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Fitz, who is coming off a tough knock out loss to the hot prospect, Marco Antonio Rubio, explained, "I am going back down to welterweight, I came in the Rubio fight at 148 and he came in at 154, that probably played to his advantage. I feel that fighting at welterweight will be more beneficial to me now at this stage in my career." Fitz continued, "The reason I was fighting at Jr. Middleweight is because I was the number 1 contender with the WBC, waiting for a fight with Oscar De La Hoya. I got the Vargas fight, but I feel now is the time to move down to welterweight."
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If there were a top ten for community work and activism, Fitz would be at or near the top. He explains, "I am a fire safety ambassador, in Kitchener, Canada, I am an ambassador for a Alcohol and Drug Rehabilitation center. I have established the Whip Boxing academy, I work with the Make a Wish Foundation, and right now I am running boxing camps for the children. Cause to me the children our future."
Fitz's action to help and support his community has lead for him to be a hero in some circles.
In Canada, boxing is not a mainstream sport, but along with his brother, top ranked IBF super-middleweight Syd Vanderpool, Fitz has put a face to Canadian prize fighting.
He states, "I was one of the first to make it in the Canadian boxing scene. Kitchener is a big boxing community; there are a lot of good pro and amateurs who came out of the area. But I was the first to win a championship in 50 years. Lennox Lewis won the Heavyweight crown, but he fought mostly in England, I was at press conference once a while back, I had all the belts that I won in my career and I laid them down, and I said, 'You can do anything you put your mind too.' And that statement is so true. Look at me, in 1996 I won the Canadian Welterweight Championship and nobody expected me to win."
The former Canadian Welterweight and WBF Jr. Middleweight Champion recently received a chance to participate in a commercial with perhaps the worlds greatest athlete, Defending 5-time Tour de France champion, cyclist Lance Armstrong. In the Nike advertisement, Fitz and Lance engaged in a heated boxing match, which Lance coming out victorious. Fitz explained, "Lance is great guy, and he was very appreciative when I was giving him pointers and helping out. I also have to say, most of those fight scenes in the commercial were very real."
Fitz is looking forward to his future, and he is hoping his move back down to welterweight, will lead him to the same successes he had against Stephan Johnson and Tony Badea, his two personal favorite victories. He says there is nothing on the table right now as far as a fight is concerned, but he is looking forward to getting back on the winning track later this year.
Make sure to check out Fitz "The Whip" July 8th at 8:30 eastern Standard time when he enters the TalkingBoxing.com chat room. Also for more info on Fitz and his foundations, check out his Website, www.fitzthewhip.com!
