It’s been a while, 16 months to be exact, since 2016 U.S. Olympian Charles Conwell last fought. A lot has changed in his life and his boxing life in that span. Most importantly, Conwell, The Ring’s No. 9 rated junior middleweight, is with a new promoter, Golden Boy, which he signed with in February, and another is that his long sabbatical will end this Saturday on the Devin Haney-Ryan Garcia undercard from Barclays Center, in Brooklyn, New York, on DAZN Pay-Per-View (9 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. for a $69.99).
Conwell (18-0, 13 Knockouts) will be taking on veteran Nathaniel Gallimore (22-7-1, 17 KOs) in a 10-round bout to open the PPV portion of the show.
The last time Conwell, 26, was in the ring he won a 10-round majority decision over Juan Carlos Abreu on November 26, 2022, in Carson, California. The 16-month layoff is the longest shutdown in his seven-year fight career.
“Conwell has it all – power, ring presence, and an Olympic pedigree that has him prepared for any kind of pressure he’ll face in the ring,” Chairman and CEO of Golden Boy Promotions Oscar De La Hoya said in the Conwell signing press release. “Now we are going to bring him back the ‘Golden Boy’ way, having him fight often and tough competition to make sure he’s ready to chase world championship gold.”
Mark Habibi, who manages Conwell, agrees.
“I’m so excited for Charles to be represented by Golden Boy,” said Habibi, who manages fighters under his Wise Owl Boxing banner. “Charles is at the point in his career where he’s at the cusp of a world title opportunity and we’re excited to have Golden Boy in our corner to get us that shot Charles has been dreaming about since he was a kid.”
Waiting for fights was frustrating, Conwell admits.
There were managerial entanglements that have delayed his growth. Now, Conwell says, he feels ready and set to move forward in what was leading to a promising career before the layoff arrived.
“I’m glad everything happened the way it happened,” said Conwell, the father of two daughters. “The first part of my career, it was like any career, when you are developing yourself, learning new things, learning the ins and outs, and that is what I was doing, learning the ins and outs of boxing. I needed to understand the business and how things run. I’m getting better.”
“The layoff has definitely been frustrating, seeing all of these fighters I came up with in my career moving forward, and I was sitting here stuck,” said Conwell, who is managed by Mark Habibi of California-based Wise Owl Boxing. “When you are stagnant, there is always frustration, but I have grown as a person. I understand myself more. I understand boxing more. I’ve learned by being through so much with this experience.
“I’m just glad that I didn’t lose myself throughout that time and mess up my career by doing some BS. I was lucky to have my team around to keep me motivated and keep me boxing. I was still training and I would hear fights were on, and then I would hear that they were off. Ultimately, I went to Golden Boy, I’m with a new manager, and I want to show everyone that I have not missed a beat.”
A resident of Cleveland, Ohio, Conwell kept himself active by working out of the Soul City Boxing Gym in Toledo, Ohio, training and working with kids and spending quality time with his own children.
Gallimore, who is 2-6 in his last eight fights and 1-4 over his last five, was stopped late in the sixth round in his fight 13 months ago against Serhii Bohachuk, The Ring’s No 4-rated junior middleweight who went on to dominate rugged Brian Mendoza on the Sebastian Fundora-Tim Tszyu undercard on March 30.
“Gallimore has fought everyone and I feel this is a great fight for me,” Conwell said. “I told Golden Boy I want to get as many fights as I can this year. I would love to get a title shot by the end of the year. I would like a shot against Fundora, or Errol Spence Jr., or Bohachuk. I feel really good right now.
“I kept my mind occupied by staying active. I have real estate investments, my girlfriend is a registered nurse, and she has been the champion of the house makes life a lot easier for me. I’m coming out to New York with just me and the coaches. I have collaborated with Mark and Wise Owl Boxing. I want everyone to know ‘Bad News’ is back in boxing.”
Joseph Santoliquito is an award-winning sportswriter who has been working for Ring Magazine/RingTV.com since October 1997 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.
Follow @JSantoliquito
