Chris Ousley: The Chicago boxer who’s doing it his way
Undefeated Chicago boxer Chris Ousley relied on himself to manage and promote his career. Now signed with Golden Boy Promotions, he’s ready for more.
Chicago boxer Chris Ousley (10-0, 9 KOs), a.k.a Chris “Milly,” is a unique person and boxer. He entered the sport as a novice in his 20s with nothing but hopes and dreams, but he proved to also have brains in the process.
The college football player turned boxer fell in love with the sport after getting a taste of pre-fight exhilaration in 2013 while in Las Vegas before the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Canelo Alvarez contest. He set his sights on becoming a professional boxer, but decide to take control of his business ventures. Ousley proved his wisdom after signing a multi-year promotional deal with Golden Boy Promotions in February.
FanSided profiled Ousley’s story six months ago. Some of the things Ousley said proved to be prophetic.
“They [major promoters] don’t want to let the little guys in, but eventually, they’re not going to have a choice but to let little guys like me in the door,” Ousley told FanSided in fall.
Ousley kept winning and Golden Boy Promotions along with several other companies took notice. It was a long time coming, but he finally received the dream offer from a major promotional company that he has been waiting for. Ousley reached out to Golden Boy years ago but never heard back.
“Back when I was coming out of the amateurs, I reached out to Golden Boy several times,” narrated Ousley. “They were saying, ‘We’ll get back with you. We’re not signing guys right now, but we’ll definitely keep you on our radar.’
“Nobody ever got back with me, so I started to really build myself up. I started paying for my own fights, paying for my opponents, selling tickets, doing what I had to do. I met Adrian Clark almost two years ago, and I met him strictly through Main Events.”
Ousley is extremely intelligent and business savvy. He knows that boxing is a vicious industry where shady managers and small-time promoters are looking for naive, inexperienced young boxers to take advantage of.
The top promotional companies target amateurs who are world champions or Olympic medalists. Most boxers never achieve that level of success. Young fighters over-estimate their value when coming up through the amateur ranks. They might win a regional Golden Gloves title or even place nationally and think that they’re going to sign a multi-million dollar contract with the likes of a Golden Boy. That’s not the case.
A boxer in that position usually gets connected with a low-level manager and promotional company and struggles to make more than $1500 per fight. Once they realize they’ve been had, they’re locked into a multi-year contract with very little legal recourse. Sometimes they don’t even have a copy of their contracts and don’t have the expertise to realize that the Muhammad Ali Act deems that illegal practice.
Ousley started boxing late and won national titles and qualified for the Olympic Trials, but he didn’t have time to mature through the amateur ranks. He refused to get locked into a bogus contract with a subpar manager and promoter. He used his wits combined with the expertise of boxing advisor and manager Adrian Clark to navigate through the start of his professional career on his own in the hopes he could land a big fish promoter.
“He [Adrian Clark] helps a ton of guys,” explained Ousley. “Sometimes I don’t think he gets the recognition that he deserves because he helps a lot of guys.”
Clark isn’t Ousley’s manager, but he acts on an advisory capacity. He has helped the careers of Willie Monroe Jr., Jarrell Miller, Errol Spence Jr., and many others. Ousley credits Clark for helping him land his multi-year contract with Golden Boy.
“Jan. 8 we flew down to L.A. to meet with Rob [Diaz],” said Ousley. “They invited me, my wife, and Adrian down to the office. We sat down and talked and got on good terms. He said you don’t really look like a fighter, but he said I want to sign you. Give me 24 hours, and I will have something. Within 24 hours we got an email from Rob giving us an opportunity.”
Ousley won his first bout under Golden Boys banner on March 21 with a sensational first-round knockout of Jorge Luis Munguia. What made his victory even more impressive is that he did it without a trainer.
Ousley worked with former Olympian and Floyd Mayweather associate Nate Jones for years, but he felt like he needed a change.
“Nate Jones is not a part of my team,” said Ousley. “We decided it was time to move on. It was time to make some changes for me to grow. We’ll decide on a head coach and an assistant coach, but we haven’t made those decisions yet.”
Ousley has some ideas for trainers he would like to work with going forward.
I have a really aggressive style,” Ousley stated. “I like to fight and put on a show for fans. The coaches I would like to test the waters with is a guy like Abel Sanchez, Freddie Roach. I like Manny Robles. Those are definitely my top three guys.”
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Ousley’s career is undergoing a lot of changes and all for the better. He’s signed to one of the biggest boxing promoters in the world despite the odds being stacked against him. He’ll find a way to connect with a world-class trainer to complete his metamorphosis into an elite super welterweight. Ousley’s journey into the highest ranks of professional boxing is just beginning, but he has proven that, when it comes to his career, he knows best.