ROBERT DAVIS

Nickname: Desert Storm

   Akron Ohio's Robert C. Davis Jr. was successful in the amateur ranks and turned professional at what is considered a "late age" - in 1997.  He was 26 years old when he made his professional Debut - a first round knockout of fellow Ohioan Don Davis at a place called "The Trap Nightclub" in Nashville, TN.

   The U.S. Military Veteran known as "Desert Storm" ran his record up to 14-0, with 8 knockouts and got his first big test in highly regarded Sherman "The Tank" Williams (13-2) at the Grand Casino in Tunica, MS. Davis passed his test with flying colors as he stopped "The Tank" in round 5 of a bout scheduled for 8 rounds.  It was a big win that opened the door onto the stage of heavyweight Prospect-to-Contenders for Robert Davis. From this point on, the level of competition was raised.

   Less than 2 months later, Davis was put in with 46 fight respected journeyman - Reggie Miller (27-15-1) and it was no problem for Robert who dispatched Miller in the first round.

   After a great 4 fight win streak that included knockout victories over Don Hellyer (9-5), Tom Glesby (24-1-1), Wes Martin (11-21-8), and a 10-round shutout victory over previously unbeaten Charles Shufford (13-0), Robert was now 20-0 and would get his first shot at a title belt.

   April 1, 2000 was the night, and The Regent hotel & casino in Las Vegas, NV was the place. Robert "Desert Storm" Davis stepped in to face former WBF Inter-Continental Heavyweight Champion Keith McKnight (38-2) for the Interim NABF Heavyweight Championship. It was no April Fool's joke as Davis KO'd McKnight in round 5 to win that title belt. 

   Nearly 3 months later, the unbeaten contending heavyweight faced off with former world champion - Greg Page (57-15-1). Page's world of experience and former world champion status made this a huge test for Davis. Some felt Robert was not ready for such a leap, but he proved them wrong, stopping the former WBA champion in the 8th round!

   After picking up a title belt, and defeating a former world champion, it was now time for a cross-roads battle between two up-and-comers. Oct. 7, 2000 saw Davis fight on HBO's "After Dark" series at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, CT against another fighter that had the boxing world buzzing - Lance "Mount" Whitaker (21-1, 16 ko). The 6' 8" Whitaker had only 1 defeat on his record - a split razor-thin decision loss to Lou Savarese. It was a night of  Heavyweights that featured on the same card: Kirk Johnson, Oleg Maskaev, Gerald Nobles, Vaughn Bean and Taurus Sykes as the boxing world tried to sort out the bottle-neck of rising heavyweight prospects & contenders. The fight was highly anticipated, but did not end well for Davis who suffered a ruptured ear-drum en route to being stopped in the 2nd round by the heavy handed Whitaker.  Robert Davis had suffered his first loss.

   Disappointed by his performance against Whitaker, he went 6-4 against some very strong heavyweights in the 10 fight stretch following the Whitaker fight, among the boxers in that stretch: Michael Moorer (L-10), Terrence Lewis twice (tko-by-9, and w-10), Sedreck Fields (ko-1), Monte Barrett (L-10), and Frankie Swindell (w-10).  The strength of opposition was enough to earn Robert another title shot.

   June 24, 2003 saw Davis head out to Joe Mesi's home town of Buffalo, NY for a shot at the vacant NABF Heavyweight Title. Mesi was 25-0, and he was a pretty big favorite to win this one in front of his rabid home-town fans. That is exactly what happened as Mesi scored the tko in round 1 to win that vacant title belt.

   Davis would fight 9 more times after that, going 4-5. He got one more shot at a title belt when he traveled to New Zealand to take a shot at Shane Cameron's (22-1) IBF Pan-Pacific Heavyweight title. Davis took him into deep water, but it was Cameron scoring the tko in round 11. Robert fought his final fight on Sept. 12, 2009, against El Paso, Texas' David "Nino" Rodriguez (31-0) being stopped in round 3 of a fight that took place in Nuevo Leon, Monterrey, Mexico.

   Sadly, Robert was diagnosed with Leukemia, and lost his battle with that disease in 2014,  just 5 years after his final pro boxing match.

   An amazing journey that lasted better than two decades in the ring!  Davis faced some outstanding opponents, fought for titles, won a title and brought lots of excitement to his fans around the world!

 

Check out Robert's complete record on: BOXREC.COM - ROBERT DAVIS

 

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