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Smell of success: Hard work has pushed Edwards to 24-0 record
Journal Photo by Lauren Carroll
Derek Edwards, 29, goes through a workout on the punching bag at the “Ring of Dreams” gym, while trainer Clifford Hardy keeps an eye on his pupil.
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Published: June 28, 2009
You can't help but notice the smell when you walk into the gym. Sweat.
This is the second home of Derek Edwards, a 29-year-old boxer from Winston-Salem and a quickly rising star in the super middleweight division.
As Edwards goes through a draining workout with trainer Clifford Hardy, he talks about the smell. "It motivates me," he says, skipping rope so fast that it's hard to see the rope. Still, Edwards never misses a step.
Edwards works out at a place called "Ring of Dreams," but there's nothing dreamy about it. The small gym, which has been open about six months, is just off Martin Luther King Drive, behind the Stratford Die Casting Inc., building.
There's a 16x16 ring, some scattered weights, three heavy bags and a speed bag. The gym has all the old-school tools of the trade and no high-tech, state-of-the-art luxuries. But it has all Edwards needs to be successful.
"This is where it all begins," said the smiling Hardy, a 46-year-old Winston-Salem native who grew up in the Morningside neighborhood and had more than 150 bouts during his boxing career.
Where it all has led, so far, is to an undefeated record and a championship belt for Edwards, who is 24-0 since turning professional seven years ago.
Edwards -- nicknamed The Black Lion -- defeated Anthony Greenidge in a 10-round decision in Atlanta in late March to win the North American Boxing Association's super middleweight title. It's his first title in a sport he has dabbled in since he was 9.
"I carry this belt with me to a lot of places," said Edwards, a 1998 graduate of West Forsyth High School and former defensive end on the Titans' football team.
Edwards says he has overcome obstacles in his life, from growing up without much food on the table to walking off of jobs after high school. He says that his edge to succeed is deeply rooted in his wanting a better life.
That's why he puts in long hours of training to tone his body and shape his mind for what many consider the most dangerous sport in America.
Edwards doesn't need an extra job to help get by because the Dummit Law Firm, which helps manage him, also helps him with bills. All Edwards has to do is train and prepare for fights.
"Finances were always a big problem with my family," Edwards said, "and dealing with having to do without a lot of things was never easy."
Edwards says it's easy to stay humble because he knows how hard it is to be successful.
"I guess the long hours of training can get to me, because it's a seven-day-a-week deal," Edwards said. He was referring to a tough aspect of pro boxing -- constant training even though there often are gaps of four to five months between fights. "I'll take a day off here and there but not too many."
Edwards trains and lives in the same neighborhood where he grew up and says that friends see him and wonder what he has been doing. "I guess boxing doesn't really get that much publicity, but that's OK," he said.
As he was starting to mature at age 21, Edwards made a decision that boxing would be his way out. He jumped in with both fists flying.
"He's the kind of fighter that can be an undisputed champion," Hardy said of his star pupil. "He has taken this slowly and bided his time, but he's worked hard for this."
Hardy said that Edwards showed what kind of boxer he had become about a year and a half ago, when he was knocked down in a fight three times but held on to win and improve to 22-0.
"Nobody gets knocked down that many times and comes back to win," Hardy said.
Edwards, 5-9 and 168 pounds with just 4 percent body fat, is ranked 11th in his division by the World Boxing Association, but he wants the chance to move up.
"Within the next two or three fights," he said, "I'm hoping to get a shot at a world-title bout."
Hardy and Edwards are hoping for a spot on a big fight card in Charlotte in August or September that would be televised by ESPN. It would be the first time on live television for Edwards, who must defend his title within 180 days of winning it or risk losing it.
"I'm looking up the ladder and visualizing where I want to go next," Edwards said.
Edwards still has a bit of a baby face with hardly any scars that would indicate he's a boxer. Hardy calls Edwards a young 29, because Edwards got a late start as a pro.
"I definitely don't take it for granted," Edwards said of his success.
"A few years back when I was 24 or so, I thought it would come easy, but that's not the case at all. I've learned to work that much harder."
While his promoters work out the details of his next fight, Edwards continues to train with Hardy. One problem they have run into lately is finding sparring partners for Edwards.
"As we get closer to fights, the sparring partners don't always come back, so we have to scramble to find somebody," Hardy said.
"When that happens, it means Derek is real close and is ready to go."
■ John Dell can be reached at 727-4081 or jdell@wsjournal.com.
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