“When my manager told me I’ve got to do this interview, I didn’t want to do it. I understand that just because I go through adversity, and because I go through trials and tribulations, that my life cannot stop. But I’m still hurting.”
Staten Island native James Wilkins (9-1, 6 KOs) doesn’t want to talk. It’s understandable – another one of his oldest friends was shot dead yesterday. Boxing has often flitted in and out of his life, much like the people he holds close.
Now based in Dallas, Texas, the Golden Boy prospect is preparing for a return to the ring as soon as an opportunity presents itself, but once again, loss smothers his every word. Wilkins tells Boxing Social, “I’m not supposed to be here. Look at it: every one of my friends is dead. Every one of ’em. I ain’t got one friend back home. Everybody I knew is dead now.
“My friend that got shot yesterday, that man raised me since I was 10 years old. He was only 32. I’m talking about, if we only had enough food for one person to eat, he gave me whatever he had and sent me to the gym. When I came home, there was another meal in the fridge.”
The super-featherweight from New York has witnessed more than most during his short tenure in the sport, aged just 24. He starred in Bartle Bull’s documentary ‘Cradle of Champions’, released in 2017, and has managed to drag himself from harrowing circumstances to land firmly on his feet.
Maybe he doesn’t want to talk because he knows journalists will ask those painful questions about growing up with 20 plus family members crammed in a one bedroom apartment, like sardines on welfare. Time after time. It’s not the most comfortable conversation starter.
Perhaps he doesn’t feel up to it today because his friend losing his life reminds him of his brother’s murder. Another shooting in Staten Island. Or his high school friend’s suicide, as he held her bag, watching on in complete shock and disbelief.
Boxing is – and always has been – everything to Wilkins, because anything else seems to crumble dramatically before his eyes.
“Boxing is my life. It’s something that I love to do,” he said. “I don’t fight because I have to. I’m pretty good at finding a way when there’s no way, so there’s lots I could do to live my life, with boxing or without it. I don’t look at myself like a normal person.
“I feel like boxing is a doorway to all of my dreams and goals; not only as a fighter and as a world champion, but I’m gonna be smart and invest my money. Invest in real estate, so my family don’t ever have to worry [about money] again. The more I win, the more I’ll become a star – and I know that.”
It’s been four wins on the spin, and Wilkins managed to beat James Early (W6) in January before the Covid-19 Pandemic swept the United States. Early wasn’t on his level though and he’s desperate to test himself, with his sights set on world titles by the end of next year.
Signing for Golden Boy Promotions earlier this year was a dream come true, but contests were postponed and he has been forced to remain optimistic during lockdown.
“We’re working hard,” explained Wilkins, known appropriately as ‘Crunch Time’. “We are staying focused, staying really dedicated. We are understanding that this journey as a fighter is never gonna be easy. So, we just take it onboard and continue moving forward. Everything is good and I can’t complain. I count my blessings – not my problems.
“I’ve still been in the gym training, and doing my recovery. I’ve been working out and we are slowly getting back into it. My job as a fighter is to work hard, stay fit and stay focused. My promotional team will take care of that [next fight], my manager worries about that.”
It didn’t seem as though Wilkins worried about much, but maybe that’s just a hearty facade. A young boy raised in his environment, constantly suffering, must surely have perfected his poker face.
Four wins have helped endear him to his new employers, fronted by one of Wilkins’ favourite fighters, Oscar De La Hoya. But it’s the single digit occupying his losses column that irks him. He was beaten by Misael Lopez (L8) two years ago, but his dispute with that particular decision continues gathering pace.
“I don’t live with excuses. If I was gonna say, leading up to this fight I was homeless, I was literally living on the streets, I wasn’t eating. If I live with that, then I’m gonna make excuses every time something hard comes up,” said Wilkins.
“It was hard, because I know in my heart that I won the fight. I’m not talking like every fighter that loses a fight and says: ‘I got robbed!’. I dropped this man to the floor – they didn’t count the knockdown. But then you give it a UD? Where did you even get those numbers? Who is judging these fights? Nah, come on, man.
“I’m not an emotional person like I was when I was younger. I’m not gonna get angry. I just sit back and understand life now. I’m fighting so you know I won the fight. There ain’t gonna be no questions about it afterwards. The same way my brother got hit with a bullet, there’s gonna be that same intensity [when I throw punches] and, if I can end you, I’m gonna end you.”
Eerie silence followed. For a young man torn apart at times by death, his goal was still to inflict pain. Boxing has helped James Wilkins overcome some of the toughest times in his young life, but it is still a destructive way to make a living.
His links with a returning Roy Jones Jr. have made good copy, with the legendary former champion assisting and advising Wilkins. In fact, he recently spent time in Pensacola, Florida, and was supposed to be back there now. But Dallas feels like home.
It is an escape from darker times, and a chance to drive his own development. He told Boxing Social about his new apartment and feeling calmer than ever. Things were smooth, he remarked. There’s a first time for everything.
“I always tell myself when I go through something, ‘This is the championship round’. When you get there, you ain’t fresh no more, you might have made it past that 10th round but you can’t stop,” he said. “Champions don’t do that. Champions don’t complain – they find a way. So my goal is to be a champion and to succeed, and I will do it.
“I want people to remember me as a person that never gave up, as a person who never complained about their problems. And even though I started my career young and wreckless – some would say stupid – that I’m working real hard to grow outside of the ring. I’ve worked to become somebody that kids can look up to, if they’re in a dark place in their lives, they can look at me and see that they can do good. It’s never too late.”
Although he’d initially wanted to cancel the interview, Wilkins opened up with striking honesty. Life wasn’t normal at his end of the phone, it has just settled down a bit.
He told Boxing Social about calling his mum when he received the offer from Golden Boy. His priorities have changed; family and any remaining close friends place themselves above earnings and shiny jewellery. It’s taken time for Wilkins to realise that.
With every bullet scattering the streets of Staten Island, bodies follow. Motivation has never been an issue. When James Wilkins returns to the ring, he’ll do so with another name to carry, another friend, another death. Somebody else to make proud.
His success is a shining light from a struggling neighbourhood, it’s a reminder that it’s never too late.
Main image: Hogan Photos/Golden Boy Promotions.