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Name: Harry Joe Yorgey
Career Record: click
Nationality: Lightning
Nationality: United States
Birthplace: Bridgeport, Pennsylvania, USA
Residence: Bridgeport, Pennsylvania, USA
Born: 1977-11-20
Stance: Orthodox
Height: 5' 10"
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Professional Career
At the age of 31, Harry is a six-year pro. A prospect at 154 pounds, he is a very popular performer and draws big crowds in his home area in Pennsylvania.
He is coming off a 12 round majority decision against prevously undefeated Jason Lehoullier in his last fight in August, 2008.
After the fight, Dan Rafael wrote on ESPN.com [excerpts]: Any time two undefeated fighters step up to meet each other, it’s interesting. In the first 12-rounder for both, Yorgey, the more polished boxer, claimed the majority decision even though the scores probably should have been more lopsided in his favor. Still, it was a decent fight and a solid performance for Yorgey, who was fighting for the first time in 10 months because of management issues. In fact, the fight with LeHoullier was supposed to take place in March, but problems with his management delayed it. LeHoullier, who was cut over his right eye late in the fight, was coming off a March 7 draw on “Friday Night Fights” against Jose Luis Gonzalez, a bout many felt LeHoullier won. [End Rafael item]
Regarding his layoff, Harry said, “I just went through a big battle with my former manager. It was crazy,man. It’s kind of like a blessing in disguise that my manager cancelled those three fights on ESPN because it gave me more time to gel with my new trainer and the new strength and conditioning, now that I’m not working anymore.
“I’m just thankful that everything went in my favor so that I can fight now. I don’t have any hard feelings with my former team - we got to 20-0, you know. I don’t regret the 20 fights with them, and I hope they feel the same way.
“It was just that they didn’t want me to sign with the promoter that I wanted to sign with. It’s the time to move up, you know?”
In an earlier interview, he said, “I don’t work contruction anymore. That’s the decision I had to make. I signed with Banner Promotions and if we’re going to take a shot at somebody big, I need to be training fulltime, just focused on boxing. I can’t be out there pushing hammers and nails and working construction.
“I’ve got a real big fan base. One thing I’ve had since I started, I used to get 700 people coming to my amateur fights, so I have a lot of fans that come out to watch me fight. It’s amazing, it really is. It’s nice to have the support that I have. Every time I fight, the arena is sold out and they go crazy. They go nuts when I fight.
“I’m thankful to be in this position and I’m thankful to have all my fans who follow me doing it. The decisions I made for myself in boxing are to help put me in the position to make the money I feel I deserve to make. I’ve been a pro since 2002. I’d to have four or five years left and make some good money and win a title.”
Regarding his style, Harry said, “I’m what you call a boxer-puncher. I have great handspeed. I’m very smart, I feel I’m a technician in the ring. I know how to methodically break a guy down.”
Regarding his nickname, he said, “I was 10 years old when I was fighting in a gym down here in King of Prussia, Bridgeport, and Freddie Sutton, the guy who owned the gym, he gave me the nickname. He said my hands were so fast, he couldn’t see my punches. He said, ‘That’s a little lightning right there.’ ”
Harry’s webpage address is harryyorgey.net.
Fight by Fight – 2008 - in his last fight on 8-22-08 in Nashville, TN, he won a 12 round majority decision against previously undefeated Jason Lehoullier (21-0-1): LeHoullier pressed forward, but Harry kept him off-balance with movement and conistently outboxed and outworked him; LeHoullier had a few rallies – he bloodied Harry’s nose in the 2nd round stepped up his pace in the 6th and 7th rounds; many observers thought Harry deserved to win by a wider margin, but the judges scored 117-111, 116-112, 114-114...
