After winning the ABO championship, Andre “Sugar Dre” Donovan returned to his Uhrichsville home and spent approximately four hours watching the fight he’d just won.
Then he went to bed.
Just not alone … he took his new title belt with him.
Last Saturday, Donovan spent the evening at the Hollywood Casino in Washington, Pa., where he stopped veteran fighter Jesus Martinez in the third round of a scheduled eight-round fight to win the Appalachian Boxing Organization’s Bantamweight Championship.
It was his 15th professional fight and 11th straight win. After dropping a pair of fights early in his pro career, Sugar Dre is 12-2.
Donovan dominated the contest, scoring a knockdown against Martinez in the first round, two more in the second and another in the third, when the fight was stopped.
“This my first belt,” Donovan said “I had one other belt in my whole career and that was (as an amateur) for winning the (Golden Gloves) regional to go to nationals.”
That was the cause for his celebration at home. Donovan said he got home at 12:30 a.m. and stayed up watching the fight until 4:30.
He said his plans are wide open.
“Right now, we’re in phenomenal shape, so we’re ready to go,” he said when asked about his next fight. “Right now, my management team it’s waiting for an opportunity to go.”
"Every fighter is fueled by his past and whatever they’ve got going on. What got him to this point, I can’t tell you, but whatever it is, he uses it very well to do what he’s doing here.”
That means a return to normal life, which includes going to work, heading to New Philadelphia for his training/workout sessions at the T County Boxing Academy and then heading home to spend time with his three children.
“I try to spend all my free time with my family,” he said. “They’re what’s really important.”
Sugar Dre started fighting in junior high, when he’d go to Roy Caldwell’s gym in Dennison most Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Now, he trains with Lee Kreisher at the T County Boxing Academy in New Philadelphia, where they work on both the physical and mental aspect of the sport.
Kreisher said boxing can be complicated.
“Every fighter is fueled by his past and whatever they’ve got going on,” he said. “What got him to this point, I can’t tell you, but whatever it is, he uses it very well to do what he’s doing here.”
This last fight may have been a turning point for the 28-year-old Sugar Dre. He dominated a veteran fighter with 64 professional bouts.
“His No. 1 attribute is his pressure … he’s relentless,” Kreisher assessed. “Now that he’s moving up, guys are used to pressure and he’s falling back on actual boxing skills, not just throwing a bunch of punches. Now, he’s throwing calculated punches, hitting with a purpose and it’s slowing down a lot for him.”
“I took my time this time,” Donovan said of his first professional title fight. “I was able to step back and see what I was doing.”
“He was more like a sniper than a machine gun, Kreisher said. “There’s a lot of things that happened in this fight, but the people actually know about boxing … well, he’s sticking out right now.”
The added attention is a real plus for the Uhrichsville fighter.
“I consider myself a normal guy and the guys I watch on social media, they’re watching me now and that’s a weird position to be in,” Donovan said.
The big goal now is to make a living.
I just want to be financially stable for my family,” Donovan said. “I’d like to travel some, I’m hoping Japan calls us soon, or maybe Turkey or Dubai. Right now though, I’m just focusing on whoever they put in front of me.”
WANT TO TRY?
Want to be a teammate of the Champ, Sugar Dre3 Donovan, and learn from Ohio Boxing HOF inductee Lee Kreisher, check out the classes at:
T County Boxing Academy
1203 E. High Ave (Rear)
New Philadelphia, OH 44663
Youth classes (ages 6-15): $65/month and the youth fight team starts at age 8.
Adult classes (16 and up): $75/month.
The first class is always free.
