BEYOND COMBAT: CJ Leveque on Dark Past to a Brighter Future, Bringing Awareness Through Professional Fighting

Casper, Wyoming – On November 9th, CJ Leveque will continue his combat sports career. Traditionally an MMA fighter, ‘The Knight’ will now step into the world of bare knuckle boxing, under the debuting promotion WBKFF (World Bare Knuckle Fighting Federation).

Right now, as we approach WBKFF 1: ‘Rise Of The Titans’, one would think Leveque’s main focus is on his up-and-coming bout, but as we look beyond combat, there’s a lot more than just fighting for CJ.

In an earlier conversation with WBKFF Lead Staff Writer and Media Manager, Adam LeBarr, CJ briefly mentioned having a rough past, later elaborating on that statement.

CJ Leveque: “Rough might have been overstated. There are a lot of people that have it rougher than me, most of my wounds have been self inflicted. I have had an unfriendly relationship with alcohol, and learning to live with out it has forced me to realize some things about myself that I’m not exactly proud of. I would like to think that everyday is an opportunity to be the best version of myself that I possibly can.”

“I’ve been blessed with three beautiful children; Charles Jr. (10), Raya (7) and Chloe (5). I love being a father above anything else. Since Jr. was diagnosed on the spectrum with high functioning autism, I have tried to bring awareness to that cause through my career as professional fighter. Aside from that, we like to do the usual family activities; fishing, bowling, movies. Whatever they want to do, I find it easy to say yes to.”

As bare knuckle boxing has more recently become a possible career path after being legalized in the United States, opportunities have come knocking at the door of former UFC, Bellator, and other big promotional talent, as well as those making their combat debuts. Leading up to this point, it’s not always 100% fighting as some may think, and from experience, Leveque has had to not only dedicate time to training, his children and former addiction, he also has had to make time to work a regular paying job.

CJ Leveque: “I’m not gonna lie, it is difficult to keep the balance of working full time and trying to keep up with the demands of training. Sometimes I wish there were more hours in the day. I have had a few jobs over the past 13 years while I have been involved in fighting. My skills range from moving man, to steel worker with a few other interesting jobs in between, but nothing compares to fighting.”

Making his debut in 2006, Leveque became more aware of combat as most due. Instantly, he knew he wanted to be in that cage competing.

CJ Leveque: “A buddy of mine had tickets to a cage fight back in the day. It was the first time I ever saw anything like it. As soon as I saw the first two competitors go at it, I knew exactly where I wanted to be. In that cage!!! I have taken fights in MMA, muay thai, boxing and jiu jitsu tournaments. it’s pretty much what I was born to do.”

“I just want to put on a good show, and I’m very grateful for the opportunity WBKFF is providing me.”

On November 9th, in Casper, Wyoming, CJ Leveque will make history, as he takes on Juan Torres in WBKFF’s promotional debut. The preliminaries will air on FS1, and the main-card will be live on PPV and Fite TV internationally.

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For more information, be sure to follow Adam LeBarr on Twitter: @thefightersblog

www.wbkff.com