Inside the boxing mind of rising junior middleweight Charles Conwell

Junior middleweight boxer Charles Conwell was storming up boxing rankings before COVID-19. He talks to FanSided about what it takes to be a contender.

Most casual boxing fans assume that boxers find success through a combination of practice and physical talent. Junior middleweight rising star Charles Conwell continuously proves that much more is needed to be a prosperous professional fighter.

Conwell (12-0, 9 KOs), 22, of Cleveland, Ohio, is young but possesses experience, wisdom, and maturity beyond his years. He started his boxing journey as an 11-year-old. He was fortunate to find qualified tutors early on in the form of boxing trainers Otha Jones Jr. and his son Roshawn Jones. They connected at the start of Conwell’s boxing campaign.

“I actually connected with them when I was 12 or 13 years old,” Conwell explained to FanSided. “I was supposed to fight one of their fighters, but he was too big for me, so we linked up to spar. One time my dad couldn’t take me to a tournament, so I went down with them and stayed for a while and got in shape, went down to the tournament, and won. Ever since then, it’s been like history.”

Conwell travels two hours away from home to Toledo at the Soul City Boxing and Wrestling Gym. While in camp, Conwell spends his time in Toledo and makes weekend trips back to Cleveland to be with his family. Toledo offers Conwell a sense of privacy where he can concentrate on perfecting his craft.

“To be honest, I like training in Toldeo,” said Conwell. “When I’m at home, you have distractions. You have family. You have friends. You have temptations when you’re at home.

“I just like to get away and train and do my thing out here where there’s less distractions and people calling me and worrying me.”

Boxing is much more than a physical act. The term “ring I.Q.” is a real quality that not all can master. It takes time, pressure, and thoughtfulness to learn. As an amateur, Conwell dedicated himself to broadening his boxing intelligence and succeeded.

He won the National Golden Gloves tournament at 17 years old and followed that up by making the U.S. Olympic boxing team. He competed at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and turned professional in 2017.

Conwell credits his amateur background for shaping him into the boxer he is today.

“Going into the Olympics, I was real young,” said Conwell. “I was 18, and I qualified to make the U.S.A team when I was 17, so I was real young. I was just getting experienced to fighting grown men.”

Conwell has evolved into a fighter whose ability to think and alter his strategy at any given moment is his biggest asset. That’s a quality that he had to hone over time.

Charles Conwell talked candidly to FanSided about his start in boxing and all that he has learned along the way.

“At first, I feel like I was just a brawler,” described Conwell. “Going into different experiences made me realize, you can’t knock everybody out. It’s hard to knock a grown man out.

“I had to learn how to move and break a person down differently. And when I first turned professional, I was trying to be a knockout artist, but I had to realize that these ten-rounders, these eight-rounders ain’t no joke. You’ve got to pace yourself and break a guy down.”

One of the keys to Conwell’s growth is the lessons learned in sparring. Conwell trained with several former world champions. Sparring isn’t the same as a real fight, but it certainly adds confidence if you can hang with the best.

“I’ve been in camp with David Lemieux, Tony Harrison, for the first Charlo fight,” recalled Conwell. “Me and Tony are really good friends. Shawn Porter. I’ve been in with Peter Quillin when I was real young. He didn’t really go hard on me though. I was like 16.”

Conwell shared the ring with Quillin while training during his reign as the WBO middleweight champion. Quillin was in his early 30s at the time. Conwell remembers the age and experience difference between them, making those sparring sessions some of the most difficult.

“I’m gonna say Peter Quillin [was the hardest to spar] because I was 16, and he hit hard,” laughed Conwell.

Conwell last fought in February, stopping Ramses Agaton in four rounds. The pandemic halted all phases of life, but boxing shows are back on. Conwell is training and hopes to get into the ring soon.

“I would love one of the new champions,” said Conwell. “I would love to fight one of those guys. Other than the new champions, I really want to fight an ex-world champion, or a world title challenger just to get the experience under my belt.”

Conwell is promoted by DiBella Entertainment and told FanSided that “something is in the works” for his next bout and hopes to receive more information soon. It has been a devastating year for everybody, but Conwell has hopes that things will turn around.

“Before this year ends, I just want to see if I can just squeeze in like two more fights,” said Conwell. “I know it will be kind of hard because I haven’t even been scheduled for one fight yet, but I would love to squeeze in two.”

Whenever Conwell steps into the ring next, expect him to be more than ready to make good on his opportunity. He has a wealth of knowledge and skills that have been forged over time. Conwell has put in the effort, and he’s eager to prove that he’s one of the best junior middleweights in the world.