Thornell Johnson brings us part 2 of this touching interview with one of boxing's angels on the sidelines, Adrian Davis. Flying underneath the radar would be an understatement, as it pertains to the success of Adrian Davis. Having trained multiple world champions from the amateurs ranks to world title belts, Davis isn't asking for much. To those who he has trained that have gone on to greatness, Davis has one thing to say, "Just give back."
TJ: Even though you walked away from a lawsuit you probably would have won?
AD: Even to this day my wife fights with me about that. But I call myself having a good heart and sometimes I wonder if I am going to go home and find a check in the mailbox for the club. Maybe a Ray Leonard would say that he wants to come back and help the club, you know? something like that.
TJ: He could ask you to coach one of the teams on The Contender.
AD: yeah that would be nice
TJ: Fast forward to today, what is it like working with the fighters you have now?
AD: It’s no better now in boxing then it was back then. You have Dominique Wade, a fighter that I made. No other coach had any dealings with Dominique but me. You can see he is a Adrian Davis style fighter. And you know how much trouble, personal problems I had with him? NONE. I gave him money, don’t owe him a nickel, and I never had a problem with his father until they left.
TJ: He is about to turn professional and you started him off boxing and recently took him all the way to the Olympic trials…
AD: When we came out the first trial we were disappointed. I tried to talk his father into turning him pro and his father wanted to take him to the 2012 Olympics. His father asked me what I thought they should do, and I told him to turn him pro because he is hot right now. If the kid waits and goes to the 2012 Olympics and doesn’t make it, he is gonna be so disappointed and he will have wasted all those years. I’ve seen too many come up and go down. His father ends up following my advice and turn him pro, but with another trainer.
TJ: Switching gears. A lot of people when they think of the great trainers of today they think of Freddie Roach and Emmanuel Steward, but with 14 world champions on your resume, why do you think you don’t get the exposure as some of these other notable trainers?
AD: Because I am not a out front guy. When I go to the fights and there is a big interview I walk way. Look at Hasim Rahmans knockout of Lennox Lewis. You didn’t see me anywhere around.
TJ: With all the fighters who have won championships under your tutelage do you think boxing is doing a disservice to other fighters by not mentioning how successful you are with your fighters?
AD: To be honest with you that could be my fault because I am not a big guy for the tv. I have never been the kind of guy to jump in and take the credit.
TJ: Do you feel honestly, and I know that you are a very humble guy, that you are as good of a trainer as these other guys or better?
AD: Are you asking me?
TJ: Yes. Do you feel you are just as good of a trainer as they are or better?
AD: Of course I feel like I am better than they are because I do more. I am more physical with my athletes then they are. I run with the guys. When Hasim Rahman did decide to train, I ran with him. When I was with Simon Brown in the high altitude, I ran with him.
TJ: You take these guys from their amateur years and train them to win championships, whereas these other so-called great trainers have good to great fighters that seek them out.
AD: Yeah. For example, Sharmba Mitchell, who I started training when he was 8 years old. He won his first 29 professional fights with me without losing one. I started with keith Holmes when he was 17 years old. I mold these guys from amateur to pros.
TJ: Well now your gym is no longer a for-profit business but a 501c (3) gym which basically makes it a charitable organization. Your biggest thing now is working with some of these at risk children who come thru your doors everyday, which in most cases aren’t able to afford gym dues. You still train these kids but you still have the cost of running the gym. How frustrating is it knowing you don’t want to turn these kids away, but at the same time you still need funds to run the gym?
AD: It’s very frustrating and sickening because you never get a break when you are trying hard to do good. Boxing at it’s low levels is a very poverty stricken sport. There are no sponsorships because a lot of times fighters don’t give back to the gyms. Most of the kids that train to box are kids that come from broken homes, kids that are drop outs, kids that are undereducated, kids from the streets, ex-convicts, and this is boxing. It’s not an educated persons sport. And most people who are educated don’t want to send their kids to play soccer. Not too many parents want their kids getting punched in the head.
TJ: What was one of the most memorable moments you have had as a trainer? You’ve trained a lot of world champions and fighters, but what was your most memorable moment?
AD: I’d have to say what happened with me and Sharmba (Mitchell). I took him to a tournament in Peoria Illinois. We didn’t have any money. We went out there on a Trailways bus. We planned to get there about 7:30 in the morning, but we got there about 1:30 or 2 o’clock in the morning. So we didn’t have no money and no place to go. We took our bags and we climbed up on the roof of a building. There was no place to sleep so we went up there because we knew nobody would bother us. He asked me “what are we gonna do?” I told him we had about 5 more hours till daylight so we had to sleep up there. We laid down there. Sharmba was about 10 or 11 years old at the time. We fell asleep right there on the roof. We were so tired we were knocked out. I am saying that to say that out of all that I did for Sharmba, to take him as far as I did professionaly, 29 fights, undefeated, how could he leave me? (At this point the memory gets AD a little emotional). I just don’t understand how the guilt don’t get to a fighters mind when they do that.
TJ: What would you say to these fighters that come out of these gyms, not necessarily your boxing gym. But what what would you say to them?
AD: I would say to the successful ones who have it to give, to just give back.
TJ: The way you have your gym structured now, if anybody wanted to contribute to the gym they could write that contribution off as a tax deduction correct?
AD: Yes because the gym is non-profit now.
TJ: So if anyone is interested you are accepting donations?
AD: Yes. You see my gym does the same thing a Boys Club or Department of Recreation does only we are not funded by the government. We don’t have any sponsorship. That’s why it’s important for these fighters to come and give back. I'm not asking for donations for me per se, but to help keep these kids off the streets. And no donation is too small. A little goes a long way.
Round 1 Fitness Center is a non-profit organization registered with the Internal Revenue Service. All donations to the gym will be considered a tax deductable gift.
(EDITORS NOTE) - Adrian Davis is boxing's angel on the sidelines. Adrian is someone that literally saves lives. The inner city youth kids that train in his gym see the gym as their sanctuary. PLEASE donate a few bucks to a great cause. Contact Thornell Johnson at http://www.myspace.com/captain_controversy for details.
Contact Adrian Davis at davisround1@gmail.com
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