Tulsa Boxing Great Cecil Pettigrew Uses Skills To Help Those In Need

Unless you're looking for it, you're probably just going to drive right on by, and even once you find it, it's not much to look at. But inside the four walls of Team Lethal Boxing, one of Tulsa's sports greats is whipping his clients into shape and changing lives.

“I've got grandpas and grandchildren,” said Cecil Pettigrew. “They all come."

Pettigrew's career spanned some 17 years, 61 fights, 41 wins and 32 knockouts. Now, "Lethal Cecil" is passing along the skills of the sweet science, from speed bags to sparring.

"That's when you find out the guys that want to stay and the guys that want to hit the bags,” stated Pettigrew.

But perhaps his most noble pursuit is the Cecil Pettigrew Foundation, a non-profit aimed to help at-risk young people and kids who may have no place else to go.

"The way the world's going now, you got the gangbangers, and the troublemakers and the people in trouble,” he said. “If I can save a couple kids, take their frustrations over here, I'm happy. It gives them a place to go. A lot of kids get in trouble because they've got nothing to do after school."

The foundation exists solely through donations; if a kid is recommended, they can come in and be a part of the gym free of charge.

"It gives me a sense of joy and accomplishment,” Pettigrew stated. "I got a boat, go fishing, or I got land I could go hunt on. But to me it's an accomplishment and it's kind of gratifying to see these kids, and they come over here and they work out hard and they get after it."