Cheney boxer Gardner gears up for Davis rematch

Cheney residents who walk by or through Sutton Park in the afternoon may notice professional boxer Daryl Gardner running laps around the block or hitting the mitts in the pavilion.

Gardner is preparing for his May 30 rematch against Jason Davis at the Emerald Greens Casino in Tacoma, Wash.

The first fight between Gardner and Davis was on March 28 at the same venue. Gardner, who had taken the fight on three weeks notice, caught Davis with a couple of clean rights, then knocked him down in the first round. As the fight went on, Gardner became winded and Davis started coming back, enough for the judges to rule it a draw. After the fight, Gardner went to the doctor's room where the seed for the rematch was planted.

"This guy (Davis) was mad," Gardner said. "He was screaming 'you know what, let's do a rematch.' The matchmaker standing next to me thought I had won the fight. He asked if I wanted a rematch."

Gardner has trained at Sutton Park with former professional boxer and Cheney resident Nalo Leal for the last year and a half. He currently works at All Pak Containers in Cheney, and used to live at the Reno Nugget Apartments. He recently moved to a house close to Spokane with his girlfriend and is expecting a child this summer.

"A lot of people will come up and talk with Nalo and me while we're training," Gardner said. "Sutton Park is a big area and the pavilion provides us with shade and protects us from the rain and other elements.

Gardner, 32, started boxing 10 years ago while he was living in Monticello, Ark. One day he saw a flyer that read, "Fight Night tournament, winner takes $500." He purchased a pair of gloves, dug out his father's training bag and started training himself.

"In the tournament, in the first round, my opponent's corner threw in the towel," Gardner said. "I won the second fight by knockout. My third opponent didn't want to fight me and I won my fourth fight by decision."

Gardner started sparring with professional boxer Willie Simpson and later Jim Poole. He moved to Spokane and began working with the Welliver brothers - Rick, Chauncy and Dewey - at the Spokane Boxing Club. It was there he met Leal, who had started an amateur club at the gym.

In 2012, Gardner made his professional debut against John Jay Mount and finished his opponent in 93 seconds. He won only one of his next six fights before his first match against Davis. One thing Gardner has learned is boxing takes a lot of discipline and training.

"You've got to be willing to tough it out," Gardner said. "In the pros, you don't have head gear. It's like being in a street fight, except these guys are trained."

After moving to Cheney, Gardner met with Leal at Safeway and the two started training together. Although Leal recognizes Gardner's strengths, he is working on adding "style" to his fight game.

"We're working on little changes," Leal said. "He's not a Floyd Mayweather. He's not a defensive fighter. Daryl has a tendency to attract people because he tends to knock people's heads off."

Gardner feels he's gotten "10 times better" since he started training with Leal. With more preparation under his belt, he said the match with Davis will be a "better fight" this time. As for his goals in boxing, Gardner just wants to leave his mark on the sport.

"If I would have stuck with boxing, I would have been one those guys with winning records," Gardner said. "In the short time that I've been in boxing, it's not that bad, but I want to do as much as I can."

Al Stover can be reached at [email protected].