On the heels of the knockout victory that earned him the World Boxing Council’s (WBC) Continental America’s middleweight title belt, George “Comanche Boy” Tahdooahnippah has taken the next step as a pro boxer by signing an exclusive promotional contract with Star Boxing of New York City, a boxing management company with a reputation for developing elite fighters.
Tahdooahnippah is undefeated as a pro boxer, competing as a middleweight, super middleweight and light heavyweight. Of Comanche and Choctaw descent, he grew up on the southern plains of Oklahoma, and is an enrolled member of the Comanche Nation. While he has excelled as a pro boxer, he took the long road getting there; not entering the squared circle until the age of 23.
Like a lot of young kids, Tahdooahnippah played competitive baseball, football and wrestling. He continued playing football and wrestling throughout his school years, excelling in both sports. But it was wrestling that helped Comanche Boy get beyond being just a high-school jock. As a teenager, Tahdooahnippah earned Cadet Greco-Roman All-American honours, placing 7th in the United States. He won a number of wrestling titles, including on a successful tour of Japan, as an Oklahoma All Star. Upon graduating from high school, Tahdooahnippah’s hard work and success landed him a full wrestling scholarship at Delaware State University.
From wrestling, Tahdooahnippah transitioned to kickboxing. He won the North Texas Light Heavyweight title and was the runner-up at the 2002 Sansho-Kickboxing World Championships. Tahdooahnippah later returned to his hometown of Lawton, Oklahoma, to fight in the Original Toughman competition; dominating the field to win the light heavyweight championship. It was then he found his calling as a boxer.
At the age of 23, he arrived late to boxing, by the sport’s typical standards, and was an unlikely prospect to succeed. But his natural abilities proved he was destined to be a boxer. Comanche Boy continued to box and train out of a Lawton boxing gym, where he met a professional boxer named Grady Brewer. Tahdooahnippah was taking the same path Brewer had already travelled. Brewer was a former Toughman champion turned professional boxer, who went on to capture multiple world titles, including the IBA and IBC world middleweight titles, as well as being the 2006 winner on ESPN’s reality show, The Contender. Tahdooahnippah has developed a close personal and professional relationship with Brewer, and his mentorship has proven to be invaluable to Comanche Boy’s success in the ring
In April 2004, at the age of 25, Tahdooahnippah had his first professional fight and won by TKO in the first round. Tahdooahnippah’s career was slow during his first years in boxing. He had only four fights, but remained undefeated. However, more recently, his career has taken off.
Tahdooahnippah remains undefeated as a pro boxer, compiling a record of 30 wins, 0 losses and 1 draw, with 21 knockouts. In 2008, Tahdooahnippah defeated Jonathan Corn with a seventh round TKO to win the vacant Native American Boxing Council Super Middleweight Championship.
He followed up that title fight victory with 15 more wins in the three years leading up to last summer’s WBC Continental Americas Title win. Since then, he has successfully defended his belt twice, in matches taking place in his state of Oklahoma. But with his new alliance with Star Boxing, the Comanche Boy may finally start getting some of the exposure he has earned, including more televised fights on boxing programs such as ESPN’s Friday Night Fights.
“(Signing with Star Boxing) is going to help me get bigger fights and get to the next level,” said Tahdooahnippah, in a recent interview with Indian Country Today. “This is a step in the right direction. Hopefully I’m going to keep taking steps until I get to a world championship.”
