Candyman Wins Pro Debut as HBCU Fight Night Adds a New Chapter to Morehouse Boxing

ATLANTA — Chad "Candyman" Pitts didn't ease into professional boxing. He took it over.

Fighting on his own campus at HBCU Fight Night on October 4, the Morehouse College student controlled every round against Weusi Johnson inside Forbes Arena and walked out with a unanimous-decision victory in his professional debut.

The judges' cards confirmed what the building already knew. From the opening bell, Pitts set the pace, dictated the distance and never let Johnson settle into the fight.

Controlling the Ring From Start to Finish

Debuts are often cautious. Fighters feel out the new gloves, the new rules and the new weight of a professional record. Pitts showed none of that.

He controlled the ring in every round, backed Johnson up behind his jab and landed the kind of clean, hurting shots that change the way an opponent moves. More than once Johnson was visibly stung. Each time, Pitts stayed composed, kept his shape and went back to work rather than chasing a finish that would have come at the cost of his discipline.

That composure is a sign of the amateur pedigree underneath. Pitts didn't need a knockout to make a statement. The way he won was the statement: four rounds of control, no wasted motion, no moment where the fight was in doubt.

A Home Crowd at Forbes Arena

Forbes Arena was loud, and most of the noise belonged to Pitts.

Morehouse students packed the stands alongside his family, and the arena rose every time he landed something clean. For a fighter making his first professional walk, that kind of support can be a weight. Pitts wore it like fuel. Every round he answered the crowd with more pressure, and the crowd answered him right back.

It was the kind of atmosphere that makes a fight night feel like an event — a campus turning out to watch one of its own take the next step.

From Amateur Champion to Professional

The win continues a year that has already put Pitts on the map.

In February, he captured the 132-pound Elite Male championship at the USA Boxing 2026 International Tournament in Pueblo, Colorado, competing on four consecutive days from February 11 through 14 and winning every bout on his way to the title. Morehouse celebrated the achievement, and Saturday night showed why: the same control, pace and ring IQ that won him an amateur championship carried straight into the professional ranks.

Now the professional record reads 1-0, and the foundation underneath it is clear.

The Rest of the Card

Pitts headlined a night that also showcased other developing fighters. Eric Christie defeated Jeremiah Potts, while C. Haddock earned a first-round KO/TKO victory over Joshua Johnson at the 1:25 mark.

Morehouse and Boxing History

The setting carried its own weight. On September 2, 1970, Muhammad Ali held an exhibition at Morehouse as he prepared to return to professional competition after more than three years away. Roughly 2,700 people were in attendance, including Martin Luther King Sr. and Ralph Abernathy. Ali went on to face Jerry Quarry at Atlanta's Municipal Auditorium that October.

Decades later, the same campus hosted a student beginning his own professional journey — and it turned out for him the way it once turned out for Ali.

TUS TV at Forbes Arena

The Undisputed South TV livestreamed HBCU Fight Night, bringing the fights to viewers beyond Forbes Arena.

For Pitts, the first chapter of his professional career is written: an amateur champion stepped into the pro ranks on his home campus, controlled every minute of the fight and left with a win. For Morehouse, Candyman is a fighter the community can follow from here.

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