How a bout with food poisoning led Thanjhae Teasley to the boxing ring

Thanjhae Teasley has always been determined to be a success story. He just didn’t know it would happen in a boxing ring.

Growing up in Bethlehem, Pa., or one of the other dozen or so places he called home, it was easy to see how things could have gone sideways. There were times when his mom was doing well financially and they had a nice place to live, but there were more times when he was “in the hood chilling” or living with cousins.

“I grew up in good times and bad times. A lot of people I grew up with that are in jail or died,” said the 25-year-old welterweight prospect Teasley (10-0, 4 knockouts), who headlines Friday’s Red Owl Boxing show in Houston against Selassie Bey (8-0, 8 KOs), live on DAZN (8:30 p.m. ET).

“I didn’t want to end up being dead or in jail. I didn’t want to disappoint my mom because I had a couple of close calls.”

Teasley wanted more out of life, and he saw college as a way to make it happen. As a decent enough track runner and football player, filling the wide receiver, defensive back and other roles, he had been scouted by a few NCAA Division II and III schools. There was even one D1 school that took a look at him, though his grades weren’t up to par to qualify to play there just yet. He settled on Butte College, the same junior college in California that four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers started his collegiate career at, and then planned to improve his grades before getting the attention of a D1 school.

As so often Teasley would discover through life, there would be other plans in the works that would bring him down another path.

Before Teasley could play a single down for the Roadrunners, Teasley was hospitalized with a severe case of food poisoning which incapacitated him and caused him to lose 50 pounds in a matter of weeks. Soon he was out of school, and would move to Utah, where his mom had moved to be closer to her son. To deal with the anger and frustration of having his collegiate sports dreams fade away, he stepped into a boxing gym.

After five or six days of training, he had his first amateur fight. He lost that bout in March of 2019, but the promise of a second chance at sports glory ignited a passion in him.

“I always wanted to box since I was younger but my mom wouldn’t let me. Instead of me doing that I was just fighting outside. It wasn’t like I was fighting because I was a troublemaker, I was just trying to fight the bullies,” said Teasley, who is now a pescatarian, having given up all meat other than fish due to digestion issues.

“When I entered the boxing gym, it saved me, mentally, physically, all of that. Instead of me getting an assault charge and getting into trouble outside the gym, why do that when I can take my anger out inside the gym? But now I started to fall in love with it overall. I never worked harder for any other sport before.”

Teasley moved back to Pennsylvania in 2021, following his childhood best friend, bantamweight contender Jonathan Rodriguez, to Indio’s Boxing Gym in Allentown, Pa. He had a total of about 15 amateur bouts, but found it hard to secure opponents once his reputation became known in the region. That’s when his coach, Lemuel “Indio” Rodriguez, made the decision that it was time to turn pro.

“I was caught off guard by turning pro, I actually planned on being amateur for a little longer. I wanted to be on team USA and compete in national tournaments,” said Teasley.

“At first I was like damn, am I really ready for this? But I believe that God has a plan for me. I took it as a sign that I have to work harder and learn.”

Manager Trifon Petrov says Teasley is someone who has learned his craft on the job, and has thrived under the circumstances.

“Thanjhae is an extremely hard working kid with a great story behind him. He is very determined and tough mentally, which are some of his best qualities,” said Petrov, who also manages Rodriguez, plus prospects Maliek Montgomery and Elijah Pierce.

“He looked more and more impressive with each fight and I can’t wait for him to show the world his ability on Friday night.”

His eight round bout against Bey figures to be the toughest assignment of his two year pro career. Bey, 26, of Louisville, Ky. has been pro since 2018 but has had long stretches of inactivity, and is fighting outside of his home state for the first time.

Both fighters came in under the 147-pound limit, with Teasley weighing 146.1 pounds and Bey coming in at 146.6 pounds.

Like his opponent, Teasley is fighting outside of his home region for the first time as well. A decisive win would establish him as a legitimate prospect to watch for at 147 pounds.

“I assume he’s gonna come in there and try to bully me. I just know that I’ll go in there, stay disciplined, stick to the game plan and do my best,” said Teasley.

“I feel like it’s a long time coming because this is finally my chance to showcase not only my skills but my boxing gym as well.”

Ryan Songalia has written for ESPN, the New York Daily News, Rappler and The Guardian, and is part of the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism Class of 2020. He can be reached at [email protected].