2007 - on 10-12-07 in Philadelphia, PA, he won a 10 round unanimous decision in the rematch against Martinus Clay (12-17-2): the fight headlined at the Blue Horizon; Clay gave a good effort and scored with right hands, but Harry consistently outworked him and won by scores of 98-92, 98-92, 96-94; after the fight, Harry said, “He was tough because his counters came from odd angles. Clay likes to counter and use angles and shoulders. The difference between this fight and the last one is that I did not chase him, but forced him to come to me. I’m now 20-0-1 and ready for a big fight against any of the other top junior middleweights. I feel I can fight with any junior middleweight out there.”...
On 6-1-07 in Philadelphia he won an 8 round unanimous decision against Edson Aguirre (12-6-1): Aguirre gave a strong effort and several rounds were close; but Harry consistently outworked him, landed the sharper punches, and won by scores of 80-72, 79-73, 78-74; after the fight, Harry said, “Man, could he take a punch! I thought I hurt him several times, but he just wouldn’t go down. You can’t knock everybody out and I needed rounds. This was the ‘hump bout’ in my career, and I got over the hump. You can expect big things from me in the near future.”...
On 3-30-07 in Phoenixville, PA, he knocked out James Wayka (14-5): the fight headlined at the Phoenixville High School Gymnasium; Harry scored three knockdowns in the 1st round – the first with a right hand, the second with a left hook, and the third with a series of punches – and the referee stopped the fight without a count at 2:38; after the fight, Harry said, “I think most of the key was me being relaxed. He tried to keep distance from me, but I just closed it. A couple of jabs just snapped his neck back, but the hook came off the jab and the right hand followed and put him on the canvas. I don’t even think he saw the right hand that put him down. The next time I switched it up to a hook and he went down again.”...
2006 – on 11-30-06 in Valley Forge, PA, he won an 8 round unanimous decision against Jeremy Yelton (17-7): the fight headlined at the Convention Center; Harry started fast – he rocked Yelton with an uppercuts in the 1st and 2nd rounds; Harry floored Yelton with a right hand to the back of the head in the 3rd, and Yelton was given several minutes to recover; but the momentum turned in the 4th round – Yelton bloodied Harry’s nose, which bled heavily for the rest of the fight, with a left hook-right hand combination, then scored two knockdowns, both with left hooks, that left him dazed in the 5th - they were the first times Harry had been knocked down as a pro; Yelton staggered him again with another left hook in the 6th; Yelton scored another knockdown when Harry’s glove touched the canvas in the 7th, but Harry rallied later in the round and rocked Yelton; both fought hard and landed hard shots in the 8th round, and the fans were on their feet; scored 76-72, 76-73, 74-73; after the fight, Harry said, “I always told my father, John Yorgey, that I wanted to be in a war like Gatti before I finish my career and I finally had that fight tonight. He punched harder then we thought he would. I let him hit me on the tail end of his punches, and that is a mistake against someone with long arms.”...
On 11-9-06 in Philadelphia he fought to a 10 round draw against Martinus Clay (12-13-1): the fight headlined at the Wachovia Spectrum; Harry pressed forward and landed the harder punches, but Clay boxed effectively at times and kept a busier pace; many rounds were close and hard to score, and the judges scored 96-94 Yorgey, 96-94 Clay, 95-95; after the fight, Harry said, “I felt I won the fight. We knew he was a good fighter, but I was the stronger fighter. He was busier, but I was more accurate. It was what just - what style did the judges like? I’d do a rematch tomorrow. Every fan in here would pay to see a fight like that 10 times. It was just a great fight.”...
On 9-11-06 in Philadelphia he won a 6 round unanimous decision against David Toribio (12-5): the early rounds were close, but Harry scored two knockdown in the 4th round – the first when Toribio was off-balance and his glove touched the canvas, but the second was clearly from a punch – and Harry dominated the fight after that; scored 59-54, 59-53, 58-54; after the fight, he said, “I felt tight early. My corner told me to relax and put my punches together. The first right hook inside, that I didn’t throw hard, dropped him and then I landed a second right hand and I saw his sweat shot out off the ring and I knew he was hurt as he went down for the second time. These are fights that are building me. I got to learn how to win fights and this helps, as I continue to step it up.”...
