Diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer one week before his 59th birthday last year, Howard Edward Davis Jr. bravely battled its debilitating effects before eventually transitioning onto the ancestral realm at his Plantation, Fla. Residence, Dec. 30 at 9:17 p.m., while surrounded by loved ones.
The eldest of Howard Sr. and Catherine Davis’ 10 children, Davis was born Feb. 14, 1956, in Glen Cove, Long Island. Inspired by Muhammad Ali’s documentary, “A.K.A. Cassius Clay,” he began training under the tutelage of his father, a former boxer.
Developing into one of the sweet sciences’ highest skilled technicians, Davis is regarded as one of the greatest, and most decorated, amateur boxers in U.S. history, becoming the first to win the prestigious N.Y. Golden Gloves a record four consecutive times (1973-1976).
“When I was fighting, the finals were at Madison Square Garden and 22,000 people would show up to see amateurs,” he recalled. “Think about that … It was truly amazing to me to have the spotlight on you in that way and seeing a crowd, an ocean of people. You looked around and said … ‘Man, I’m in the same ring where Muhammad Ali fought Joe Frazier (and) I’m an amateur.’ Most of the people probably didn’t even know the names of the guys fighting, but it wasn’t about the names, it was about the electricity.”
He won three N.Y. Metropolitan Championships (1974-76), three National AAU titles (1973/74/76) and the 1974 World Championship, and he beat some formidable foes to qualify for the 1976 Olympic Games.
“To make that Olympic team, Howard went through a ‘murderers’ row’ of [future professional world champions] Thomas Hearns, Aaron Pryor and Hilmer Kenty,” pointed out matchmaker Ron Katz. “As a person, there was none better.”
The heavy-hearted 20-year-old earned the 132-pound weight class Gold Medal in Montreal, motivated by his mothers’ passing three days before his first bout in the tournament. He was also voted its most outstanding boxer and awarded the coveted Val Barker Trophy, selected from one of the deepest talent pools in Olympic history, which included Cuba’s Teofilio Stevenson and a stacked U.S. squad that garnered five Gold Medals: Leon and Michael Sphinx, Ray Leonard and Leo Randolph.
“It was devastating,” he revealed then. “I remembered my mother’s last words to me before I got on the plane. … With a smile on her face, she pointed her finger in my face and told me, ‘You’d better win the Gold Medal!’ I wasn’t going to be denied. There was no way I was going to lose!”
Howard dedicated his Gold Medal to his mother’s memory, and that August, Glen Cove honored him with a parade.
After amassing a 125-5 amateur mark, he turned pro Jan. 15, 1977, with high expectations, inking an exclusive $1.5 million deal with CBS, the first 1976 Olympian to land a television deal.
Yet, he never matched his amateur glory, compiling a 36-6-1 (14 KOs) record. Losing disputed decisions to Jim Watt (June 7, 1980) and Edwin Rosario (June 23, 1984), both for the WBC Lightweight Title, in the champions’ backyard. And Buddy McGirt conquered him defending his IBF Junior Welterweight Title, July 31, 1988.
Retiring in 1996, Davis trained boxers and mixed martial artists, as well as forming Fight Time Promotions with his wife, Karla Guadamuz-Davis, after moving to south Florida in 2003. He also served as boxing director at American Top Team, another local mixed martial arts academy.
In July 2009, Glen Cove named a street after him and also declared July 10 “Howard Davis Day.” He was inducted into New York State’s Boxing Hall of Fame March 30, 2014.
“Howard Davis was indeed a special friend of mine,” recalled Sugar Ray Leonard. “Our most cherished moments were spent talking about family and other special and fun moments in our lives. We both shared incredible periods of our careers, but most importantly, about where we were and where we wanted to end up, because it was all about making a difference in someone else’s life. Howard, my friend, you’ve impacted many people outside the ring. Love and miss you my friend.”
The gifted pugilist possessed a caring heart beyond the ropes.
“Everybody talks about the Olympics, but we don’t take our Gold Medals to Heaven,” noted Guadamuz-Davis, mother of their 5-year-old daughter, Samiha. “He was an amazing human being and a wonderful father. He’d give a homeless man $5 even when he had nothing. He had the mentality to give back to people because he was so selfless.”
The devout Muslim was health conscious. “He never smoked or drank … It was a shock,” Guadamuz-Davis said of her husband’s illness. “We held each other in the hospital and he said he was going to fight, and he did.”
Davis remained resilient. “I never ask why I got [cancer]. I just started fighting … If you are a champion, champions don’t quit!”
“My husband was the strongest man I’ve ever known and went the way that he wanted,” Guadamuz-Davis explained. “I held him in my arms and told him how much he has meant to all of us. He heard great things in his ear before he passed. I’m so blessed that I had time to say goodbye.”
Mayor Reggie Spinello ordered flags at Glenn Cove’s municipal buildings be at half-staff through the weekend in Davis’ memory.
In addition to his wife and their daughter, he’s survived by sisters Debbie, Kathy, Shirley, Cheryl and Keisha; brothers Kenny and Sylvester; sons Howard III, Diara, Dyah Ali and Khamali; and daughters Anikah, Amira, Imaan, Yaasmeen and Myrium.
In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting that donation be made to www.howarddavisjrfoundation.org to assist with medical expenses and fund cancer research.
Memorial services were on Jan. 16 at Boys & Girls Club followed by a reception at the View Grill.