Three-year-old Tatiana Conway bounded around the Upton Boxing Center, filled with mostly young men, some of whom were pummeling a boxing bag while others tried on their first set of gloves.
The toddler from Northeast Baltimore came to the gym Saturday with her mother and three older sisters to see a match and hear from some the gym's rising stars. Her mother, Lesley Conway, said she brought her daughters to the "Saving Our Sons" event at the gym to give her daughters a new, enriching experience.
"I think it's very important to expose them to different events, whether it's sports or art," she said over the roar of cheers during a match between Gervonta Davis, better known as "Tank," an undefeated featherweight, and Cobia Breedy. Excited kids pushed up against the ring to watch the match. Some slapped the ring floor; others jumped and shouted when Davis struck the final blow.
But earlier, the same kids in the raucous, excited crowd sat calmly and listened to Davis and others talk about overcoming obstacles. The event was created to get youths involved in activities and away from trouble on the streets. The gym is run by the city's department of recreation and parks. It's located in the Upton/Druid Heights neighborhood, which has one of the highest concentrations of poverty in Baltimore. And it's where Davis, one of its star boxers, calls home.
The 20-year-old grew up in a group home, as his parents were in and out of jail. He spoke to kids who face the same challenges that he did in the same neighborhood. Davis has been training at the gym since he was a youngster after his uncles caught him fighting on the street. The gym became a safe place for him to vent his frustrations, he said.
"People I grew up with got killed," he said. Others, were jailed. Davis, however, has traveled all over the country for fights and is preparing for a match May 22 in Atlantic City.
"We're tying to get Baltimore on the right track," said the boxer. His coach, Calvin Ford, said that for the city to succeed, its youths have to thrive.
And Ford leads by example. He's been with Davis since day one and said Davis has become like a second son after his own was killed. Ford has high aspirations for Davis, whose potential he saw from the beginning, underneath the anger on the surface.
Davis now carries himself much more positively. He wore flashy silver sequined shorts in the ring, and a large smile as young kids walked up to him, asking him how he got into boxing and about how he dealt with his frustrations. He beamed as he spoke about his future.
Fellow boxer Malik Hawkins, 19, who has been coming to the gym for 10 years, said he too has higher aspirations, but appreciated the chance to share his experiences with kids. He said he told them about what kept him motivated, and about his childhood, growing up in the same neighborhood.
"It was a big blessing," he said, speaking to the kids. "If I can I can touch them and put them on the right path, that's doing something great."
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