Its not easy growing up in the city of Baltimore. Baltimore city has long been crime ridden and drug infested. When Gervonta Davis got into an altercation at the early age of 5 years old his uncle decided he didn’t want Davis to take the wrong path that would be sure to leave him dead or locked up. He took Davis to Upton Boxing Center where he met coach Calvin Ford who was the inspiration for the character Dennis “Cutty” Wise on the hit HBO show The Wire. Coach Calvin as he is known in the gym saw great potential in Davis at a very young age and together they embarked on a amateur career that spawned many belts and national championships. Gervonta finished his amateur career with an outstanding record of 206-15.
After capturing a national Golden Gloves title the young fighter set his sights on turning pro. Davis turned pro February 2013 and currently holds the record of 7-0(7KOs). I had the chance to interview Davis, we talked about how he manages school, training,signing with Al Haymon, and the influence of being in camp with Adrien Broner and Lamont Peterson.
Davis who dropped out of high school in the ninth grade in order to dedicate himself to boxing recently returned to school in order to obtain his high school diploma. He explained how his education is important because it will help him understand the business side of the sport because boxing itself will only take you so far. He says that everyone should try and obtain their diploma because its an accomplishment that will only benefit you. He takes classes in a smaller classroom setting now, so the distractions that were once there are gone. Davis recently passed all his classes on his report card and is on track to obtaining his diploma in the near future.
Davis’s focus is now only on training and school so he can become not just a better boxer but a better person overall. He made a big career move earlier this year when he signed with boxing advisor Al Haymon who has a great deal of power in the boxing business. Gervonta said when he received the call he went crazy because this was someone him and his coach always hoped to work with. Davis got connected to Haymon because of his heavy involvement in camp with Haymon fighters Adrien Broner and Lamont Peterson. Adrien and Lamont kept talking about Davis and eventually Haymon had no choice but to see what all the talk was about. I asked Davis what does he learn from being around fighters who have competed at the world championship level and he simply replied ” I just learn from their mistakes”. He wants to pick up where they left off. Davis realizes he has the opportunity to put his family in a better position and that’s what he is trying to do. In his last fight against Joshua Arocho he stopped the durable Arocho in the second round with Arocho’s trainer refusing to let him come out for the next round. Davis is a crafty southpaw with ferocious power and speed. He is expected to make a return to the ring in August. He said to “expect a hardcore fighter who is slick like Mayweather but gutter like Mike Tyson.” My last question for Davis was what did he want to accomplish in the sport of boxing. He said ” I want to become a champion and uplift the city of Baltimore. I want to be a role model for the youth and give back.” This young man isn’t just fighting for himself he is fighting for all those who struggle.