Purtell's first fight on home soil

Jan. 8, 2019

By Kristena Schutt-Moore

Cody Purtell got started in sports at North Hastings High School. He played football with the T-hawks and for several years he brought home gold for the NHHS wrestling team. The same team he helped coach after he graduated.
Now he is taking his passion for fighting sports to the big leagues. His first fight in Ontario will be in the Peterborough Memorial Centre on Saturday, Feb. 9 as part of the aptly named “Homecoming IV” match. Purtell will be going up against Jordan McCue in a match that will last four rounds. This battle will be one of the lead ups to the main event staring Cody Crowley.
McCue matches Purtell's count of winning one out of two fights and both are looking to break the tie. His competitor is known for being a bit of a power house, delivering heavy hits and trying to slam his opponents with knock out punches.
To combat this Purtell plans to use his speed and cardio so that McCue will have to chase him and won't be able to land a hit. Then when McCue starts showing signs of tiring that is when Purtell says he's going to land a few knock out punches of his own and he promises it's going to be fun. “It's going to be all stick and move and then it will be time to play.”
Purtell has a combined total of seven pro-level fights in the MMA and boxing rings out west, and he has also travelled over to Asia to compete in a TV show for ONE Championship as one of the fighters representing Canada. However his eighth fight will be his first one close to home and he is planning on representing Bancroft well.
Since returning to his hometown Purtell has started teaching boxing classes at the LiveFit gym for men, women and children. He is also one of the gym's personal trainers. Efficient in five different styles of fighting, Purtell has fun passing on his experiences to his students. “This next fight is all for them [the students],” Purtell explains, “I want to show them that if you have a dream, fight for it! No matter how many times you get knocked down. Get back up and keep going.”
To prepare for this fight Purtell is taking time to train between classes at LiveFit with Jay Kelly and at the Bulldog Boxing Academy in Belleville.
Purtell has dreamed of being a pro-fighter since he saw his first UFC match. It is part of the reason why he started wrestling in high school.
Purtell fought in the memorial centre in his high school wrestling days, and he is looking forward to returning. Those interested in seeing his fight are asked to go to the centre's website at www.memorialcentre.ca and use the promo code “Purtell.” This tells the box office which fighter the ticket buyers want to see and helps the fight coordinators choose fighters for future matches.
Purtell wants to thank all of his supporters who have helped him as he makes his own dream a reality. Those interested in contacting Purtell for more information are welcome to find him on Facebook at “Cody The Constrictor Purtell” or emailing him at cody.constrictor.purtell@gmail.com.