Donovan George: Star Quality
 INTERVIEW By Benny Henderson Jr - A.K.A "Big Dog" (Nov 2, 2006)
The characteristics fight fans desire in a fighter are, without a shadow of a doubt, the same that rising super middleweight prospect Donovan George 9-0-1 (7) earnestly portrays – he can box, bang or brawl and put on an entertaining show while beating down the opposition. The kid has charisma as well; call it boldness or ballsy but this young gun shoots straight from the hip when comparing his talents to the other combatants in his division. “What separates me from the other prospects in this division first off would be my good looks, but other than that it would be my determination and my will to win,” explains George. “I am not going to sit here and compare myself to a current champion or current top rated guys because I do have potential and I am going to do my best to train hard so I can be the best fighter that I can possibly be.”
Becoming the best comes with experience, and this Tonight at the Chevrolet Center in Youngstown, Ohio ‘Da Bomb’ looks to add another notch to his belt to gain the accolades in hopes of a future world title. Right now it is a steady climb
to his goals with the common obstacles along the way, and this time his hurdle will be the Haiti born boxer Julio Jean 7-9-1 (3) in a scheduled six round 164-pound clash.
“The word is Julio Jean is a real tough guy, he went the distance with John Duddy who owns a world title now,” explains George. “He definitely hasn’t had it easy and has been in there with some top caliber guys so this is a good test for me and a good stepping stone.”
The former three-time Chicago Golden Gloves Champion has devoured his prey thus far in his climb to be a break out star in the 168-pound division; making his debut in the fall of ’04 ‘Da Bomb’ exploded on the scene with a second round knock out over Nathan Wilkes in his home state of Illinois. George continued to showcase his talents to his hometown crowd the following months, traveling only once to Las Vegas to dismantle Coloradoan Allen Medina in five rounds. His biggest test that he passed with flying colors came in July of ’06 when he rocked, dropped and stopped the seventeen-fight veteran Joe Valera in the opening round. Donovan commented on his W, “I took my time picked my shots and put the pressure on him, I thought he could take a good head shot because I was cracking him hard, I mean real hard and I thought to myself this guy isn’t going anywhere so I hit him in the body with some good shots and that was it.”
George was set to face tough Texan Gabriel Rivera September 29th at Madison Square Garden, but the fight was canceled the day of the throw down when Rivera failed his pre-fight physical, but according to Donovan the setback wasn’t as bad a s expected. “You know with the boxing business things happen so I just took it with stride, and that Monday I went right back to work for this fight, so it was like I have been in two training camps for this fight so I am in tremendous condition.”
Coming into this fight George is looking for a decisive win to make a statement on ‘Da Bomb’. “Jean has went ten rounds with Duddy who is a big hitter and if I take this guy out what does that say about me?” Never lacking in confidence, George went on to say, “I’m not going in there to look for the knockout, I am just going to stick to the plan and box, but I am going to guarantee victory, but how I get that victory depends on the fight.”
His management team has high hopes for the youngster as well, explains Mike Michael. “Basically we are going to take this fight with the possibility that we may get an eight round fight in December, but without question we will get to them in January. We are going to step this kid up, Donovan is definitely ShoBox and ESPN material, and by the end of next year he is going to have a belt wrapped around his waist.”
With his skill, charisma, and strong confidence in himself there is a flash of humbleness in his experiences and journey throughout the fight world. I have a lot to learn, I’m not ignorant and I’m not going to go out there and say I’m the best when I know I’m not… well, not yet that is,” stated George. “But I am willing to take advice and learn as much as I possibly can to make me a stronger, better fighter.”
So for now the young prospect takes his time in learning the business. In the words of his manager Mike Michael, “Don is going to be groomed, and groomed the right way.” As for Don, out of respect he wouldn’t compare himself to any past or present champion, but knows that with time, hard work and determination he will reach his goal of becoming world champ. For now it is the business at hand, Thursday night when he faces Julio Jean, as usual George predicts an explosion. “I am ready to explode and to go out and there and put on an entertaining performance and give the fans their moneys worth. I am coming in there to knock Julio Jean out!”
Although George has a long way to go and a lot to learn about the business, the young prospect has that ‘star quality’ that packs the house, and although his journey has just begun he projects a bright future. “I’m going to prove to everybody that I am the real deal by stopping Jean and by dismantling him,” explained Donovan. “I am steadily learning this business and taking it in stride, and when I am ready I will have my shot, and I’m going to dominate and rule for a long time.”
I would like to thank Mike Michael and Donovan George for their time and thoughts, for more info on ‘Da Bomb’ or Cestus management please visit: www.cestusboxing.com!
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