Just 18 years old, David is a sensational prospect at 154 pounds. He is a former amateur standout – he finished his amateur career in June, 2017 and signed a promotional contract with Top Rank.
He is a stablemate of three-division world champion and rising superstar Vasiliy Lomachenko, who was voted the Boxing Writers Association of America’s “2017 Fighter of the Year,” WBC light heavyweight world champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk, welterweight contender Egidijus Kavaliauskas, and welterweight prospect Alexander Besputin – all are managed by Egis Klimas, the Boxing Writers Association of America’s “Manager of the Year” in 2016 and 2017, and promoted by Top Rank.
David made his pro debut on February 3 in Corpus Christi, Texas, and won a four-round unanimous decision against Rafael Munoz.
He was back in the ring four months later – on June 9 in Las Vegas, he won by second-round TKO against Trevor Lavin.
In his last fight on October 20 in Las Vegas, David won by second-round TKO against Noah LaCoste.
The scheduled four-rounder was on the undercard of the Rob Brant vs. Ryota Murata main event. David scored a knockdown with a right uppercut late in the first round. He rocked LaCoste with a series of punches early in the second round, and the referee stopped the fight at 0:40.
In an earlier interview, David said, “I train at the Sport Club Gym in Reseda, California. It’s my dad’s gym. I’ve been training three times a day for four years now. I never went to traditional high school. I do home school, so training doesn’t get in the way of my education. I’ve been doing that for four years now.
“I’ve been sparring pros since the age of 14, nonstop. I was Viktor Postol’s official sparring partner for six weeks for his fight against Terence Crawford. That was at the Wild Card. I’ve sparred many greats, like Shane Mosley, I sparred the current IBF champion Sergei Lipinets. I sparred Ivan Redkach, and I sparred Radzhab Butaev.
“I can do every different style for every different fighter. Once I step in the ring, I pick up a style right away. Me and my dad have been working for so many years, and we pick up styles from different types of fighters. So, if I need to be slick, I can be slick. If I need pressure, I can use pressure. If I need to move on my feet, I move on my feet.
“But I do have a punch. I don’t really like speed, but I like to hit with power.”
AMATEUR, PERSONAL BACKGROUND: David said, “I was born in Netanya, Israel. I have one sister. My mom is a pharmacist and my dad owns a boxing gym. He does that full time – from 9 AM to 9 PM. He doesn’t train other boxers, he just focuses on training me. I’m the only boxer in my family. My dad was a boxer back in the Soviet Union. He had 155 amateur fights – they didn’t have pros in the Soviet Union.
“My parents are both from the Soviet Union – they’re from Lviv, Ukraine. They moved from there to Israel. We left Israel and moved to Southern California when I was three years old. We went first to San Diego, from San Diego we moved to the Valley, and we moved to Tarzana when I was four and I grew up here.
“My dad didn’t own the gym when we came here. We didn’t have that much money, so he would train people and do side jobs. He came up with the money and we opened the gym in Reseda. Our gym now is in Reseda, too, but we’re further away. It’s called the Sport Club. We’re in the furthest part of Reseda.
“My dad’s been my trainer forever – since day one. He always had me in shape, but I’ve always been throwing punches since like, I was four years old. I had my first fight when I was six years old.
“My first ‘official’ amateur fight was at eight. Altogether, my amateur record was 94-8. I fought in the ‘youth’ division even though I was 16 – I qualified for the age.
“I won the PALs twice, and I won a gold medal internationally one time – that was in Russia in 2015. It was in Siberia. [note: results not currently available]
“I’m naturally left-handed. I’m single, but I’ve got a girlfriend. We’ve been together for a while. She’s very close to me and motivates me a lot.”…
AMATEUR HIGHLIGHTS:
2017 U.S. YOUTH OPEN TOURNAMENT – Charleston, West Virginia, 165 pounds – BRONZE MEDALIST: in the quarterfinals (his first fight) he won a decision against Alexis Chaparro; in the semifinals on 6-29-17 he lost a 4-1 decision against Lorenzo Simpson…
2017 U.S. WESTERN ELITE QUALIFIER & REGIONAL OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS – Albuquerque, New Mexico, 165 pounds/youth division – GOLD MEDALIST: in the finals (his only fight) on 3-25-17 he won by disqualification in the 2nd round against Derrick Coleman…
2016 U.S. YOUTH NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS – Kansas City, Missouri, 165 pounds – SILVER MEDALIST: in his first fight on 12-5-16 he won a 3-2 decision against Alexis Chaparro; in his second fight on 12-6-16 he won a 5-0 decision against Jessie Fletcher; in the quarterfinals on 12-7-16 he stopped Alejandro Macias; in the semifinals on 12-8-16 he won a 5-0 decision against Maurice Winslow; in the finals on 12-9-16 he lost a 3-2 decision against Lorenzo Simpson…
2016 JUNIOR OLYMPIC AND PREP NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS – Dallas, Texas, 145 pounds/junior division – BRONZE MEDALIST: in his first fight on 6-28-16 he defeated Anthony Rodriguez of Dallas, Tex.; in the quarterfinals on 6-29-16 he defeated Johnny Montalvo of Omaha, Neb.; in the semifinals on 7-1-16 he lost against Brian Norman of Lithonia, Ga….
2015 RINGSIDE WORLD TOURNAMENT – Independence, Missouri, 132 pounds/junior division – BRONZE MEDALIST: in his first fight on 8-5-15 he defeated José Bernal; in the quarterfinals on 8-6-15 he defeated Erick Lanzas; in the semifinals on 8-7-15 he lost against Thomas Chabot…
2015 JUNIOR OLYMPIC AND PREP NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS – Charleston, West Virginia, 132 pounds – GOLD MEDALIST / WON OUTSTANDING BOXER AWARD: in the quarterfinals (his first fight) on 6-11-15 he won a 3-0 decision against Cesareo Morales Jr. of Salina, Kan.; in the semifinals on 6-12-15 he won a 2-1 decision against De’Sean Minor of Cincinnati, Oh.; in the finals on 6-13-15 he won a 2-1 decision against Harley Maderos of New York, N.Y….
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: 3 fights…8 total rounds…
AVERAGE LENGTH OF BOUTS: 2.6 rounds…
KNOCKOUT PERCENTAGE: 66 %…
DISTANCE FIGHTS: 4 rounds – 1 (1-0)…
