Fresh Meat: Dusty Harrison

by Gautham Nagesh

As a senior in high school, Dusty Harrison could have been content to dominate against athletes his age or younger. Instead, the “Beltway Boricua” chose to become the youngest professional boxer in the U.S. last June at the age of 16.

Now just two months shy of his 18th birthday, Harrison has run his record to 5-0 with two KOs. He recently fought on the undercard of the James Toney-Bobby Gunn farce in Southhaven, Miss. on April 7th, where he shut out veteran Anthony Bowman in a four-rounder. I caught up with Dusty on Friday at the Golden Gloves, where he took a moment to describe what it’s like to beat up men twice his age.[[MORE]]

Right now Dusty is set to graduate from high school on June 4th, so like many seniors he’s only in class for half the day. That lets him get to Old School Boxing Gym by 11 am on days that he spars; on other days he works out with the rest of the fighters in the afternoon. He occasionally misses the Fridays before fights, but has largely been able to attend school as a normal teen, even being named high school athlete of the week by WJLA.

His recent sparring partners have included former welterweight titlist DeMarcus “Chop Chop” Corley and junior welterweights Joseph Elegele and Ty Barnett.

“I’ve been getting good sparring,” Harrison said, adding that he’s been helping Chop Chop get ready for his May 5th fight against Irish 140-lb contender Paul McCloskey in Belfast. Chop Chop was called in to replace former lightweight titlist Julio Diaz, who withdrew due to concerns about making weight.

For his part, Harrison said he wasn’t initially happy with his performance against Bowman, but after watching the tape, he grew content.

“[Bowman] was a tougher opponent, not just a guy to stop,” Dusty said.

Harrison and his Dad Buddy plan on keeping him busy this summer, fighting a minimum of three and as many as five times. His next scheduled bout will be on May 12 as the co-headliner with Barnett at Washington Convention Center. He plans to fight again at the same venue on July 14 and in August as well. There’s also talk of Dusty fighting on the June 30 Verizon Center and June 23rd Jimmy Lange cards, though the details would still have to be ironed out.

As for his other life, Dusty is content to be a normal kid, except for the occasional star moment.

“Some substitute teachers, they recognize me and want photos,” Dusty said. “But my friends treat me the same.”