Richard Lartey set for a spiritual comeback versus American Deontae Pettigrew
Ghana’s Richard Lartey is set to make a powerful comeback on April 19, 2025, as he faces American Deontae Pettigrew at the Hard Rock Casino in Rockford, Illinois.
The match is promoted by matchmaker Bobby Hitz and his Hits Boxing Promotions, and it has been dubbed “The Handsome Heavyweight.” Tickets are already selling out on Ticketmaster.
At stake is the World Boxing Association (WBA) heavyweight title as these two formidable heavyweights clash for ultimate bragging rights and better opportunities.
Chicago born Deontae Pettigrew, who is undefeated in his 14 fights, enters this championship as the favorite, ranked 75th in the world. In contrast, Richard Lartey is ranked 278th, but he is two years younger and possesses more experience. Lartey has faced proven world-class fighters, including current world champion Daniel Dubois, whom he fought prior to the latter facing Oleksandr Usyk and gave Dubois arguably his biggest test to date.
Richard has sparred with elite boxers, including former world champion Charles Martin. Despite having 7 losses in 23 fights, 16 victories with 13 by way knockouts, he has a more impressive resume within the heavyweight division than Pettigrew, whose victories mainly come against lesser-known opponents like Fabio Maldonado, Onoriode Ehwarieme, and Brandon Carmack in his last three bouts.
Both fighters are orthodox boxers, standing almost the same height—6 feet 6 inches for Deontae and 6 feet 5 inches for Richard. However, Pettigrew holds a slight reach advantage, with 81 inches compared to Lartey’s 77 inches.
This matchup will be a 10-round heavyweight championship, and depending on which version of Richard Lartey (either the showstopper or the showman) shows up, predicting the winner becomes challenging.
Boxing Ghana’s managing chief editor is covering this bout live from Rockford. Stay tuned for more updates.