Unlicensed Champ
Damion Gardner
Damion Gardner is a unlicensed/ semi-pro Heavyweight Boxer from Longbridge Birmingham. The 29 year old is the current SPBF Heavyweight Midlands champ and has a unlicensed record of 8 wins and 1 defeat. The 5 foot 10 orthodox fighter boxes out of D&A gym under the tutelage of Anthony Hull.
Damion informed me that he has 2 favorite boxer who are Mike Tyson and Nigel Benn, he explained “I like Tyson because in his prime he was unbeatable, pure aggression, speed and power, he was the complete package. I like Nigel Benn because being a British fighter I love his demeanor in and out of the ring he was an aggressive fighter that never took a step back and the deeper you dragged him into the trenches the more dangerous he would become”.
I then asked him what his favourite fight he has seen? He told me “my favorite fight, it's hard to say, it depends on what I'm looking for in a fight, a toe to toe slugfest it's Gatti vs Ward, for a boxing 101 it's Calzaghe vs Lacey he went into the fight an underdog and completely schooled him”.
We then talked about how long he has been boxing and what got him into the spor. Damion said “I've been boxing on and off for 4 years, work commitments have meant I haven't been able to train properly at D&A with working out of town for long periods, but I've still tried to keep up with training. As a kid I was into martial arts and competed in kickboxing, I always had an interest in boxing but never took it up till mid 20’s. I wasted my late teens early 20’s partying and getting into scrapes, a couple of lads I know were training at D&A so thought I'd go a long and give it a try, it's the best decision I've ever made I just wish I'd have done it sooner”.
The SPBF Champ then talked about his hardest fight, he recalled “my hardest fight was my only loss, there was no one to blame but myself it was my 2nd fight and I was complacent with my training because in my 1st fight I had stopped my opponent in 40 seconds, so in my head I didn't need to train as hard, but learned a valuable lesson from it, that you only get out what you put in”.
Here is Gardeners last fight
Dexter’s Thoughts
I reffed Damion’s last fight on the Fists of Fury 2 show where he beat a highly rated fighter in Dan Podmore. Dan wasn't at his best but you can only beat who is in front of you and Damion done the job. He came a cross as a decent bloke and had a very positive attitude, he is the current Semi-Pro Boxing Federation Midlands Heavyweight champ and seemed like he had a decent punch on him. The Birmingham Boxing Column look forward to his next fight.