Opening Bell: Al Haymon Signs D.C. Boxer David "Day Day" Grayton
Photo by Anna John for StiffJab.com
by Gautham Nagesh
We’ve been sitting on this one for a couple weeks, but now the contracts are signed and the ink is dry. Top talent wrangler Al Haymon has snapped up another local boxing prospect whom you first learned about from us: welterweight David “Day Day” Grayton IV of Northeast D.C.
Day Day is scheduled to fight German Valdez Friday night in Indio, Calif. on the undercard of the latest episode of ShoBox, which also features middleweight Hugo Centeno and Bronx welterweight Eddie Gomez. I profiled Day Day last year for The Washington Post, so I’m even more familiar with his story than most: [[MORE]]
The Friday night show at The DC Armory is the Washington area’s biggest boxing event in over a year, but Grayton has been on big stages before. He won the national Golden Gloves title in 2010. Yet he is still a relative newcomer to the sport, having taken up boxing at age 18, while most great boxers start before puberty. His aggressive, fan-friendly style and amateur success have those around him predicting world championships. But this is professional boxing, where the punches are harder, and it can take years to recover from a single loss.
Few understand that better than Grayton’s father, known these days as Big Day Day. Grayton III knows firsthand why boxing is called the Cruelest Sport. His career was full of unfulfilled promise, and cut short by injury after another fighter thumbed him in the eye. Grayton’s mother cites that evening almost 20 years ago in explaining her decision to keep her only son out of boxing until adulthood. [WaPo]
We have always had a soft spot for Day Day, one of the area’s most popular fighters. He has bounced around the local gyms a bit, but these days Grayton trains with George Peterson at Club One Fitness. Inactivity has been a bit of an issue for the talented Grayton, 26, but signing with Haymon should resolve that concern. Day Day’s best win as an amateur came in the 2010 National Golden Gloves Finals over 2012 U.S. Olympian Errol Spence, so he’s clearly got the talent to go all the way. Check out our coverage of his young career to date.
Patrick Harris Jr. Turns Professional: Another promising local fighter will step up into the paid ranks on June 13th when Patrick Harris Jr. of Headbangers fights on the latest edition of Keystone Boxing at Rosecroft Raceway. Harris is the son of Headbangers trainer and padman extraordinaire Patrice “Boog” Harris, so you know the Sweet Science runs in his veins. WaPo’s Gene Wang wrote a solid piece on Harris and 2013 Stiff Jab Amateur Boxer of the Year Kareem Martin last May.
The 19-year-old has the usual assortment of national and regional titles to his name, and like several other local prospects, the sky is the limit when it comes to his talent. Training at the Bald Eagle Recreation Center against junior welterweight titlist Lamont Peterson (Harris Sr.’s brother-in-law) will certainly help him understand what it takes to reach the top. Harris won his amateur titles at 141 lbs., but no word yet on which weight class he’ll enter as a pro. Stay tuned for full coverage of his debut and his rise to the top.
Richard Schaefer Leaves Golden Boy: While I was enjoying the motherland this week, the business of boxing experienced a major shakeup when Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer announced he was leaving the company. We have no special insight into the situation, but the tension between Schaefer and Golden Boy boss Oscar de la Hoya had been an open secret in the sport and the split had been rumored for months.
We have no idea what comes next for Schaefer, but I wouldn’t be shocked if it involved some combination of the Showtime TV network, Floyd Mayweather Jr., and Haymon’s growing stable of young, urban fighters. Schaefer was considered the brains behind Golden Boy, and Floyd has already announced he will no longer be working with Oscar and Co. Where that leaves Golden Boy is anyone’s guess, but for the sake of local prospects like D'Mitrius Ballard, we hope Oscar, BHop and the rest can keep the show going.