Brenda Davis, First Lady of Beltway Amateur Boxing, Passes!

(Family photo)

One of the original first families of Beltway Boxing is the Davis Family -- Legendary trainer Adrian, boxing sons Victor and Demetrius and daughter Veeda.

BATB has learned that the matriarch of the family -- "Ms. B" Brenda Davis -- has passed away after a long bout with stage 7 Alzheimer's disease.

For many years, the Davis family were the brains -- and the finances -- behind Round One Gymnasium.  Round One was a legendary facility that was the home to many professional world champions from the Beltway including Sharmba Mitchell, William Joppy, Isra Girgrah Wynn, and Hasim Rahman.  Round One also changed the lives of many amateur boxers throughout the years. Brenda Davis was the driving force on the amateur side -- she was a three-time president of the Potomac Valley Association of USA Boxing and the first female amateur boxing judge in the region.

Brenda Davis's time in the amateurs dates all the way back to the '70s when she would hold bake sales to raise funds so boxers like Sugar Ray Leonard and Derrick Holmes could participate in the Pan American Games as amateurs.

Jeff Novotny, a former amateur boxer who trained at Round One during that time, told Thom Loverro of the Washington Times in a 2018 article about a fundraiser for the Davis Family that no boxer came through the gym without a kind word of encouragement from Ms. B.

"What she did for amateur boxing -- her impact, the amount of time she devoted and the out-of-pocket expenses that she had to help kids is amazing," Novotny told the Times.  "Anyone who passed through here, she had an impact."

On a personal note, Brenda Davis was truly an awesome woman.  My first forays into ring announcing in the early 2000s were on the amateur side and Ms. B was ALWAYS there to help out.  She and I would always exchange signals that would tell me who won the bouts.  Over the years, I interviewed the Davis family for different reasons -- including the struggles they had with keeping Round One afloat.  The gym had many different homes, including one across the street from Fort Lincoln Cemetery in Bladensburg, MD.  I was working at the cemetery at the time and would go over to Round One on my lunch break sometimes just to see how things were.

There is no question that I dearly loved Brenda Davis.  Her legacy continues with the many women who are now involved with the Potomac Valley Association of USA Boxing.  Brenda Davis made it much easier for those ladies -- and many others throughout the country -- to be accepted.  My deepest, deepest condolences to the entire Davis Family and the entire Beltway Boxing Community.