Gary “Digital” Williams' Amateur Pulse
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By Gary “Digital” Williams
Ten amateur boxers from the Washington, DC region completed an outstanding week of competition at the National Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock, AR. The week culminated with two Beltway Boxers capturing the first national titles for the Beltway in five years.
Capitol Heights, MD native Gary Allen Russell, one of the younger brothers of 2008 US Olympian Gary Russell, Jr., duplicated his brother’s feat by defeating Mohamad Adam of Dearborn, MI by a 5-0 decision in the 141-pound class. Gary Russell, Jr. was the last Beltway Boxer to win a national Golden Gloves title in 2005.
The Russell family almost won two national titles in the tournament, but Gary Antonio Russell lost his championship bid to two-time US Olympian Rau’shee Warren of Cincinnati, OH by a 5-0 decision. Antonio Russell reached the finals in his first year of open competition and is just 17 years old.
The big upset came in the 152-pound division where DC native David “Day Day” Grayton, Jr. upset the defending Golden Gloves and US Amateur champion Errol Spence of DeSoto, TX by a 3-2. Spence was ranked number one in the country at this weight class.
Of the nine DC-area boxers who participated, five (The Russell Brothers, Grayton, D’Mitrius Ballard and Jerry Forrest) made it to the quarter finals. Four (The Russells, Grayton and Forrest) advanced to the semi-finals which led to the final results. DC finished second behind Florida in the overall team standings.
Here is the 2010 DC Region team:
106 pounds: Jesus Aguilera (US Naval Academy)
114 pounds: Gary Antonio Russell
123 pounds: Shadeed Floyd (The outstanding boxer at the Regional Golden Gloves in Waldorf, MD)
132 pounds: Kevin Rivers, Jr.
141 pounds: Gary Allen Russell
152 pounds: David Grayton, Jr.
165 pounds: D’Mitrius Ballard
178 pounds: Jerry Odom
201 pounds: Charles Johnson
201+ pounds: Jerry Forrest
Allen Russell and Grayton join a tremendously talented list of Beltway Boxers who have won National Golden Gloves titles.
1973 and 1974: Sugar Ray Leonard
1976: Louis “Heidi” Curtis
1978: William “Flip” Johnson
1979: Kenny “The Technician” Baysmore
1982: Warren “Chico” Thompson
1985: Eugene “Sonny” Speed
1986: Anthony Wilson
1988: Mark “Too Sharp” Johnson
1991: Melvin “Top Gun” Foster
1992: James Harris
1995: DeMarcus “Chop Chop” Corley
1995 and 1997: “Dangerous” Dana Rucker
1998: Lamont “Bay” Pearson
2001: Lamont Peterson
2003: Anthony Peterson
2005: Gary Russell, Jr.
2010: Gary Allen Russell, David Grayton
This star-studded list went on to accomplish much later in the amateurs and in the pros. There are three Olympians on this list (Leonard and Curtis, 1976 and Russell, Jr., 2005) three pro world champions (Leonard, Johnson and Corley) and numerous regional pro titlists.
One other name is added to this list because although he is from Philadelphia, Steve “USS” Cunningham boxed for the US Navy when he was an amateur so he fought out of the DC Region. Cunningham went on to win the IBF Cruiserweight title.
There are also three brother tandems on this list. Mark Johnson and James Harris, Lamont and Anthony Peterson, and now, the Russell Brothers.
To Read More of Gary’s work, you can visit his website Boxing Along The Beltway