Demond Nicholson [9-0-0]

With 9 wins and 9 KOs within 13 months of turning pro, Maryland's Demond Nicholson has been quick out of the starting blocks. Not only is he aiming to maintain his level of activity, but there is also the possibility of going for a regional title within a few months from now. Demond took the time to talk to BoxingQnA.com where he discussed his amateur background, his progress as a top middleweight prospect, as well as his lofty ambitions in the sport.

For those who aren't aware of you just yet, especially on this side of the pond where we normally don't hear about up-and-comers until much later on, what was your amateur background like? My amateur record was 110-15. My accolades include a couple of bronze medals at the National PAL championship, as well as a medal at the 2012 USA National Boxing Championships I picked up an Olympic Qualifiers medal. I also won a national Silver Gloves and plenty of local Golden Gloves tournaments. Despite my record, I didn't really have a spectacular amateur career, but it was cool. What was it that made you decide it was the right time to turn pro?

It was when I found out about the change of rules with headgear being removed in the amateurs. It just made me think "There's no point fighting for free." Me and my trainer talked it over and he said that he thought I was ready to turn pro anyway. I ended up turning pro in 2013 at the age of 20 and so far it's been great. I'm 9-0 with 9 KOs and I am considered a top prospect.

Who are the guys you have around you? Who trains you, who are you managed or promoted by?

I am trained by Barry Hunter at Headbangers and I guess you could say he is also my manager. For now though, I don't have a promoter. I'm just fighting on different shows and waiting for my time.

Up until this point, are there any adjustments to your style that you have had to make when making the change from amateur to professional boxing, or has it been a seamless transition for you to the pro game?

I'd say the main adjustment I had to make was to sit down on my punches. Aside from that, just having to take my time and not rush my shots.

You're building up a KO record and a couple of these guys you stopped in round 1 had previously taking most of their opponents the distance, so that's probably a good early indicator of your punching power?

My punching power only really came into play last year after turning pro. I guess you could say I always had power, but it was never brought out of me in the amateurs where I mainly looked to utilize my quick hand speed. I never realized the strength that I had back in the amateurs. Now that it has been discovered and developed, my punching power is ridiculous.

So as soon as you started sitting down on your punches it became apparent that you had that natural power in your locker the whole time?

Yeah and now I'm breaking people's ribs and dropping people with my shots. I think I stopped just two people in my whole amateur career, yet ever since turning pro I've been stopping everybody.

Of course, some might look at your record and say "Well, he isn't getting many rounds under his belt." But based on what you're doing in the gym, are you confident that when the time eventually comes you'll have no issues with longer duration fights?

I believe that I'll have no issues at all with longer fights. We work very hard at my gym and that's a big reason why Headbangers is known as one of the top gyms around. To be honest, 6-8 rounds feels like nothing to me and I know that I can go 12 rounds if I need to.

You won your last fight by stoppage in the 4th round. Before that you had only gone 2 rounds on one occasion. How did things go in that fight?

That fight to me was definitely a learning experience. Obviously it was my first time going 4 rounds in a fight and it became obvious that there are some things I need to work on. Also, looking back at the fight, I definitely feel that I should have used my jab more. We didn't really get to see what I needed to work on in my other fights because I got rid of all but one of those guys in the first round. Overall though, I'm happy with both my learning curve and the early stages of my career so far.

Are you enjoying this period where you are developing under the radar, or are you looking forward to the time when enerybody is monitoring your progress?

I like being under the radar and I like being underestimated, too. A lot of people actually didn't even expect me to come this far. I know I haven't even made it as a pro yet, but I've already been proving people wrong. The way I see it though, I haven't accomplished anything yet. I don't have any belts yet and I'm beating people that I'm supposed to be beating. My goal is to keep proving people wrong all the way until I'm the world middleweight champion.

You're fighting again at the end of the month and you even have a provisional date for a fight in October. So if both of those come off for you, that will be 6 fights in a year. And you had 5 fights within 6 months of turning pro last year. Was such a high rate of activity always the plan from the outset after turning pro?

I'm not 100% sure about October date yet. As for the rate of activity, it wasn't my team's plan, but it was definitely what I wanted. After turning pro I wanted to be able to fight every month if possible. I've a got a good fanbase and a lot of people enjoy coming to see me fight, so I am able to fight regularly.

At this point, are you just taking each fight as it comes and gradually stepping up in opposition as you have been? Or do you have specific goals in mind going into next year, like a regional title or something along those lines?

I'm letting my team handle all of that. We're looking at each fight as we go, but we are looking at probably getting something bigger after my next fight. Something which, if it comes off, should be a good learning experience to see where I'm at. As for regional titles, hopefully we will be be exploring that in a few months.

Any boxing inspirations from past or present?

My favorite fighter of all-time would have to be Sugar Ray Leonard. I really like what he did for the sport, while I admire that Sugar Ray Robinson and Muhammad Ali did for the sport, too. As for the present, it would have to be Lamont Peterson. I work with the man every day, I idolize him and he's my role model. Both him and his brother Anthony have been a big influence on me. I love how they work and a lot of what I do is because of them. I also admire Floyd Mayweather Jr. and the legacy he's building. He's 46-0 and looking like he's still 20 years old. Looking at these guys inspires me to be great. I don't just want to be a world champion, I want to be the greatest. That's my goal. I'm here and I'm not playing. I may have played in the amateurs, but playtime is over with. I have a family now, I have a daughter now. I've got things to take care of.

Any shout-outs or final words?

A shout-out to my sponsor, Ghodfrii Collection. A shout-out to Headbangers and my team. A shout-out to my family, I love you all. A shout-out to my daughter - her name is Jade Aailyah Nicholson and I love her dearly.