in the gym training when [MVP matchmaker] Mike Leanardi called, and my coach leaned over to me and showed me the message. And he asked, ‘Do you want it?’ And I was like, can a dog bark?”
In a sense, she told BoxingScene, she was already preparing for the fight, because she and her team are always anticipating a last minute call.
“My coach has this thing that whenever we see a TBA on BoxRec for anybody around our weight, we start training for them right then. Because I didn’t come out of the Olympics, I don’t have a gold medal, I’m not signed with a big promoter. So our opportunities are going to come from a phone call, just like this one.
“So that’s why we’re in the gym seven days a week, 365 days a year. So when Amanda was getting ready for Katie Taylor, we were training for that fight. When Mikaela Mayer is getting ready to fight, we’re training for that fight, just in case we get that phone call. If at the last minute somebody breaks something, somebody is injured or pulls out or anything, we’re always ready.”
That readiness for action is the reason why, of her 15 outings as a professional, 12 have been in Colombia.
“We found that in Colombia there are just more opportunities for women’s boxing than in the United States,” she says. “So, if we don’t get that phone call, when it’s time for a fight, we’ll go down there and get a fight.”
The Tampa, Florida native will be fighting in her hometown for the first time when she meets Serrano, but the self-described boxer-puncher knows that most fans will take a look at her 14-1 (13 KOs) record and give her no chance at all against the multi-title-winning Puerto Rican.
“I know a lot of people are thinking it’s too one-sided. Nobody knows anything about me. We all know the level that she’s fought on this whole time and what she’s done for the sport of boxing. And, you know, she’s a true champion. You can’t take anything away from her. However, I believe she’s on her way out. And it’s time for somebody else to step in.”
It’s been a rapid ascension for someone who turned to boxing relatively late in life and immediately fell in love with it.
“Boxing resonates with the human spirit somehow,” she reflects. “It’s weird, right? Like it’s something inside of you that wants to do this. Boxing always challenges you. You’re always working on yourself and figuring it out and trying to master it. And I think that’s what makes it so unique.
“I tell everybody they should at least spar one time. You learn so much about yourself.”
She’ll learn a lot about her place in the boxing firmament on Saturday, when she steps into the ring with Serrano. But, while she knows she’s up against one of the greats, she is looking to pull off what would be an historic upset.
“I’m ready to shock the world,” she insists. “Everyone should look forward to an exciting fight. I’m here to show who the sledgehammer is.”
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