Meet The Boxing Coach Who Changes Lives By Creating A Safe Haven For Kids

Calvin Ford — head coach at Upton Boxing — understands that there’s more than one type of fight a person can face. There are fights in the ring, sure, but there are also battles won and lost outside the gym. The fight to stay out of gangs, the fight to keep away from drugs, the fight to survive.

Coach Ford is a fighter who trains fighters — taking kids from inner-city Baltimore and offering them both structure and hope through boxing. He’s a shepherd, guiding his proverbial flock, a man so committed to changing lives that it seems like a ready-made movie. So iconic that The Wire based the drug-dealer-turned-community-organizer Dennis “Cutty” Wise on this fierce and fiercely committed coach.

“My mission here is bigger than boxing,” Ford says. “I’m trying to have a safe haven, where kids come and we can actually find their true talents.”


Over the years, Ford has coached some strong fighters. But none with the effortless charm and star power of Gervonta “Tank” Davis. The 23-year-old featherweight has trained at Upton since he was seven. After a stellar amateur career, the southpaw turned pro and has since gone 16-0 with 15 knock outs, 13 of those in the first four rounds. He’s signed by Mayweather Promotions and on January 14th he’ll get a title shot versus undefeated Super Featherweight Champion José Pedraza.

As fight night approaches, the longtime commitment of Coach Ford will be on full display. Davis knows that he’s carrying the hopes of the Upton Boxing Gym, and Ford’s dream for a more peaceful Baltimore with him. The young fighter is also keenly aware that those dreams have been painfully shattered in the past.

In 2011, Ronald “Rock” Gibbs was fatally stabbed while defending his sister — he was an Olympic hopeful. In 2012, Angelo “Six-Nine” Ward was shot outside his home, not far from the gym. Davis is fighting for the memory of these lost boxers and for the next generation of Upton hopefuls. He’s fighting for the future that Coach Ford has promised, with equal measures support and tough love.

“I had one foot in the gym and one foot in the street,” says Malik “Iceman” Hawkins. “I wasn’t actually all the way in the gym. Coach Kenny and Coach Calvin, they sat me down and said, ‘Malik, I’m not trying to scare you or anything but you are going to die in them streets.'”


Malik “Iceman” Hawkins training at Upton Boxing

Considering the crucial role of Upton Boxing in the neighborhood, and Coach Ford’s status amongst his boxers and throughout the community, it’s no surprise that the Davis v. Pedraza fight has taken on ramifications that reach far outside the ring. The challenger is ready to shoulder the load.

“Our main goal was not only being the champ,” Davis says, “but to be on the big stage, doing great things, showing the youth that’s coming behind us that you don’t always have to be negative, you know? You can be positive.”

The positivity that Davis speaks of trickles down from Coach Calvin Ford. A man who has been fighting for a long time now. Fighting for the lives of kids, fighting for the soul of his neighborhood, fighting to create change. When speaking about his vision for the future, Ford tears up.

“People don’t understand how serious and how hard… why we’re working. I always tell ’em, ‘Ya’ll have the same privileges as anybody else, you just gotta go get it. And they’re going to go get it.”

Gervonta “Tank” Davis preps for his title shot.
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