He drives a school bus by day, but the desire to etch his name in boxing history drives Wendy Toussaint in the ring.
Toussaint, 32, is a rising prospect in Joe DeGuardia’s stable under Star Boxing Inc., a White Plains-based company that promotes several fighters on Long Island, including former light heavyweight champion Joe Smith Jr. – with whom Toussaint has served as a sparring partner.
Toussaint fights in the super-welterweight division of 154 lbs. He is ranked 13th in the United States in the division.
“Wendy is a very good all-around boxer-puncher and has tremendous potential,” DeGuardia told the Press.
Toussaint was born in Haiti, and grew up in French Guiana. He was introduced to boxing at a young age – 10 – by his cousin, who had taken up the sport because she was getting bullied in the neighborhood. Toussaint loved the exercise itself; when he sparred for the first time, however, was when he realized he had a passion for it.
“When you start sparring, some people get a little challenged,” Toussaint told the Press. “I was not scared at all. I love it.”
Toussaint’s inspiration, as a boxer, is Muhammad Ali, his all-time favorite along with current world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.
Limited amateur competitions led Toussaint and his family to move to Long Island at age 17, where he started out with Star Boxing and made his professional debut at The Paramount Theater in Huntington. He initially trained in Huntington as well, until he became acquainted with trainer and former amateur boxer Kevin Zaharios. Toussaint now trains with Zaharios at Heavy Hitters Boxing and MMA in Ronkonkoma.
“Everyone who meets him can see it, the level talent-wise, his movement, his footwork,” Zaharios said. “This is boxing smarts and ability. And he just needed someone to pay attention to him. One of the other trainers told me, ‘I want you to work with Wendy.’ We started getting close, and now we’re like family. The relationship Wendy and I have is, number one, team, and number two, family. Whatever we do, we’ll do together, and we’re gonna have the last laugh. And we’re gonna stay right here until we do it.”
Outside of the ring, Toussaint is a bus driver for the Deer Park School District.
“The kids ask me if the punches hurt me and that stuff,” Toussaint said with a laugh. “I tell them, ‘A little bit.’ They’re always asking me strange questions, like if I want to cry when people punch me. I tell them, ‘No, I don’t cry.’”
But from his day job, he’s found a hometown fanbase who now cheers for him.
“Nowadays when I fight, they all want to come see it,” Toussaint added.
Stylistically, Toussaint is flexible. He’s won seven bouts by knockout, and eight by decision – the mark of a “boxer-puncher,” as described by DeGuardia.
In his still relatively short 17-fight career, Toussaint has seen his fair share of drama in the ring. He only has two losses – and neither of the losses were anything to be ashamed of.
He gave a very good account of himself in the ring in a 2020 fight against Charles Conwell, a dangerous puncher known for his tragic association with Freeport native Patrick Day. Day died of injuries sustained from a fight with Conwell in 2018.
Toussaint took Conwell to the ninth round, but Conwell eventually got the better of Toussaint and won by knockout. Toussaint had managed to win two rounds on two out of the three judges’ scorecards at the time of the stoppage.
Toussaint’s other loss was controversial. He took a short notice fight against Ardreal Holmes of Flint, Michigan, and they fought in nearby Detroit – where Holmes, who is ranked in the top 15 in the world in the division by two major sanctioning bodies, had the “home crowd” advantage. The fight had to be stopped due to a cut on Toussaint caused by an accidental headbutt, and it had to go immediately to the scorecards early. To the chagrin of boxing writers ringside – and apparently the crowd – Toussaint lost, with two judges having Holmes ahead.
“The crowd was going nuts,” Zaharios said. “Wendy was saying ‘Let’s fight, let’s fight.’ But the referee stopped it.”
Boxing Scene and Boxing Talk described the decision as controversial, and legendary boxing trainer Teddy Atlas agreed on his podcast. Atlas went as far as to claim the decision was corrupt.
Nevertheless, Toussaint found himself a winner in what was, on paper, a loss. Toussaint says the Holmes fight was his favorite of all 17. The World Boxing Association (WBA) took notice, and offered Toussaint a fight against their intercontinental champion, Jerome Jones Jr., last October.
Toussaint won the fight by knockout in the third round.
For his toughness, smartness, and heart – displayed particularly in the fight against Holmes – Toussaint was named 2023 Fighter of the Year by Long Island Boxing Charities (LIBC).
“When we were looking at candidates for fighter of the year, we looked at Wendy,” Matt Pomara, co-founder of LIBC, told the Press. “His record on the year was 1-1, but his one loss was to Holmes – and I thought he was clearly winning that fight.”
LIBC was founded in 2019, and seeks to give both financial and material support to boxers who have fallen on hard times. Additionally, on Long Island, where other athletes get the benefit of the varsity system, LIBC seeks to help get young boxers attention from promoters.
“When you look at Wendy’s record on the year, he traveled to a top 15 fighter in the world’s hometown in Detroit, took the fight without question ready to go and was really out boxing him for the first four or five rounds,” Tony Palmieri, co-founder of LIBC, told the Press. “I think when we look for people to make our Fighter of the Year, it’s not necessarily just about wins and losses, but it’s also about their character and what they do outside the ring, obviously, Wendy’s a warrior. Outside the ring, he’s a school bus driver and works with kids day-in, day-out, and doing both of those things is no easy task. We felt Wendy embodied the Fighter of the Year.”
Toussaint’s friendly disposition was noted by both Pomara and Palmieri, a stark contrast to the sport he competes in.
“I like to call him ‘Jekyll and Hyde,’” Palmieri said. “Outside the ring, he’s super calm, composed, he doesn’t get riled up. But if you watch some of his highlight footage, there are times when he smells blood in the water, and it’s almost like he blacks out, like he just goes into this mode of like, pure aggression, he just lays into the guys. A lot of guys can’t close the show. They can’t find that moment when they really need to step on it. Wendy has proven he has that ability. So as long as he’s composed with it, and knows when to unleash it, and when not to, the sky’s the limit for him.”
In Toussaint’s next fight, he’ll be heading to South Africa – his first fight outside the U.S. – to face Shervantaigh Koopman.
“I love challenges,” Toussaint said. “This fight is coming at the perfect time, and I’m ready.”
His dream in the sport?
“Whatever good that’s coming my way,” Toussaint said. “Get a belt, be a champion? We’ll see.”
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