On 6-9-06 in Atlantic City, NJ, he won an 8 round unanimous decision against lefthander Ronnie Warrior Jr. (11-1-1): Warrior fought very defensively; Harry pressed forward, consistently outworked him, and dominated the fight; scored 80-72, 79-73, 78-74; after the fight, Harry said, “I felt great going the full eight rounds, and I could go a few more. I hurt him several times, but he recovered quickly. He was a tough competitor and had very good defense. As for his southpaw style, it was a learning experience that will help me as I move forward. You have to do everything opposite of what you would normally do.”...
On 5-12-06 in Reading, PA, he TKO’d George Klinesmith (22-11-3): in the 2nd round…
On 3-17-06 in Philadelphia, PA, he TKO’d Sean Holley (8-18-1): the scheduled six-rounder headlined at the National Guard Armory; Harry scored a knockdown with a left hook in the 1st round - Holley got up, but went back down to one knee and complained to the referee that he couldn’t see; the referee stopped the fight at 1:33; after the fight, Harry said, “We worked in camp on this, that every jab didn’t have to be hard. You know, touch jab, hard jab, touch jab, hard jab. I saw him jumping in to punch me, and I was going on my trail foot. We worked on this in the amateurs. Step back like you’re actually leaving, but you ain’t leaving. As soon as he jumped in, I stepped back and boom, I sat on a hook and it landed and I heard it pop. I usually don’t hear it land, but this one I did and he want down. I thought he wouldn’t get up, but he did and want back down. I knew if he continued, he would go.”…
On 2-17-06 in Reading he TKO’d Terry Johnson (5-11-1): Harry scored a knockdown with an unanswered series of punches in the 1st round, and the referee stopped the fight at 2:23; after the fight, Harry said, “We talked about this the whole camp and we knew he was going to try to come out right away, so my corner told me to use my jab that is hard. We have been working on it a camp, and after the jab to go to the body afterward to see how he would react to it. I saw the bodywork was killing him, but one thing it did this time that I haven’t done so far in a fight when I had someone hurt was, I sat down and threw selective punches instead just going pop, pop, pop, pop. I sat down, body shot, cut to the side, and followed with a right hand and left hook, and that just took a toll on him. I just felt great out there.”…
2005 - on 10-28-05 in Philadelphia he won a 6 round majority decision aaginst Doug Ebenshade (6-3): Ebenshade gave a good effort; Harry was cut over his right eye by a clash of heads in the early rounds, but consistently outworked Ebenshade and won by scores of 59-55, 58-56, 57-57; after the fight, Harry said, “The cut early didn’t change my fight plan at all. I’m a warrior. I fought five rounds with a broken jaw, so that cut didn’t mean anything to me. It’s just a shame, because now I have to wait for it to heal.”…
On 8-25-05 in Phoenixville, PA, he won a 6 round unanimous decision against Michael McFail (12-25-1): it was Harry’s first fight in 11 months while he recovered from a broken jaw sustained in his previous fight; Harry dominated the fight and won by scores of 60-54 on all three scorecards; after the fight, Harry said, “Every time we were inside, I kept my defense up and he was throwing looping shots. You see, every time he threw them, I stepped out and bang, I would land a counter left hook before he could hit me, and used a straight jab that prevented him from landing anything else. What happened with Larry Brothers was a freak incident. It just happened and we’re past that. We got over the hump now. The first fight back is over, and now it’s back to the gym on Wednesday after a couple of days off to move forward.”…
