Shrimper by day, fighter by night; Dulac man wins North American Boxing Association title

A shrimper from Dulac is pulling up nets in the mornings and putting on boxing gloves at night.

With a current record of 18 wins, 1 loss, and 2 draws, and a continental heavyweight championship in hand, Jonathan Guidry hopes to keep rising as a prizefighter.

Guidry followed in his father's footsteps in the shrimping and crabbing business. On the side, he puts on the boxing gloves to fight for some extra cash, as well as to get to see the world.

Balance between boxing and shrimping hasn't been easy, he said. Guidry picks up two to three matches a year, and said he was never in the best shape for his matches. He said his loyal fans from Dulac are the main reason he gets in the ring.

"A lot of people put me on (fight cards) just because I can sell tickets," Guidry said.

In his last fight, on June 11, he won the North American Boxing Association's Gold title in Florida. Guidry faced Decarree Scott. who was undefeated at the time, and claimed the title by knocking Scott out in the seventh round.

"This fight here, was the best fight of the night really," Guidry said. "We had stole the crowd."

He estimated about a hundred people came from Louisiana to see him.

Guidry said he's getting noticed now at 32, and while he wishes it would have been sooner, it's nice to compete against bigger names. He's been training since he was 13, and said he's never been able to be in peak shape for his matches because training costs money.

Profits from shrimping can vary, but he estimated he can clear about $1,500 on an average day. To get into shape for a fight, he has to take off a few weeks for practice. While he may make $20,000 on a fight, he then has to split that with his handlers.Overall, he can lose money boxing professionally.

But that may not always be the case. Gary Shaw, president of North American Boxing Association, said Guidry proved himself when he faced then-undefeated Trevor Bryan in January for the World Boxing Association's "regular" world title.

Reminiscent of Rocky Balboa, Guidry took Bryan the distance, 12 rounds, before losing by split decision.

Shaw said Guidry's most recent win surprised him.

Guidry is "scruffy," said Shaw, and doesn't look anything like a fighter, but he's a real tough guy.

"When I see fighters like that I always say, 'If I'm in a bar fight, I want that guy with me,'" Shaw said. "Guidry reminds me of the kind of guy you'd put in a toughman contest, for real."

Guidry weighed in at 257 lbs, for his fight against Scott. To be in peak form, he said he'd need to be at 225-230. Scott was a tough fight, said Guidry, he was in great shape and came out the gate hitting him hard.

Guidry said he hadn't done a training camp like he should have and it made his timing off, so he ate lots of Scott's jabs.

But his lack of matches made Guidry confident he could take him.

"I knew he didn't have enough experience," he said. "He'd only had 7 fights."

Around the fourth round, Guidry said Scott began to get gassed, and that's when he started to take the fight back, ultimately taking the win in the seventh.

Now that his fight is done and his belt is in hand, Guidry is back crabbing at about 6 a.m., returning around lunch time, then, setting back out to shrimp until about midnight. And it will stay that way until he can find a promoter to pay him to train.

"I keep shrimping because that's my way of income," he said.

This article originally appeared on The Courier: Dulac man wins North American Boxing Association title