Perennial heavyweight contender Ray Austin returns to the ring tonight in Cleveland. The match — against Earl Ladson — is Austin’s first in two and a half years. “I’m getting back into the heavyweight business,” he says. “I’m taking on all comers…it don’t matter who they are. I’m not looking for media fights, that ain’t gonna do it. I want to fight guys in the squared circle. Tell the rest of the heavyweights that all they gotta do is sign their name on the dotted line. That will make me happy.”

The Cleveland, Ohio native, who has been fighting professionally since 1998, is now 42-years-old. For a professional boxer, obviously, this is an advanced age. But Austin is not daunted. “It feels like I’m 32, to be honest,” he states. The 6’6″, 246 lbs slugger reports that he has had no difficulty resuming training after his layoff.”Technically, I was never laid off,” he explains. “I have always trained two or three times a week, even when I was out of the ring for two years. Preparing to fight comes naturally to me. It’s like learned behavior. I’m used to doing certain things.”

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