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Compton Youth Takes Wrestling World By Storm

—Courtesy photo

By Gary Walker
Bulletin staff writer

Joey Davis is not your typical 11-year old. How many boys in his age have seven wrestling championships under their belt?

The Compton youth recently scored win number 7 in San Jose, and his father feels that the sky is the limit for his son.

“He’s awesome,” uttered the proud papa, Coach Joey Davis by telephone the weekend prior to his son heading north to compete in a championship match. “Joey’s been wrestling since he was 6 years old, and he’s really come a long way.”

The 11-year-old is a world champion in the 85lb. weight class, where he trains two hours a day. His dad and his trainer say he overwhelms his opponents with strength, agility and savvy.

Young Joey trains at Body Shop Training Academy in Bellflower, under the tutelage of Antonio McKee. His team, called the Warriors, boasts a host of young wrestlers who are on the road to stardom, say their trainer and Davis.

Joey is accomplished in free-style, Greco-Roman and folk style. “Greco-Roman is the style of wrestling that you see in the Olympics, the elder Davis explained. “Free-style is all upper body, and folk style is what you see wrestlers performing at the collegiate level.”

Davis has another son, Brandon, who wrestles at Cerritos College, and says that he is also an accomplished athlete. “But Joey is the real deal,” he said admiringly.

Like football, Coach Davis, himself a former champion wrestler in the 1970s, names balance and coordination as the keys to becoming a star wrestler. “Joey has all those qualities at such a young age,” he related. “His coach tells me that the sky’s the limit.”

Joey may also have a budding career in front of the camera. He has appeared on the UPN television show Eve, and will appear on the cover of Vanity Fair later this year, says his father.

There are very few African -American wrestlers who are actively involved in this grueling sport. According to a book on African -American wrestlers by Spears & Swanson, R., the first African American wrestler to gain popularity was Viro “Black Sam” Small. Born a slave in Beufort, South Carolina in 1854. He was 5’9” tall and weighed 185 pounds. He made his first appearance at Owney’s Bastile in New York City in 1870.

Prior to 1960 black wrestlers had to wrestle amongst themselves. It wasn’t until a wrestler by the name of Edward “Bearcat” Wright announced that he would not wrestle in places that banned integrated matches.

The first collegiate African American wrestler was during World War I. Walter Gordon from the University of California at Berkeley. He wrestled from 1916 to 1918. He became the Pacific Coast Conference Heavyweight Champion the oldest African American intercollegiate wrestling history would date back to Morgan State. They have had the most history of successful early Black American wrestlers.

Besides wrestling, Joey, who attends Westwood Charter School in Inglewood, is a star in football and track. His team won the Super Bowl in their age category in Florida last year on a team sponsored by Calvin Broadus, better known to fans of rap as Snoop Doggy Dogg.

Davis, who coached wrestling at Compton High for four years, is one of the city’s most vocal advocates for the sport that he and his sons love. “Everybody won’t get a scholarship in football, basketball or baseball,” Davis reasons. “Wrestling can give black athletes another option, and it can help you prepare for life, just like the other sports.”

“This sport is great for young athletes,” Davis enthused. “It keeps them out of trouble, and it’s a great alternative for those who aren’t going to get athletic scholarships in the others sports,” he repeated.

Asked whether his son had in the tradition of Gordon, Davis replied, “Oh no. Football is his first love, and he is chomping at the bit to start practice already.”

But first comes winning another wrestling title. When asked what he liked most about wrestling, the younger Davis summed it up in one word.

“Winning.”

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