Ryan "Dangerous" Davis is back to doing what he loves best.
The professional boxer, a Granite City native, will fight for the first time in seven months when he faces St. Louis native Deandre Latimore Friday in a junior middleweight bout at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The fight is the co-main event on a card that will be broadcast at 10 p.m. on Showtime.
Davis, 33, has a career record of 23-9-3 with nine knockouts. Latimore, 26, is 22-3 with 17 KOs and is known as "The Bull."
"I haven't fought him before, but I sparred with him and worked out with him right before he turned pro," Davis said. "They brought him in to work with me and see how he did. We have two different styles. He comes at you like a bull and he's a strong fighter, but I think I can use my quickness, speed and movement to outbox him and catch him with a shot coming in."
Davis made his professional debut in October 1999. His last fight was a loss to Dominik Britsch on July 16, 2011 in Munich, Germany.
"I took that fight on about four weeks' notice and I was at 160 (pounds), which is out of my weight class, but it was a big opportunity for an IBF title," Davis said. "The fight went really good and I was outboxing him, but he hit me with a few shots and I got low and squatted down and (Britsch) thought he hurt me. He came rushing in and hit me with his hips and legs and punched me at the same time.
"I fell down and they counted it as a knockdown, so I took an eight-count and stood on one knee. (The referee) told me to walk to him, so I did and I said I was fine, but they stopped it. It wasn't right, but that's what happens when you go overseas. If you fight guys over there, you've got to knock them out to win."
Davis hasn't had much time to tune up for the Latimore bout, either.
"It was going to happen in California, but I couldn't fight there anymore because I had cataract surgery on my left eye two years ago and they don't allow me to fight in that state," Davis said. "(Latimore) was going to fight somebody else in California, but they moved it to Las Vegas and they called back me back up to see if I still wanted the fight, but I still didn't know if it was going to happen because of my eye situation.
"Nevada has the same rules as California, so I spent a few days trying to find an eye doctor to clear me. I went back to the original eye doctor who did the surgery and he cleared me to fight.
"My eyes are good, but it's really common for boxers to have eye injuries. In combat sports, trauma to the eyes causes cataracts."
After starting his amateur boxing career at age 9, Davis twice earned the chance to box in the Junior Olympic Nationals at 14 and 15. He was a six-time Golden Glove champion (1999-91 and 1995-98) and went to the U.S. championships in 1997 and 1998. For most of his career, he has trained with his father, Terry, at the family-owned Knuckles Gym in Madison.
"As each year passes, I get better and I'm still learning today," said Davis, a 1997 graduate of Granite City High School. "Latimore is the third left-hander I've faced (as a pro), so I've done 28 rounds of sparring with left-handers and I think that's going to help me tremendously in this fight.
"My dad has been with me throughout my whole career and he knows me better than anybody else. He just had a shoulder replacement and he hasn't been able to hold pads for me, but I have another guy in my corner, Matt Greer, that's going to help me out. He's a pro fighter and he fought James Toney a few years ago.
"This fight is a huge opportunity for me because it could put me in the top 10 in the world. I could be one fight away from a world title shot."
The matchup of two local fighters has stirred interest in the St. Louis boxing community.
"A lot of guys are really excited about the fight," Davis said. "They've been talking about me and (Latimore) fighting for a couple years now. It's finally happening in Las Vegas, which is pretty much where he lives now."
Davis lived and trained for two years in California before coming back to Granite City in 2007.
"I worked with "Sugar" Shane Mosley, Oscar De La Hoya, the best of the best," Davis said. "After I came back here, I fought Zab Judah, another left-hander, in November 2007 (a loss by unanimous decision). He's a four-time champion and I only had two days of sparring with amateur kids prior to fighting him. I'm going to be better prepared fighting Latimore."