2004 - on 9-10-04 in Philadelphia he won a 6 round unanimous decision against Larry Brothers (5-10-2): Harry was fighting for the first time in nine months as he recovered from a knee injury; the early rounds were close and Brothers bloodied Harry’s mouth in the 2nd round; Harry rallied in the middle rounds, but Brothers finished strongly in the final rounds; some ringsiders thought the fight was closer, but the judges scored 60-54, 60-55, 59-55; looking back, Harry told the Times-Herald, “Basically, I had my jaw broken in two spots. It happened in the second round and I couldn’t move my mouth, open or shut it, nothing. I knew it was broken because I could feel my teeth on the other side of my face, and my mouth was hanging. It was a terrible feeling, one of the hardest things I ever had to deal with. An injury like that is real dangerous, but I had a perfect record and I wanted to keep it. I was real proud of myself that I was able to fight through it, and it actually made me hungrier to get back in the ring. I knew I have the heart of a lion, but that just made me more confident in myself.”…
2003 - on 12-5-03 in Philadelphia he TKO’d Adbul Rasheed (2-4): Harry landed a hard body punch in the 2nd round - both fighters got tangled up after the exchange, and both fell to the canvas; Rasheed injured his wrist, and did not continue…
On 11-11-03 in Philadelphia he won a 4 round unanimous decision against Peter Kaljevic (1-10-2)…
On 8-15-03 in Philadelphia he knocked out Micky Stackhouse (0-3): Harry scored a knockdown in the 1st round, and Stackhouse was counted out at 2:59…
On 7-19-03 in King of Prussia, PA, he won a 6 round unanimous decision against Matt Hill (4-19-2)…
On 4-25-03 in Philadelphia he TKO’d Lowel Christion (debut) in the 1st round…
On 3-21-03 in Dover, DE, he TKO’d Vincent Russell (0-2) at 0:18 of the 2nd round…
On 2-21-03 in Philadelphia he won a 4 round unanimous decision against Matt Hill (4-17-2)…
He debuted at the age of 25 on 12-6-02 in Philadelphia and knocked out Billy Johnson (1-0) in the 4th round…
AMATEUR, PERSONAL BACKGROUND: Harry said, “I was born and raised in Bridgeport. I have two brothers, an older brother John and a younger brother Jesse. I’m in the middle. My father worked for a recycling plant for a trash company. He got hurt during work, and he’s not able to work now anymore. He broke his back.
“My father always loved boxing his whole life. He always dreamed of being a fighter. When I was real small, he said I used to throw my hands like I was punching all the time.
“I knew what I wanted to do. I knew I wanted to be a fighter. I told my father I was going to be a pro fighter when I was six years old. I said, ‘Dad, I’m going to be a pro fighter.’ He said, ‘I believe you, son.’
“He got me watching boxing on TV with him. That’s all we did. We used to watch the fights all the time. I got them all on tape. I got like, 2,000 fights on tape. He’d get on his knees and I’d punch his face. It was funny.
“Then I got into a gym and I had my first fight when I was like, nine or 10 years old. I stayed in the gym until I was about 13, then I stopped to play football in high school and one year in college. I went to college at St. Francis for a year, and it wasn’t what I wanted. I had the hunger to fight and I had to come home and do it. I started fighting again when I was 19.
“I probably had around 20 to 30 amateur fights the first time. From 19 years old to 24, I probably had around 30. I was in all the tournaments, I was in the Golden Gloves finals five years in a row. I placed sixth in the National PAL tournament in Kansas City. I was in the 2000 Eastern Olympic Trials, I lost to Eric Kelly on points. It was a lot of fun. There’s not a lot of people who can they’re doing what they wanted to do since they were a little kid.”...
“I’m divorced. I have four kids, two boys and two girls. We started young. My son Jordan, who is 12, my daughter Jade is six, my son Cameron is three, and Caylea is two and a half.”...
AMATEUR HIGHLIGHTS: 2000 EASTERN OLYMPIC TRIALS, Scranton, Penn., 165 pounds: in his first fight on 1-23-00 he lost a 17-2 decision against Eric Kelly of Brooklyn, N.Y....
STRENGTHS: Has good skills and movement…has good punching power… |
