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Photos by Erin Nelson.
Local boxer John Williams, right, competes in an elite championship round against Maleik Lawson of Georgia during the 2023 Southeast Regional Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions at the Lee Community Center in Homewood on April 22.
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Photos by Erin Nelson.
Local boxer Lance Holloway, right, competes against Marco Jones of Georgia.
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Photos by Erin Nelson.
Local boxer Ke’Nario Davidson, left, competes in an elite championship round against T.J. Arnold of Tennessee during the 2023 Southeast Regional Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions.
More than 300 people packed the gymnasium of the Lee Community Center for a weekend of amateur boxing in late April.
The 2023 Southeast Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions brought some of the brightest boxing talent from around the Southeast under one roof on April 22-23. On the line was an opportunity to advance to the 2023 National Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions in Philadelphia and a possible invitation to the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in December.
The tournament was hosted by Dave Godber, Southeast Golden Gloves franchise delegate and owner of Round 1 Boxing & Fitness in Hoover. It featured a cadre of elite fighters competing out of his gym as well as top amateur boxers from Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and South Carolina.
“Alabama has a chance to put five boxers in the National Golden Gloves if we beat the other states,” Godber said. “If you make it to the National Golden Gloves, then you’re something.”
On Saturday, April 22, four out of five fighters drew a bye, leaving 125-pounder Ke’Nario Davidson as the sole Alabamian and Round 1 boxer competing in the first day of action. Davidson struggled somewhat with his opponent, Joven Tiller, who held Davidson throughout all three rounds. However, Davidson prevailed, landing punches when he had the opportunity to advance to the championships on Sunday.
In the championship bout, Davidson faced Tennessean T.J. Arnold in the first fight of the day. For close to a minute after the opening bell, Davidson and Arnold sized each other up, with Davidson patiently waiting to find an opening.
But he was perhaps too patient. Arnold landed a few punches to his body and head. The Alabamian stood his ground during the flurry but allowed his opponent to rack up points in the process.
Toward the end of the first round, Davidson picked up his energy level, throwing a flurry of punches at Arnold, eventually losing his balance into the ropes. After regaining his balance, Davidson backed Arnold into the corner as the boxers traded punches until the bell ended round one.
Davidson opened round two with three left jabs and a left hook landing on Arnold’s ear. As the first minute wore on, the energy level settled back down as the fighters sized each other up until Arnold found a groove, landing more punches on Davidson and backing him into the ropes and, again, knocking him off balance.
Davidson eventually found his second wind and traded body shots with Arnold as the second round rang to a close.
The third round began with Davidson as the aggressor. However, Arnold responded, continuing to throw punches as Davidson waited for an opening for a knockout shot that never came. As the bell rang to end the third and final round, Arnold’s victory was clear.
The next two fights featured boxers from out of state. In the second fight, Christian Andrade of Georgia defeated Sema’J Young of North Carolina in the 132-pound Elite championship. In the third fight, Nathan Threatt of South Carolina defeated Georgian Devin Carter in the 139-pound Elite title bout.
Bout number four featured Alabamian and Round 1 boxer John Williams fighting in the 147-pound Elite championship against Georgian Maliek Lawson. Williams, who also coaches at Round 1 with Godber, received a bye in the semi-finals, a development he wasn’t that thrilled about, but he was confident in Godber’s plan.
“I’d rather fight twice and get a rhythm going, but I’ll accept it,” Williams said. “I’m just focused on implementing the skill set and just doing the correct moves when they’re needed, controlling myself and following through.”
Williams came out strong after the opening bell in bout four, dominating the first round with a flurry of body shots, backing Lawson into the ropes. However, at this moment, and throughout the three rounds, Williams seemed to back off when he had a chance to put the fight away for good.
In round two, once again, Williams appeared to be the aggressor, backing Lawson into the ropes but seemingly letting off the gas when it looked like he could have sent his opponent to the canvas.
In the third round, Williams’s patience would come back to bite him as Lawson established a rhythm and gained his second wind. Midway through the round, Lawson forced a standing ten count on Williams. Trying to re-establish control, Williams ran out of gas and was forced into another standing 10-count. Moments later, the referee stepped in to stop the fight with around one minute left in the bout.
The dominoes continued to fall as the final two Elite Alabamians lost in the finals. Lance Holloway was defeated by Marco Jones of Georgia in the 165-pound Elite Championships. In the final Elite bout of the weekend, Steve Motley lost in a controversial decision to Matthew Nore, representing Georgia, for the 176-pound Elite title bout.
The event also featured novice boxers getting some of their first action in the ring, including Mountain Brook High School graduate Jose Pilco, who defeated Jace Gardener in his debut bout. Also making essentially his second debut was Tyler Turner, a 2018 Hoover High School graduate and current UAB student studying music technology.
Coming into his bout on Sunday, Turner had fought only once, a loss, in 2021 before tearing his ACL. In only his second fight — and the first in two years — Turner soundly defeated Jerry Maynard in a 156-pound novice division fight that had the entire gym, including many of his friends from high school, on their feet.
“The whole plan was to drown him and not stop throwing punches no matter what,” Turner said. “I’ve been working so long for this, so to come back like that, just feels amazing.”
