Boxing champion DaVarryl Williamson has serious skills.

DaVarryl Williamson has had a storied career as a heavyweight boxing champion, and at 41, he is still fighting. Fortunately for Denverites, he’s also sharing his fitness and boxing knowledge with children and adults of all skill levels in group and private classes.

Success was far from guaranteed for the young Williamson. Hailing from the Washington, D.C. area, he grew up the son of a heroin addict mother and an incarcerated father, mostly bouncing from one foster home to another until his mother got clean when he was nine. The relationship remained rocky, and two years later, Williamson went to live with his father after his release from prison. “I didn’t always agree with his discipline, but I don’t regret any of the situations I’ve been in,” says Williamson.

He avoided drugs by focusing on sports, which earned him the chance to go to college. While working toward his bachelor’s degree in recreation at Wayne State College in Nebraska, he was also training for professional football tryouts, hoping to walk on with the Indianapolis Colts or an arena team. “I took up boxing in November 1993 mainly to stay in shape before spring tryouts,” he says. Williamson was 25, an age when many fighters are entering retirement.

After being awarded a scholarship to Northern Michigan University’s Olympic Education Center for his master’s degree, he studied administrative services and trained with the goal of competing at the 1996 Atlanta Games. From both an educational and boxing perspective, the move proved fortuitous. He got his degree and trained with Al Mitchell, whom Williamson says was “the best boxing coach and taught me everything about strategy and technique.”
Williamson’s boxing prowess developed quickly. He was selected first alternate for the 1996 U.S. Olympic
boxing team and was the U.S. National Champion from 1996 to 1998. During his six years as an amateur fighter, he won 10 championships, and his record was an impressive 120 – 17 – 1 with 103 KOs, a count that earned him the moniker “Touch of Sleep.”

His wife Shalifa offers a glimpse at the athlete’s softer side. “DaVarryl is a very capable boxer with a powerful body, but he is also a gentle soul and loving person. When he boxed as an amateur and knocked out a guy, he’d run over and say, ‘I’m so sorry, man. Are you okay?’”

In 2000, Williamson joined the professional boxing circuit and soared to the top of the heavyweight division. Since then, he has beaten opponents to win four title belts and has a record of 26-5 with 22 KOs. He is currently ranked 7th by the World Boxing Association and 8th by the World Boxing Council. While it isn’t uncommon for heavyweight boxers to be fighting at this age, it is for one to be ranked this high. “Today, he is fighting to become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, and he has the ability to achieve that title,” Shalifa says.
Besides training for his own bouts, teaching boxing and conditioning skills has dominated most of Williamson’s adult life. “Even as an amateur boxer, I was coaching professional boxers on technique and skills,” he says. He coaches nine amateurs, three professionals, and countless recreational boxers today.

Touch ’Em Up
Ten years ago, Williamson opened the Touch ’Em Up gym. It was a natural progression for him to share his passion for boxing with adults and children, and interestingly, many of his toughest recreational boxers are females. “I structure a class so the clients feel the mystique of what it’s like to train and feel the adrenaline,” he says. “This is training like a pro without taking a blow.”

Entering the gym, you are graciously greeted by Williamson, who introduces you to the rest of the class. Bells are ringing, hip-hop music blasting, and students are gearing up for a high-intensity workout. “I want to meet my clients’ needs whether they involve losing weight, getting stronger, or better body tone, but the bottom line is they will get results,” he says.

Classes begin and end with stretching. The next section involves circuit conditioning with core work and plyometric drills to improve timing, strength, and elasticity and to work every muscle in your body. Next up is the boxing segment, and students “glove up.” Williamson beckons some into the ring to work on punch sequences and mental conditioning. “Bread and butter,” Williamson shouts — it’s a code name he attaches to a specific sequence of jabs and rights, one of his tricks to challenge students’ mental acuity. Meanwhile, assistant Lane Maeurer works with other students on speed and heavy bag drills and cardio conditioning.

Laura Hartman and Larry Thiel have trained with Williamson for the past two years. Hartman says, “DaVarryl’s group boxing classes challenge me physically, mentally, and psychologically. He forces me to stay extremely focused on what I’m doing at that time and place. All of the hard work and willpower help build confidence, self-esteem, and a belief in yourself.”

“There isn’t any training regimen as diverse and intense as DaVarryl’s, and the energy in the room is contagious,” adds Thiel.

Shalifa sums up her husband’s persona: “There are so many aspects to DaVarryl that are better than the boxer, and he takes so much pride in changing people’s lives. That is the key to why he does the boxing classes.”

Williamson survived a childhood surrounded by drugs, alcohol, and abject poverty, yet he seems unscarred by the experience. “I have no idea what it feels like to be high because I’ve never had a drink or done drugs,” he says. But the rush that comes from competition or from sharing his passion with others and allowing them to feel the thrill, has sustained him and led to a lifetime of triumph.

When You Go
Touch ‘Em Up
840 W. 11th Ave.
303.246.8749
tosboxing.com

Class schedule:
Monday – Thursday, 6 – 7:15 pm
Friday, 5:30 – 6:45 am
Saturday, 6 – 7:15 am
and noon – 1:15 pm
Sunday, 9 – 10:15 am
Fees start at $10 per class
Private classes by appointment, starting at $50 an hour