By Justin Caggiano
Morganville’s Denis Douglin is one of New Jersey’s hottest prospects. Known as “Da Momma’s Boy”, he is currently 6-0 with 3 KOs and is getting ready for a fight on February 6th on Main Events’ “Heavy Artillery” card at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. His mother and trainer, Saphya, is always pushing Douglin to the max, so I think it’s safe to expect big things from the 21-year-old southpaw in 2010 and beyond.
Justin Caggiano: I figure I should start from the beginning; what was it that first got you interested and started in boxing and training? Was it your mother being a trainer and just being around it or something else?
Denis Douglin: My mother, at the time, was a trainer and a boxer. She used to box and did a little amateur boxing so she was always in the gym. I hated boxing so I never used to go but I got into a school fight and got beat up. She figured she had to teach me to defend myself so she brought me to the gym. Like I said, I hated boxing, didn’t want to box at all but I’m really competitive. There were other little kids in there and I just wanted to beat them up and that got me training seriously and I took it from there.
JC: Did you watch boxing at all when you were younger?
DD: Not really. My parents used to watch boxing all the time and I’d go in and sit down for a little while and watch it a bit. For the most part though, no, not when I was younger.
JC: What about these days? Are there any guys that really stand out as some of your favorites?
DD: Yeah, definitely. Mayweather, of course, is one. Andre Berto, Shane Mosley; I can’t wait to see (Berto and Mosley) fight. There’s a bunch of others, too. Danny Jacobs, who’s coming up now. So yeah, there are a lot of guys these days that I like to watch.
JC: When you were 16 you won the New York Golden Gloves, making you the youngest ever win at Madison Square Garden. What was that like?
DD: It was an overwhelming experience. They told me I was actually the youngest person by about a week, I think. And it was just a great experience. I was nervous but I love a crowd so I enjoyed it. I’m a crowd pleaser!
JC: What do you think are some of your favorite moments from your time as an amateur boxer?
DD: Definitely the national trips: going to national tournaments and being out there with a lot of other young fighters. It was great getting to fight every day. It was all just a fun experience getting to just hang out with no school or anything.
JC: You went on to continue with an impressive amateur career until it was cut short by a car accident that took you out of competition for a year. Did you ever contemplate hanging up the gloves or did it just make you more motivated to get back in the ring?
DD: It made me more driven. I think I needed that break because I was going hard in the gym all the time and that break gave me a chance to do things that other kids were doing. I was able to focus more on schoolwork and I got a job for a little while so that was cool. I never wanted to quit boxing, though. As soon as I was able to get back in the gym I was back in the gym.
JC: In 2008, you and your mother were inducted into the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame as the Amateur Boxer and Coach of the year. What was it like for “Da Momma’s Boy” to be inducted with his mom?
DD: It was a great feeling. I think more than anything I was just happy that my mother won the award because I know it’s hard for a female trainer to be established in this type of business. For people to recognize that she’s a great trainer, that was what really had me excited. Of course, I was happy to win the award for Amateur Boxer of the Year, but her winning coach really set everything off.
JC: Now a little under a year ago you made your pro debut against Roberto Irizarry and you earned a TKO victory in less than 2 minutes, trapping him in and corner and hitting him with a huge flurry of punches. What was going on in your head going into that fight, it being your debut?
DD: I was nervous and I was scared. I’m not even going to lie to you, when I went into the back and I saw everybody warming up I was like, “Wow, there’s no headgear back here so I better not get hit in the face.” But, once I started walking to the ring and the lights hit me and I saw the audience, I felt at home. I just went in the ring and let my hands go.
JC: What was it like after that fight, knowing you won your first pro match?
DD: It was great. I ran out to my family and I was greeted like I just won a world title. It was a great feeling; I loved it.
JC: Was it the game plan to make a good first impression by showing dominance in the ring in that match or did you just exploit his mistakes and let it happen?
DD: Actually, I really didn’t have a game plan going into my first fight. My mother wanted me to go in and feel him out the first round and just work from there. When I went in there though, I hurt him and my natural instinct is just attack and keep attacking. I saw he was hurt and I just kept punching.
JC: Now probably your toughest and biggest fight thus far was against Lamar Harris on the undercard of Adamek/Gunn at the Prudential Center and it was a pretty close fight. How did you prepare for that fight and what was your strategy against what was surely not an ideal opponent that early in your career?
DD: Well, we trained for that fight the same way we train for every fight. I worked out hard for two or three hours a day. I ran two times a day. I was ready for the fight. I got the opponent at the last minute and they told me he was a tough fighter. Actually, they gave me the fight the day before the actual show happened so I wasn’t really prepared to fight him specifically but I was ready for anybody. It really didn’t make a difference to me. He was tough but I thought I handled myself pretty well.
JC: Your last fight was all the way back in September which is a pretty long layoff. Is there a reason for that?
DD: It’s just been a string of misunderstandings. I had a couple of fights lined up but opponents pulled out. Then, I had another fight lined up and something happened with the medicals. It’s just been a bunch of various mishaps. I’m still in the gym, though. I never left the gym. So, it’s been a layoff fight-wise but not in the gym and my training so I’m ready.
JC: With an impressive record starting to pile up, have you been contacted or signed with any promoters as of yet?
DD: A few promoters have contacted us but we haven’t signed anything yet. We’re just lying back, seeing what people are offering me and what they think I’m worth. I think I’m worth a lot so I’m trying to see what everybody else thinks.
JC: Have you been invited to any training camps with any big name fighters yet?
DD: Yes, I actually got invited to the Miguel Cotto camp when he was getting ready for Pacquiao. I ended up staying in New Jersey though. (I did work with) Yuri Foreman before his fight with Daniel Santos. I decided to do that instead because it was at home so I would still be able to workout at my own gym and I like Yuri so it seemed like the right decision for me.
JC: Let’s move on to your upcoming fight on the undercard of Adamek/Estrada. Do you have an opponent signed yet for the fight?
DD: No, they’re still looking. Finding an opponent seems to always be a problem for me. I’m confident Main Events will get me an opponent, though. They’re really good with that stuff so I’m not worried about that.
JC: Are you just training as usual for the fight? Are you doing anything different or working on anything in particular?
DD: We stepped up the training a lot because I’m moving up to six rounds AND moving down in weight. I’ve been working out three times a day: 5 o’clock in the morning, 3 o’clock in the afternoon, and 7 o’clock at night. We’re getting ready.
JC: Do you think it will be a struggle going from four rounds to six?
DD: No, not at all. I’ve been sparring eight to ten rounds and I feel fine so six rounds shouldn’t really be a problem.
JC: Are you excited to go back to the Prudential Center? I mean, it has to be a different feeling with the big, rabid crowd.
DD: Oh definitely, it’s a great venue. I love fighting in the Prudential Center. I’m more than ready and extra excited and I can’t wait for it to get here.
JC: Finally, what do you see for yourself in 2010 and what are you hoping to accomplish before the year is out?
DD: I want to be a big prospect. I want to be ESPN’s prospect of the year. That’s what I’m going for. Also, I would like to get a good ten fights in this year hopefully and I just want to become a household name. I want everybody to know “Da Momma’s Boy”.
Thanks for taking the time to join me for this interview Denis. Anything you’d like to say in closing?
DD: I just want to say thank you to the fans that I have now and hopefully I’ll be getting a lot more this year. Just look out for me.
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