By Jake Donovan

It was the night before Halloween, but Tony Thompson was already all out of tricks in search of a treat that would have come with a win over Malik Scott. The middle-aged heavyweight had Scott down on the canvas late in the fight, but was unable to close the show in coming up short on the three official scorecards in Orlando, Florida.

For much of the night, Thompson was made to look every bit his 44 years of age and the end left his team members to utter the dreaded “R” word that no boxer likes to hear. It appeared to be his last run, at least until learning of unbeaten heavyweight Luis Ortiz in need of an opponent for a March 5 appearance at the D.C. Armory in Washington D.C.

Thompson was three months deep into what was believed to be his retirement, but took the opportunity as a sign that he was meant to return. A top-rated heavyweight coming to his hometown and suddenly without anyone to face was too good to pass up.

“I mean, it was the sole reason for having the fight,” Thompson (40-6, 27KOs) admitted - without hesitation – to BoxingScene.com in accepting the HBO-televised assignment passed up by several other heavyweights. “Yes, Ortiz is a good fighter. He wasn't on my radar, to be honest, but when they started saying because they have nobody to fight them - I am in your backyard.

“Stop playing with me, call me. I'll walk to the venue and kick your ass. Don't tell me you got nobody to fight and I live here. You feel me? It's a motivating fight. I'm geeked. I'm bringing the whole motherf****n’ city with me, man. Hopefully they go loud, man, and pump a brother up more. I'm already pumped up for the fight. Pump me up more.”

When it comes to pre-game hype, there’s few that can match Thompson’s ability to hold court. Perhaps it’s because he wasn’t bred to be a boxer. In fact, not only did the 6’5” southpaw get off to a late start, he actually stumbled upon it by accident.

A day spent intending to buying insurance led to a meeting with Keystone owner Gene Molovinsky, who happened to own a boxing gym in the same facility. From the moment Thompson put on a pair of gloves, he fell in love with the sport. After a small handful of amateur fights, he found himself a 28-year old debutant in the pro ranks in Jan. ’00.



Despite his limited amateur career, Thompson’s physical attributes made him a dangerous heavyweight on the way up the ranks. A tall southpaw is a bit of an anomaly in the division, but an early career loss still left him to sneak up on otherwise favored opposition, such as then-unbeaten Yanqui Diaz, Dominick Guinn and Timur Ibragimov, the latter two gaining nationwide exposure on ESPN2.

The opportunity leading to Thompson’s first shot was the one that also established his reputation as a road warrior who was always available at a moment’s notice. A 5th round knockout of Luan Krasniqi on the road in Germany in July ’07 earned Thompson the first of two cracks at then-heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko.

It meant two separate trips to Europe, coming up well short on both evenings. Their first fight in July ’08 was regarded as among the most difficult fights of Klitschko’s nine-plus year title reign, ultimately winning by 11th round knockout in Hamburg, Germany.

“He’s the only muthaf***a’ to do me like that, you know,” Thompson said of the most dominant heavyweight of the post-Lennox Lewis era. “He got me, twice, but nobody else can f*** with me like that.”

Klitschko had an easier go of things in their July ’12 rematch in Switzerland, scoring a 6th round knockout. Thompson had compiled a five-fight win streak in between the losses, but not enough to where HBO – whom aired the first fight and will televise this weekend’s show – felt compelled to present the sequel on its airwaves.

His showdown with Ortiz on Saturday evening will mark just the second time in his 16-year career that Thompson will appear on the network – this one coming as more of a compromise on HBO’s part given his willingness to accept a fight nobody else would.

“My whole career has been a span of short-notice fights; this is nothing new to us,” Thompson insists. “It don't matter because I'm working my ass off, and I didn't want to talk myself into this fight to get embarrassed in my hometown or HBO at that. I've only been on HBO one time. They never invited me back.”

There was a brief moment when he punched his way back into contention – and perhaps with one more win, a return to HBO having come much sooner. Thompson threw the boxing world for a loop with not one, but two knockout wins over David Price on the road in England.

Price was an unbeaten heavyweight prospect seemingly on the cusp of contention heading into his Feb. ’13 clash with Thompson, who hadn’t fought since his repeat loss to Klitschko seven months prior. All the American southpaw needed was one clean shot – a clubbing right hand - to shatter the hopes and dreams of a rising talent 12 years his junior.

Thompson didn’t hesitate to accept a rematch, returning to England five months later. This time, he was forced to climb off the canvas to repeat the feat, but did so in five rounds to prove there was still plenty left in his gas tank – enough to where he agreed to a title eliminator with unbeaten Kubrat Pulev.

A win would have put him in line for a third shot at Klitschko, but the clock struck midnight on his Cinderella run as he dropped a competitive but clear points loss on the road in Germany. It kicked off a stretch of three losses in his last five fights, his only wins coming over a faded, underachieving Odlanier Solis on the road in Turkey.

The sub .500 run over that period was enough to convince the World Boxing Association (WBA) – whom recognizes Ortiz as its interim titlist – to not sanction this weekend’s fight, which goes on as a non-title affair. It’s of little concern to Thompson, who just over four months ago began searching for a new line of work and now once again finds himself a win away from being right back in the mix.

And make no mistake, a win on Saturday will once again put any talks of retirement on the back burner.

“I mean, at this age, honestly, it's a fight-by-fight basis,” Thompson admits, not wanting to look any further than Saturday evening. “I'm not 24. Hell, I'm not even 34. I'm 44. So what I say changes fight to fight, how I feel. Yes, I have been thinking about retirement. I'm 44. Who doesn't think about retirement as a fighter or any professional athlete at 44?



“Does it mean I'm not wound up for this fight? Hell no! It's absolutely got my juices pumping. And that's bad news. The worst thing they can think is that I'm retired. So don't come in here thinking it's a payday for me, because I don't look at the payday. I look at the payday after this fight. You feel me? Forget retirement talking to the fighter.”



Given his last performance and his age, it was naturally the main topic of conversation. Yet interestingly, Thompson finds himself back in the ring sooner than his most recent conqueror, as Scott has yet to land a significant fight despite being linked to several rumored bouts. Despite scoring the win that night, Scott boasts an in-ring style that doesn’t exactly appeal to his heavyweight peers.

Thompson won’t have to worry about finding his opponent this time around.

In Ortiz, he faces perhaps the most physically gifted heavyweight in the world today, one who can box and brawl equally well. So while Thompson comes in as a considerable underdog, the sense is that this matchup gives him a much better chance at making a highlight reel – for better or for worse.

“Of course I was going to give it one last run. I lost to Malik, yes, but Malik absolutely has the wrong style for me and I wasn't in the best shape I should have been,” notes Thompson. “Not to say I'm going to be in a whole lot better shape for this fight. But it's a different fighter. He's not running.

“We're going to meet in the middle of the ring and we're going to decide what's going to happen. And just like he try to knock me out, I'm going to try to knock him the f*** out.”

Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox