Cletus Seldin steps back into the boxing ring a smarter fighter than before

When it comes to boxing, Cletus Seldin doesn't necessarily see himself as getting older. Rather, he's getting smarter.

On Tuesday, the 37-year-old Seldin ends a 22-month layoff when he fights Ghana’s Patrick Okine in a super lightweight bout that will headline a boxing card promoted by Boxing Insider at Sony Hall in Manhattan.

“For the past eight months I've been in the gym every single day, expecting to have a match,” said Seldin, who is from Shirley. “Back in the day, you'd only see me in the boxing gym three days a week. Now I voluntarily go six days a week.”

Seldin (26-1, 22 knockouts), credits his new approach to an article he read about how Terence Crawford and Floyd Mayweather Jr. always stayed close to their fighting weight by avoiding prolonged absences from the gym. In years past, Seldin would break his training camp into two parts, the first was spent losing weight, the second preparing for his opponent.

“For me, making weight was the hardest part of the sport,” Seldin said. “Now I can focus on the fight, my style and perfecting my craft.”

Seldin debuted in the 140-pound world ratings in 2017 when he knocked out Roberto Ortiz (35-1) at the Nassau Coliseum on a card televised by HBO. While he lost his next fight, also on HBO, Seldin stopped former world champion Zab Judah in 2019. But his career has been beset by injuries. He’s endured five surgeries: three on his shoulders, one on his right hand and Tommy John surgery on his left elbow.

“Cletus is in great shape,” trainer Scott Lopeck said. “He still has a lot left to give in this sport. He's never taken a beating. He can really make a run at it.”

He will need to get past Okine first, who will enter the ring with a 21-5-2 record. The majority of his fights have been in Ghana. He made his U.S. debut in March, getting stopped in three rounds by Jan Carlos Rivera in Philadelphia. Okine has been training in Florida for the Seldin fight. Seldin has used social media platforms to watch videos of Okine.

“I put a lot of effort into film study now, I treat it the way I did when I played high school football,” said Seldin, who was a defensive back on Longwood High School’s 2004 Long Island Championship team. “I am little older now, I watch more film. I look for different aspects, not just his style. I want to know how many punches he throws a round. If I make Okine throw 100 punches, how is he going to react the next round? Those are the kind of things I study now.”

Deer Park middleweight Famous Wilson is also on the card in a four-round bout. Wilson (2-0) meets Derrick Vann (4-8).