Rising ATP force Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard has won his first two ATP singles titles this year and the 21 year old has vaulted from outside the top 200 to 31 in the world.
The newly crowned champion of ATP 500 Basel has done boxing training before each of the last two US Open tournaments at the world famous “Gleason’s Gym” in Brooklyn, NY where the likes of Mike Tyson, Roberto Duran, and many other ring legends have fine tuned their prizefighting skills.
Mpetshi Perricard’s boxing coach Leon Moore, from Guyana, was once ranked 3 in the world in the Featherweight division. He shared some details about training the French giant, who stands six-foot-eight.
Leon Moore: “I worked with him before the US Open 2023 and 2024. His coach wanted him to cross train… He’s really strong and well conditioned. We just have to work on his technique… First time I worked with him he was ranked 200 in the world, last time we work 40.”
Question: How good could be be at boxing, with his long arms, height, reach, power, if he started at age 14?
Leon Moore: “He’s very good at tennis. So I guess that’s what he’s best at.”
Leon Moore coaches boxing at Gleasons Gym. His pro record was 31-3 with 25 knockouts. Check out his web site www.lhmboxing.com
(Artwork by LeRoy Neiman.)
France · Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard · Gleason's Gym · Leon Moore · Nike
