Master of Sweet Science Works at Fame’s Fringe

Police officer Jim Davidson never had boxed when he went to trainer Jimmy Bivins with a plea.

Davidson, 38, wanted to enter an Olympic-style competition for law enforcement officers from across the nation and asked Bivins to train him.

“He watched me for a little while. After about six weeks of strictly putting me into condition, he put me in the ring. Jimmy’s contention is that boxing is almost 90 percent conditioning. He proved it by me. He put me in the best shape of my life,” Davidson said.

Last August in Las Vegas, Davidson decisioned a 23-year-old deputy sheriff from California to win a gold medal. Bivins was in his corner.

“I was elated,” said Davidson, who competed as a 175-pound light heavyweight. “It culminated everything. He told me all along I could do it, even though I was concerned about my age.”

Bivins, 69, runs a small boxing gym in a former elementary school classroom at St. Malachi Center. The atmosphere recalls days when poor, street-wise kids thrived in big-city boxing clubs.

Teen-agers and young adults train with Bivins. He says he goes to the gym each day out of love of the sport. Bivins, a retired delivery truck driver, spends most of his money on equipment and weekly Saturday “feasts” for his boxers.

“To me, you get in there and show your self esteem,” Bivins said. “Nothing’s impossible. You just try. You get to a place where you can do it. It brings out the man in you. It lets folks know if you work toward a goal, it can shine for you.”

Bivins became a professional fighter in 1940 as a 180-pound light heavyweight in bouts that paid $5 a round.

By 1942 he was widely considered among the best heavyweights and light-heavyweights in the country. He went into the Army in 1944, but otherwise dominated Cleveland boxing in that decade.

During his career, he fought many of the biggest names in boxing, including heavyweight champ Joe Louis in a 10-rounder in Baltimore at a time when Louis was making a comeback.

“I still think I beat him, but he was Joe Louis. He had the name,” Bivins said.

Bivins had a professional record of 86 victories, 25 losses and one draw but never had a title fight.

“Some folks said the promoters didn’t want to take a chance of putting their guy in there with me,” Bivins said.

Bivins runs his gym outside of today’s pro boxing circles. He works with no big-name fighters, as does promoter Don King of Orwell, east of Cleveland.

“People in Cleveland act like I’m not even here. When there are fight shows in Cleveland, no one asks Jimmy Bivins to take a bow. But any other city I go to, if they know I’m there they let me take a bow. I don’t know what the problem is. I never bother anybody. I just mind my own business. I don’t shoot off at the lip.”