Being patient while waiting for his turn

Stone junior Lee expected to be walk-over winner at Golden Gloves event

Waldorf boxer Davonte Lee has the patience of a champion.

He’s waiting his turn, training five days a week at Hillcrest Heights boxing gym under the direction of his father and USA certified coach David Lee, along with gym owner and head trainer Ernesto Rodriguez.

The Thomas Stone High School junior boxes at 108 pounds, which makes it difficult to find amateur bouts to put in the books. Davonte Lee is projected to be the walkover winner in the 108-pound novice division at the 2016 Washington Golden Gloves Championships finals that will be held at Rosecroft Raceway in Fort Washington at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. The finals will showcase winners from the Washington, D.C., Maryland and Delaware region going up against winners from the Virginia and North Carolina region.

“Davonte first showed love for the sport around fourth grade,” David Lee said. “I was a very big fan of the sport and Davonte would hang out with me watching fights carefully breaking down the art of the sweet science as if he was a boxer himself.

“He would also train with me. It was then I knew he was blessed with a talent where he could excel in the sport. You will hear about him in the future. He is so passionate about the sport. His affiliation with the sport of boxing is somewhat unique. His walkaround weight is 104 pounds which makes it very difficult to make bouts for him. We travel to try to acquire better opportunities to make bouts.”

Davonte is the 2016 North Carolina Azaleas walk-over champion, the 2016 Hometown Heroes West Virginia walk-over champion. After the Golden Gloves, he will travel to box in the largest amateur boxing tournament in Missouri in July, the Ringside tournament.

“Davonte has been encouraging me to compete as a Master boxer along with him in Missouri,” David Lee said.

A Master bout is three 1-minute rounds for adults. David Lee said he’s finalizing his decision to share the experience with his son.

Davonte Lee said he’s looking forward to the future.

“Nine years ago we moved into our new house and my dad set up a gym in our garage and we really got serious about training,” Davonte Lee said. “I’m looking forward to being a world champ, and being on TV and pretty much being called one of the greatest.”

Davonte Lee looks up to “Swift” Jarrett Hurd, a 25-year-old professional fighter that trains out of Hillcrest Heights. Hurd is currently 17-0 and ranked No. 11 by the World Boxing Association.

“In a lot of ways, I see who I want to be when I start my pro career,” Davonte Lee said. “It’s not too bad [waiting for more bouts] because at the end of the day I know when my time comes I’ll take advantage of it and do what I have to do and take the most of my opportunity.”

He said he’s looking forward to the Golden Gloves.

“Everything’s great about it, especially the people you get to meet.” Davonte Lee said. “I have a lot of family support. I’ve learned everything that I know from my dad.”

For tickets or for more information about the Golden Gloves championship finals, call 301-8436165.