Ruffin native Frederick Yates won his Dec. 7 boxing match against Damion Gaskin at the Jamil Temple in Columbia. The three judges voted unanimously to award the fight to Yates. Gaskin, Yates said, “showed a lot of heart and came out to win. He was very strong and loaded up on punches up top.” Yates said he received good reviews of his performance from the television announcers, but his coach “wasn’t too happy about a lot of things.” So he still has work to do. But that will be delayed since Yates broke his hand in the match. “I most likely won’t be able to fight in February, but I’m already back in the gym, working on what I can,” he said. “I am thankful for the people who are supporting and believing in me,” he said. His mother, Patricia Bodison, and sister, Octavia Bodison, gave a dinner sale, and another sister, Tiffany Yates-Farmer, sold tickets and made shirts to sell. Larry Bodison Bail Bonding and Corey Williams helped Yates sponsor the fight which “was truly a blessing,” he said. “Always my dream has been to open a boxing gym in the Walterboro area,” he said. “I don’t know how many more fights I will have, but if anyone would like to see this one, they can download the FITE app to view it.” Also, follow him at Frederick NeverTooLate Yates on Facebook.
