Underestimated Blackwell Confident His Boxing Road Will Take Him To TV

Heavyweight Jett Blackwell is a regional fighter with big-city dreams but, for now, he is a full-time father, part-time gardener and happens to be living his father’s dream – which is being a professional boxer.

Blackwell, 22, returns on a Westside Promotions card, on Saturday, at the Fox Theatre in Redwood, City, Calif. 

Blackwell’s father, Jeff, always wanted to be a boxer, but Fresno only had one gym and his parents wouldn’t take him. Now, he gets to watch on as his son, who is 3-0, looks to continue his path on the regional circuit with hopes of getting a fight on national television one day. 

Blackwell’s father wanted to be the next Mike Tyson, and his son sparred with Tyson when he returned to the ring to fight Roy Jones Jr in 2020. Blackwell is a Central Valley native from Fresno, Calif. 

“I couldn’t believe I was there, it was unreal,” Blackwell told BoxingScene about training beside Tyson for his comeback exhibition. “There weren’t a lot of boxing people at that camp. It was mostly celebrities and movie stars. It showed me what that lifestyle is like.”

For now, Blackwell isn’t a celebrity. He isn’t even a full-time fighter or a full-time employee. He picks up work from his grandfather or friends when he can, while training at Frank Aleman’s gym in Fresno. 

“I am just picking up as much work as I can when I can because I don’t have a job where I have a schedule,” explained the 22-year-old. 

He envisions success at the highest level of the sport, despite being an undersized heavyweight at 6ft 2ins. He also doesn’t have any knockouts in his career. 

“I noticed that a lot of people when they first start their career that they fight people who have been knocked out, that are not in it to win it,” Blackwell explained. “I consider the people I fought pretty good opponents, the last one especially.”

Blackwell’s last fight was a tough one. He defeated unbeaten Cuban heavyweight Ricardo Aguero by a majority decision over four rounds. Blackwell was buzzed in the first-round, getting caught changing stances. Blackwell adjusted and went to win the fight on two of the three scorecards. One judge scored it a draw. 

“I just ran into something stupid,” noted Blackwell. 

Blackwell recalled missing a right hand from the orthodox stance, switching to a southpaw stance only to be met by a concussive blow. Despite an amateur record of 55-15 and winning 10 national tournaments, Blackwell feels he is not getting the credit he deserves as a heavyweight prospect. 

“I feel people underestimate me because of my size and how I look,” Blackwell stated. “I feel like every fight I am underestimated. I have never been a real muscular guy.”

Despite being 250 lbs, Blackwell feels that he is faster than most heavyweights and he believes his amateur pedigree sets him apart from most. 

Now comes his biggest battle yet, the battle to be seen on a national level. Some of the motivation still lingers from seeing the riches Tyson amassed from his great boxing career and believing that one day that could be him.