By Thomas Gerbasi
Lung cancer was the opponent Howard Davis Jr. couldn’t beat, but that didn’t stop him from fighting it tooth and nail. The 1976 United States Olympic gold medalist and Most Outstanding Boxer eventually gave way to the disease. sadly passing away on Wednesday at the age of 59.
Davis’ battle against cancer made headlines around the boxing world after he was diagnosed in early 2015, and while those stories focused on the New York native’s biggest fight, they also reminded a younger generation just how special a boxer he was.
A member of the storied 1976 United States Olympic boxing team that earned five gold medals and included Sugar Ray Leonard, Leon and Michael Spinks, Leo Randolph and John Tate, Davis just didn’t take the gold at 132 pounds; he also earned the Val Barker Trophy as the outstanding boxer of the tournament.
Considering that he did all this just a week after his mother passed away made the feat all the more notable.
With high expectations on his shoulders, Davis turned pro in 1977 and went on to compile a 36-6-1 record before retiring after a 1996 loss to Dana Rosenblatt. One of the most skilled technicians of his time, Davis never won a world title in his three shots at 135 and 140-pound belts against Jim Watt, Edwin Rosario and Buddy McGirt, but he came perilously close against Watt and Rosario while competing in each fighter’s backyard.
In Davis’ later years, he found an affinity for mixed martial arts, becoming a coach for the renowned American Top Team in his adopted home of south Florida, as well as the head of his own promotional company, Fight Time Promotions.
One of the sport’s true good guys, Davis lived a full life as a husband and father, loved combat sports and playing guitar, and while he passed away much too young, he left a legacy to be proud of, in and out of the ring.
