Howard Edward Davis Jr. (February 14, 1956 – December 30, 2015) was an American professional boxer. Growing up on Long Island as the eldest of 10 children, Davis first learned boxing from his father. After being inspired by a movie about Muhammad Ali, Davis embarked on his amateur career. He won the 1976 Olympic gold medal one week after his mother died. He was also awarded the Val Barker Trophy at the Olympics, beating out such boxers as Sugar Ray Leonard, Michael Spinks and Leon Spinks.

He turned professional after the Olympics and went on to compile a professional record of 36–6–1 with 14 knockouts. He retired in 1996. After retirement he became a trainer. Eventually he worked as boxing director at American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida, where he trained both amateur and professional boxers and MMA fighters. He was also a motivational speaker and a musician.

Amateur career As an amateur, Davis was trained by his father, a former boxer. He had an outstanding amateur career. In 1976, Davis won the Olympic gold medal in the lightweight division in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Davis was also named the Outstanding Boxer of the 1976 Olympics and given the Val Barker Trophy. His Olympic teammates included Sugar Ray Leonard, Michael Spinks and Leon Spinks.

His Olympic victory came just one week after his mother died of a heart attack.

Davis had an amateur record of 125–5.

Amateur accomplishments include: 1973 National AAU Champion (125 lb) Defeated Leroy Veasley of Detroit in the final 1974 World Championships (125 lbs) in Havana, Cuba Defeated Roberto Andino (Puerto Rico) on points Defeated Rumen Peshev (Bulgaria) on points Defeated Eddie Ndukwu (Nigeria) on points Defeated Mariano Álvarez (Cuba) on points Defeated Boris Kuznetsov (Soviet Union) on points 1976 National AAU Champion (132 lbs) Defeated Thomas Hearns on points. 1976 Olympic Trials Defeated Aaron Pryor to qualify at 132 pounds 1976 Summer Olympics – Gold Medal (132 lbs) and Val Barker Award winner for Most Outstanding Boxer of the Games Round of 32: Defeated Yukio Segawa (Japan) won on points Round of 16: Defeated Leonidas Asprilla (Colombia) won by KO 2 Quarterfinal:; Defeated Tsvetan Tsvetkov (Bulgaria) won by TKO 3 Semifinal: Defeated Ace Rusevski (Yugoslavia) won on points Final: Defeated Simion Cuţov (Romania) won on points

Professional career Davis turned professional in 1977. After winning his first thirteen fights, he challenged Jim Watt for the WBC lightweight title in 1980. Watt won by a fifteen-round unanimous decision. In 1984, with a record of 26–1, Davis fought Edwin Rosario for the WBC lightweight title. Rosario retained his title with a twelve-round split decision. His final attempt to win a world title came in 1988. Davis was stunningly knocked out in the first round by IBF junior welterweight champion Buddy McGirt. He retired after the fight. In 1994, Davis launched a comeback as a middleweight. He retired for good after losing by second-round knockout to Dana Rosenblatt on April 13, 1996.

He finished with a professional record of 36–6–1 with 14 KO's."Howard Davis Jr.: Boxing Let's Talk"

Honors In August 1976, Davis' hometown of Glen Cove, New York honored Davis with a parade for his Olympic achievement, which was attended by Lt. Governor Mary Anne Krupsak.

In July 2009, Glen Cove honored Davis by naming a street after him. The Mayor also proclaimed July 10 as Howard Davis Day in honor of both father and son."Olympic Champ Howard Davis Jr. is honored in Hometown of Glen Cove, NY"

Personal life

In 1981, Davis had his Olympic Gold Medal stolen from his home, only to be found years later by a landscaper on the side of the road. After discovering the true value of the medal, the landscaper returned the medal to Davis.

Davis served as a boxing trainer to MMA fighters, including Chuck Liddell and fighters from American Top Team. He also worked as a sports commentator, a public speaker, and a promoter for Fight Time Promotions. Davis was a boxing coach/trainer for Chuck Liddell on The Ultimate Fighter 11. Davis' wife Karla Guadamuz-Davis served as his Publicist and Business Manager.

Davis followed a strict vegetarian diet.Wong, Nick. (2016). "Boxing Gold Medalist and MMA Coach Howard Davis Jr. Dies at Age 59". Vice Sports. Retrieved 6 Feb. 2019.

Davis' son Dyah is also a former professional boxer, who transitioned to a coaching career and is a boxing coach at the American Top Team.

Death

In the summer of 2015 Davis learned that he had incurable, late-stage lung cancer. He died on December 30, 2015, from the disease at the age of 59.

Professional boxing record

ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes43Loss Dana Rosenblatt2 (12), 13 Apr 1996 42Win36–5–1 Humberto Aranda1029 Jun 1995 41Win35–5–1 Glenn Odem104 May 1995 40Win34–5–1 Joaquin Velasquez1019 Jan 1995 39Win33–5–1 Rip Rettig7 (10)17 Nov 1994 38Loss32–5–1 Buddy McGirt1 (15), 31 Jul 1988 37Win32–4–1 Ron Johnson1028 Apr 1988 36Win31–4–1 Shelton LeBlanc1025 Mar 1988 35Win30–4–1 Ali Kareem Muhammad9 (10), 21 Jan 1988 34Loss29–4–1 Héctor Camacho102 May 1987 33Win29–3–1 Othal Dixon1027 Feb 1987 32Draw28–3–1 Meldrick Taylor1016 Aug 1986 31Loss28–3 Joe Manley1028 Feb 1986 30Win28–2 Sammy Matos4 (10)16 Oct 1985 29Win27–2 Bobby Johnson1014 Dec 1984 28Loss26–2 Edwin Rosario1223 Jun 1984 27Win26–1 Darrell Stovall2 (10), 16 May 1984 26Win25–1 Connie Swift8 (10), 3 Mar 1984 25Win24–1 Greg Coverson8 (10), 18 Jun 1983 24Win23–1 George Feeney1010 Apr 1983 Sanremo, Italy23Win22–1 Tony Baltazar1027 Feb 1983 22Win21–1 Claude Noel1012 Nov 1982 21Win20–1 Ezequiel Cocoa Sanchez1016 Oct 1982 20Win19–1 James Martinez6 (10)26 Aug 1982 19Win18–1 Anthony Collins3 (10)22 Jul 1982 18Win17–1 Julio Valdez103 Jun 1982 17Win16–1 Angel Cruz1016 Apr 1981 16Win15–1 Larry Stanton8 (10), 26 Jun 1981 15Win14–1 Johnny Lira106 Dec 1980 14Loss13–1 Jim Watt157 Jun 1980 13Win13–0 Vilomar Fernandez1223 Feb 1980 12Win12–0 Maurice Watkins1014 Sep 1979 11Win11–0 Jose Hernandez7 (10), 17 Jun 1979 10Win10–0 Giancarlo Usai3 (10), 20 Apr 1979 9Win9–0 Luis Davila104 Nov 1978 8Win8–0 Norman Goins109 Jul 1978 7Win7–0 Larry Stanton1013 May 1978 6Win6–0 Jose Fernandez84 Feb 1978 5Win5–0 Arturo Pineda4 (8)13 Sep 1977 4Win4–0 Domenick Monaco8 (8), 17 Jul 1977 3Win3–0 Carlos Rico Gonzalez611 May 1977 2Win2–0 Rick Craney3 (6), 20 Mar 1977 1Win1–0 Jose Resto615 Jan 1977

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