Howard Edward Davis Jr. (February 14, 1956 – December 30, 2015) was an American professional boxer. Growing up on Long Island as the eldest of 10 children, Davis first learned boxing from his father. After being inspired by a movie about Muhammad Ali, Davis embarked on his amateur career. He won the 1976 Olympic gold medal one week after his mother died. He was also awarded the Val Barker Trophy at the Olympics, beating out such boxers as Sugar Ray Leonard, Michael Spinks and Leon Spinks. He turned professional after the Olympics and went on to compile a professional record of 36–6–1 with 14 knockouts. He retired in 1996. After retirement he became a trainer. Eventually he worked as boxing director at American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida, where he trained both amateur and professional boxers and MMA fighters. He was also a motivational speaker and a musician. Amateur career As an amateur, Davis was trained by his father, a former boxer. He had an outstanding amateur career. In 1976, Davis won the Olympic gold medal in the lightweight division in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Davis was also named the Outstanding Boxer of the 1976 Olympics and given the Val Barker Trophy. His Olympic teammates included Sugar Ray Leonard, Michael Spinks and Leon Spinks. His Olympic victory came just one week after his mother died of a heart attack. Davis had an amateur record of 125–5. Amateur accomplishments include: 1973 National AAU Champion (125 lb) Defeated Leroy Veasley of Detroit in the final 1974 World Championships (125 lbs) in Havana, Cuba Defeated Roberto Andino (Puerto Rico) on points Defeated Rumen Peshev (Bulgaria) on points Defeated Eddie Ndukwu (Nigeria) on points Defeated Mariano Álvarez (Cuba) on points Defeated Boris Kuznetsov (Soviet Union) on points 1976 National AAU Champion (132 lbs) Defeated Thomas Hearns on points. 1976 Olympic Trials Defeated Aaron Pryor to qualify at 132 pounds 1976 Summer Olympics – Gold Medal (132 lbs) and Val Barker Award winner for Most Outstanding Boxer of the Games Round of 32: Defeated Yukio Segawa (Japan) won on points Round of 16: Defeated Leonidas Asprilla (Colombia) won by KO 2 Quarterfinal:; Defeated Tsvetan Tsvetkov (Bulgaria) won by TKO 3 Semifinal: Defeated Ace Rusevski (Yugoslavia) won on points Final: Defeated Simion Cuţov (Romania) won on points Professional career Davis turned professional in 1977. After winning his first thirteen fights, he challenged Jim Watt for the