Philly boxer Dawejko rising with greater focus
Too often, heavyweight Joey Dawejko had to make a choice. He'd just spent another 10-12 hours on top of a roof, with nowhere to hide from the unforgiving summer sun. Scorched and exhausted, Dawejko would get home around 9:30 p.m. knowing he needed to rise by 3:30 a.m. to do his roadwork.
Too often, heavyweight Joey Dawejko had to make a choice.
He'd just spent another 10-12 hours on top of a roof, with nowhere to hide from the unforgiving summer sun. Scorched and exhausted, Dawejko would get home around 9:30 p.m. knowing he needed to rise by 3:30 a.m. to do his roadwork.
Should he sleep and recover? After all, at the time he had two children - he has three now - to feed. Or should he continue to break his body down with early morning runs and sparring as the once-promising amateur heavyweight chased what appeared to be a fading dream?
Sleep usually won.
"I was worn out," said Dawejko, 24, a Philadelphia heavyweight who will fight Amir Mansour on Friday night at the 2300 Arena. "I was like, 'I'm just going to go to bed.' I don't even have time to go to the gym in the morning."
It wasn't supposed to be like this.
Dawejko turned pro in 2009 after a decorated amateur career (56-12) that included a World Junior Amateur championship, the national under-19 crown, and a victory over Bryant Jennings, who lost his world championship heavyweight bout to Wladimir Klitschko in April.
Unable to commit totally to boxing, Dawejko entered 2014 with an 8-3 record.
All that has changed, though, since Dawejko (14-3, 7 knockouts) quit his roofing job and signed with Mark Cipparone's Club 1957 Management. Training three times a day - and not spending half his day on a roof - has resulted in six straight wins.
Friday, Dawejko, winner by first-round knockout in his last four fights, can thrust himself into prominence when he faces Mansour (21-1, 16 KOs), a 42-year-old veteran fighting out of Joe Hand's Gym
Managed by Cipparone and trained by former welterweight and light-welterweight champion Buddy McGirt, Dawejko is committed.
"It makes all the difference in the world now that he can do this the right way," Cipparone said. "Now you are seeing the real Joey. He gets better with each fight and people are taking note. Now that he can do it the right way - like a real fighter is supposed to do it - I'll just tell you that Amir is in for a surprise."
The animosity is palpable between the two, who had to be separated at Wednesday's news conference. And Mansour insists that Dawejko shave his long beard, saying it could be problematic. The state athletic commission could rule the beard be trimmed.
"Friday night he won't have to worry about my beard," Dawejko said. "I'm in the best shape of my life. He's got bigger problems to deal with."