David Hopper of 8CN caught up with undefeated super featherweight Mark ?Too Sharp? Davis. The 25-year-old recently signed with the promotion companies Warriors, Bluewave and Newhouse. He will a fight a to be determined opponent on July 13 at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago.
DH: Tell me about yourself.
MD: I?m 16-0 [5 KOs] and fight out of a Cleveland, Ohio. I?m looking to become a champion.
DH: Talk about your decision to sign with Warriors, Bluewave and Newhouse.
MD: I eventually went down to Miami and signed with them. I felt that they?re going to be the ones to get me to the top, Leon Margules, Tim Van Newhouse, and Luis DeCubas.
DH: Who were you promoted by beforehand?
MD: We were really doing our own, paying for our promoters and at the end of the day I think it ended up paying off.
DH: How?d you get the name Too Sharp?
MD: I got it from Marc ?Too Sharp? Johnson, who used to box out of Washington, D.C.
DH: I watched a video of you on YouTube and saw you use the shoulder roll defense. Is that something you use often?
MD: I use it a little bit. I try not to do it too much but I use it sometimes. It comes to be me naturally.
DH: What are some of the advantages of the shoulder roll?
MD: You use the shoulder to block and you come back with the right hand or the right uppercut. Most of the time I like to keep my left hand up. Sometimes with the shoulder roll you can get clipped over the top of the shoulder with an overhand right. If you do that shoulder roll too much they?re going to fake the left hook and throw the right hand. It?s better to just keep your left hand up. You ain?t gotta really shoulder roll. I use the shoulder roll sometimes on a slow fighter. It?s kind of easier to use on a slow fighter who?s not experienced.
DH: You were three pounds overweight for your last fight. Are you having trouble making weight?
MD: I plan to stay at 130. The reason I was over in my last fight was because I was in camp with Adrien Broner. I was helping him for his championship fight that he had coming up. I was doing a lot of sparring with him. I was really trying to focus on helping him so I wasn?t concerned about weight.
DH: When do you hope to get a world title shot?
MD: Before the year is out.
DH: You currently don?t have an upcoming fight scheduled, is that right?
MD: I?m fighting July 13 on the Glen Johnson [vs. Andrzej Fonfara] undercard. We don?t know who I?m fighting. On August 10 I?ll be fighting on ESPN 2 Friday Night Fights.
DH: Who is your trainer?
MD: My father is training me, and Tim [Van Newhouse] is working with me. He works with me on the pads. We?re fit for each other. Everything comes together. Most fighters they got to find a trainer that they can be compatible with.
DH: What attracted you to the sport?
MD: My dad used to box in the Army. He got me in to spar when I was about 8. My first fight was at like 9 years old. I had about 260 amateur fights. I lost like 13.
DH: Were there any boxers you looked up to growing up?
MD: Marc ?Too Sharp? Johnson, Roy Jones, Mayweather, Sugar Ray Leonard
DH: Did you try to emulate any of their styles?
MD: I mean you look at a lot of tapes and try to try new stuff. I don?t ever try to run with just any one style.
DH: How would you describe your fighting style?
MD: Mix a little bit of everybody?s stuff in with me.
DH: How do you think you?re a different fighter now than when you were an amateur?
MD: Now it?s the pros so I?m sitting down on punches a little bit more. In amateurs it?s really just points and moving around the ring. Now it?s pros so I?m sitting down on my punches and walking fighters down, more body shots, more setting up shots.
DH: You had a lot of fights in Tunica, Mississippi. Talk about that and how it prepared you as a pro.
MD: I had about 10 fights down there. As my career first started out I?d fight there about every three months. It helped me build up my record and get some experience. Those fans down there they love me down in Mississippi.
DH: Who is it you want to fight?
MD: I?m ready for the best of them. Anybody.
DH: What was your toughest fight and what did you do to pull out the victory?
MD: As far as professional? I made all of them easy. I need somebody to put me to the test because I don?t think I can be beat. I need somebody to show me. I fought a couple of guys who had some skills but I think I was just too much for them.
DH: What is it that makes you such a skilled fighter?
MD: I use my speed and power. I move my head good. I throw combinations and I?m smart. A lot of fighters they?ve got speed but they don?t use their head. I?m gonna land them punches crispy. They?re not just going to touch you, they?re going to count when they touch you.
DH: Is there anything you want to say to your fans?
MD: For the fans, we will become champion real soon so keep looking out, keep following me and we?re going to put Cleveland on the map.
