(Image Source: Andman8/Wikimedia Commons)
 

BY MEGAN NOE


Talk about coming out fighting.
After spending 26 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit, Dewey Bozella made his professional boxing debut Saturday -- at the age of 52.

Exonerated in 2009, Bozella spent more than a quarter of a century in prison -- earning two college degrees, dreaming of fighting professionally, and as ABC says, refusing to give up.

“Four times he could have walked out of New York 's notorious Sing Sing prison a free man - if only he would have admitted to the crime. Each time he refused, maintaining his innocence.”

This summer, ESPN honored Bozella with its Arthur Ashe Award for courage. And that attention helped make his dream a reality.

“With the help of Bernard Hopkins, that dream was realized Saturday night on the undercard of Hopkins-Dawson. The 52-year-old Bozella took on Larry Hopkins, and after an understandably tentative first round, Bozella controlled the fight, beating the winless Hopkins by unanimous decision. Bozella said, ‘I used to lay in my cell and dream about this happening. It was all worth it.’”

The Hollywood-esque comeback seems almost too good to be true... something a cynical LA Times points out.

“Bozella, looking slow and . . . well, old, for the first two rounds of the scheduled four, shook off the butterflies, started pursuing Hopkins and became the clearly superior fighter. That's assuming this whole thing was not a put-up job, which would be horrible, but certainly not beneath boxing's standards.”

Cynicism aside, Bozella tells CNN the message is simple -- never give up.

“The first thing I would love to do is let people know never give up hope. Don’t let fear determine who you are and be positive about who you are as a person. Never let where you come from determine where you are going.”

And that first match? Turns out it was also his last. Bozella retired right after his debut, saying he hopes to open a gym in his hometown of Newburgh, New York, to help troubled kids.