Sports Persons of the Week - Jimmy Ford III, and Brandon Guillory

Lake Charles, LA (KPLC) - It’s not too often that a professional athlete comes out of the Lake Charles area, and it’s even more uncommon for a professional boxer to come out of Lake Charles. However, Jimmy Ford III, who is 5-0 in his professional career, and Brandon Guillory, who is 1-0 in his professional career, are both from Lake Charles, and are graduates from Washington-Marion Magnet High School.

“I’ve been fighting since I was 13, I was off and on, now I’m 33, and I’m like really sticking to it, staying focused, and staying dedicated” said Ford.

“Actually getting to this point, I started when I was 26, just looking for another outlet, I did MMA, I started boxing, and I fell in love with it so, I was just like you know, I’m gonna stick with it” said Guillory.

With it being rare that professional athletes, let alone professional boxers come out of the Lake Charles area, both Guillory and Ford feel the added pressure, and responsibility of representing their hometown well.

“I mean on a bigger stage it feels good representing my hometown because this is where I grew up at, you know, like I said, I’m 42, I’ve been here 42 years, you know, and there’s nothing like it, I just want to represent my hometown, and show the people of Lake Charles, you know hey, we do have stuff out here” said Guillory on what it’s like to represent Lake Charles on the professional stage.

Both Guillory, and Ford will have their next fights on October 1st, in Memphis, Tennessee, but prior to that they will be hosting a fundraiser at Advanced Auto Parts on Highway 14 on Saturday, September 17th to raise money for their careers.

Copyright 2022 KPLC. All rights reserved.