Every amateur boxer dreams of turning professional one day.
With every meticulous punch he throws, Vanden High School boxer Derry Noble draws closer to turning that dream into a reality.
Last weekend, Noble captured the seventh national title of his dream-like amateur career by winning the 114-pound flyweight belt at the 2017 Junior Olympic, Prep Nationals and Youth Open in Charleston, WV.
Noble was 3-0 for the week with a unanimous win over Chamar Flowers (Accokeek, MD), a 3-2 split-decision victory over Dominic Valle (Wesley Chappell, FL), and a 4-1 title-belt winning decision against Raymond Ford (Sicklerville, NJ) on Saturday in what was a 2014 Silver Gloves rematch between the two fighters.
Noble’s most recent tournament win comes roughly six weeks after he fought his way to a 114 pound flyweight title at the Golden Gloves National Tournament of Champions in May in Louisiana, known to most boxing gurus as the top amateur event in the country.
“It’s been a blessing,” said Adrian Noble, Derry’s father and trainer. “It’s also very humbling to see his hard work and effort rewarded with wins. I know I’m proud of him, and his mom is proud of him too.”
Similar to a trend taking place in just about every sport, today’s breed of boxer is bigger, stronger and faster than ever before. Derry Noble was forced to maneuver around the long arms of his three opponents last week, all of whom stood taller than his 5-foot-6 frame.
“It’s all about getting inside the opponent’s reach and working away at the body,” Adrian Noble said. “When he (Derry) is able to do that, he has good success. Today’s boxers are big and have the ability to cut weight easier because of certain technology. It’s a big confidence boost for him to get in there and out-box taller opponents.”
With seven national titles to his name, Derry Noble, 17, hopes to turn professional sometime in the first few months of 2018, although he has been urged by top Team USA Boxing officials to remain an amateur for longer as one of the country’s prized up-and-coming talents.
In fact, Noble is the No. 1 ranked flyweight boxer in the nation for his age group (teamusa.org), and is currently training in Colorado Springs, CO — home of the United States Olympic Training Center — as a member of Team USA Boxing to prepare for international competition, beginning with the Brandenburg Cup in Frankfurt, Germany later this month.
“It’s pretty cool for him to be training with Team USA right now,” Adrian Noble admitted. “He’s with the top boxing talent in the country, working on his craft. It’s cool to think that a kid from Vacaville is there doing that.”
In Germany, Noble will go toe-to-toe with some of the top international amateur boxing talent in the world for perhaps his toughest test as an athlete. Adrian Noble won’t make the long flight, acknowledging that his son is in the reliable hands of Team USA trainers.
“I won’t be going with him,” he said. “Team USA trainers are the best in the world and I know they’ll take good care of him.”
–Mack Drake, TheReporter.com
