Taking on a career in boxing, Dyah Ali Davis has continued the family legacy set forth by his famous father, Howard Davis Jr., the 1976 Olympic Games gold medalist and three-time world title challenger. However, that professional path was not exactly what Dyah had envisioned for himself, growing up with dreams of becoming an NBA basketball player.
It wasn’t until he watched the heavyweight championship bout between Lennox Lewis and Vitali Klitschko, on June 21, 2003, that Dyah was inspired to put on a pair of boxing gloves and step into the ring.
Weighing over 210 pounds, father Howard felt his son, standing at just 6’0”, needed to trim down, and 14 months later, without any amateur experience, Dyah fought his professional debut, at the age of 23, as a light heavyweight. On August 27, 2004, Davis scored a 38-second TKO over Steve Vieux, at Club Med, in Port Saint Lucie, Florida.
Through 2005, Davis upped his record to five wins without a loss, including three first-round stoppages. In 2006, Davis felt it was time to move up to six-rounders, winning four fights that year, two by knockout.
On April 11, 2007, Davis challenged the 5-0 Tyrone Watson at The Citadel, in Charleston, South Carolina. After six rounds, Davis lost a controversial majority decision. Dyah finished out the year scoring a fourth-round knockout over the 4-1 Terrance Wilson, on November 17, back at Club Med.
After three victories in 2008, culminating with a six-round unanimous decision over future world-ranked contender Garrett Wilson, on December 27, Davis competed overseas for the first time. On March 14, 2009, Davis faced off against 61-fight veteran Hastings Rasani, at the Marriott Hotel, in Bristol, Avon, England. As nontitle bouts are judged solely by the referee in England, referee Reece Carter declared Davis the winner after six rounds, with a scorecard of 59-56.
Three months later, on June 26, 2009, Davis slimmed down to the super middleweight division, and won a six-round majority decision over Emmanuel Gonzalez in Miami, Florida.
On August 21, 2009, Davis took on 13-0 prospect Osumanu Adama, at the Miami Beach Resort and Spa. After knocking Adama down twice in the first frame, Davis went on to win an impressive six-round unanimous decision.
Davis began 2010 with two knockout victories, over Jose Medina in five rounds in January, and Tiwon Taylor in three in May. Impressed with his background and credentials, DiBella Entertainment signed Davis to a promotional contract, and shortly after, to close out the year, Dyah was given the biggest opportunity of his career thus far. On November 5, Davis faced off against another famous kin, the 14-2 Aaron Pryor Jr., son of the former junior welterweight champion of the same name, at Sheels Arena, in Fargo, North Dakota. The bout was televised as part of SHOWTIME’s popular “ShoBox: The New Generation” series. Going eight full rounds for the first time, Davis lost a decision, unable to handle his adversary’s four-inch height advantage and constant barrage of straight right hands.
Not discouraged by the loss, Davis was back in the ring four months later. On February 5, 2011, Davis fought the formidable Francisco Sierra in his first 10-rounder, at the Maywood Activity Center, in Maywood, California, televised by Fox Sports. Davis often countered Sierra’s aggression, demonstrated good defense, focused many debilitating shots downstairs, and almost had Sierra down in round seven, and yet the judges scored the bout a disputed draw, with scores of 95-95 twice, and one vote of 98-92 in favor of Dyah.
“I definitely thought I won the fight,” Davis said. “I thought I did enough to win, but in boxing it’s politics. It was his promoter’s show. But for me I think it was a learning experience: I have to be able to put guys away when I have the chance. I have to let my hands be the judges.”
Just two months later, Davis was back on SHOWTIME facing his toughest opponent to date, in the 20-0 Marcus “Too Much” Johnson. On April 8, at the Event Center, in Laredo, Texas, coming off a loss and a draw, Davis entered as the underdog. After insisting throughout fight week that he and his trainer, John David Jackson, had devised a plan to beat Houston’s Johnson, Davis backed up his words with a unanimous decision upset, with scores of 98-91 twice, and 96-93. From the first bell, Davis used the classic stick-and-move approach to upset Johnson’s rhythm. By acting as a moving target, Davis disabled Johnson’s ability to settle in to the fight and land his signature left hook. In the ninth, Davis landed a perfectly placed right hand to the body that forced Johnson to take a knee—the first time he’d been down in his career.
On October 21, at Foxwoods Resort and Casino, in Mashantucket, Connecticut, Davis picked up another unanimous decision win over six rounds, with scores of 59-55, and 58-56 twice, against the always-tough Darnell Boone.
