Starks, James At It Again
By Jesse Kelley
10-1-08

 

Javontae Starks has had an exceptional 2008 year so far and things do not appear to be slowing for the 19 year old from Minneapolis. Starks and COD teammate Jamal James are currently storming through competition at the National P.A.L. tournament in Oxnard, California. Starks beat Marquis Moore of MD in the opening day of competition on Monday by score of 3-2 and followed that up yesterday by outpointing Terrance Jarmon of Ohio 5-0. 2007 PAL champ Jamal James has also won his first two bouts in impressive fashion.
In August of 2007, Starks was hit by a stray bullet at a party. Normally, something like that would be a setback but Starks came back stronger then ever as he climbed to the top of the 152 weight class in the United States. First place wins at the State USA Championships, Future Stars National Champions and the Ringside's along with other victories and good finishes have put Starks at the number 2 spot in the nation, where he currently resides.
Starks says that if he receives any points at the PAL's, he will be guaranteed his number two spot in the nation's year end standings.
MinnesotaBoxing.com caught up with the 6'0 tall, easy going Starks during a workout prior to leaving for the PAL tournament to discuss the story book year to date, possible opponents and his thoughts on boxing professionally someday. Here is what Starks had to say...

 

You have had a strong year in 2008. Let's talk about the last big tournament (Ringside World Championships) and some of the things that stand out.
One of the things that stand out to me from the last tournament was that one of the guys I beat the first night was a top ten ranked fighter. A world ranked fighter. I beat him the first night. The whole tournament could have ended for me the first night! The guy that I fought I believe was seventh ranked to be exact. Jeremiah Wiggins from Virginia. I don't know if you have heard yet but at the Golden Gloves when I lost, I got dropped. He was one of the guys outside of the ring saying that I was a bum, that I am overrated, all types of disrespectful things like that. So when it came time for us to fight, I was really amped up about it. I got in the ring with him and saw that he was a big, big guy. A real strong dude. I wanted to feel him out in the first round to see where his power was at. But once my shots started popping off, I really didn't feel any power difference between him and some of the other guys. Second round I started turning up the heat and it was pretty much over for him. He couldn't get inside and land any clean shots. I felt like I could have stopped him. I believe the next time I fight him I will go out and stop him. I had to throw a lot of lead right hands, uppercuts and rights to the body also because my left hand had a crack in it. Normally my bread and butter is my left hand.
Another fight I was excited about was the last fight. The guy I faced was the guy that dropped me in the finals of the Golden Gloves! He Sammy Vasquez beat me pretty good, I take my hat off to him. It was one of the losses that I can say I did lose. I was glad to fight him because when I fought him before, I had just gotten back from the Puerto Rican duals so I was real tired. I had just gotten out of camp going three months straight of hard work. Competition level type attitude everyday. My mind was kind of burnt, my body was burnt. The guy I fought was a tough Puerto Rican guy from Philadelphia which says it all right there (laughing). When we got in the ring the second time I had to show people that what I was saying wasn't a story. A lot of people were saying that I was overrated because I choked up at the Golden Gloves so I wanted to show them that no, it wasn't the guy I fought that beat me. It was me being so active in such a short period of time that broke me down. He is a tough guy though and you need to be on your A game. He actually buzzed me the second time we fought. He hit me with a nice left hand which was on a break. It took me a couple seconds to get my mind back. The referee gave me a little time to walk it off since he did hit me on the break. That was early in the second round. I came back after that though and it was a great win because it really left a mark on where I stand.

You have been boxing since 2001 and been through a lot in that time. Talk about what the road has been like getting to where you are now.
It's all about hard work. It's about willing to wake up early and put on that jogging outfit. It took me a minute to get that motivation and mindset behind me. I think I was always talented when it came to fighting. I always had the natural ability to pull out a win whether it was pretty or not. After being shot and realizing how much I loved the game of boxing, it really turned up my level of competition. It's been a long wait but I am here and I don't plan on getting off the top right now! To me it is about proving to myself and to the fans. Some people say that I am overrated which I don't believe. I don't like to give myself too much credit but I believe I have earned where I am at today. When it comes to other Minnesota fighters, I don't understand how people can put them higher then me when I have already beaten that fighter. Or how I can be placed at the bottom of the Minnesota rankings when I am ranked number two in the nation. I have fought all the ranked guys in my weight except for two of them and I have beaten them all.

There is always talk on the LiveFromRingside.com's fan forum about MN guys facing each other...
I don't let all the talk bother me but I also stress that I will fight anybody. I have proven it too. I have given twenty pounds to these guys. I fought Dewayne Stewart before, in his home town. He is a 178 pound fighter. That was a few years back. I fought Cerresso fort right after being shot. I fought Tyler Haultin when I was sixteen. I fought Michael Faulk when I was sixteen with a cracked right hand. I think I have fought everybody there is to fight in Minnesota. I fought and stopped Manny Contreras. I'm willing to fight Tony Lee, Rob Brandt. Anybody there is to fight, I am willing. I have always been willing to give weight and I will always drop weight. I just want to make fights. If people tell me they want me to fight so and so then I will make it happen. That is the type of fighter I am.

Talk about the international, national and local scene and if there is anybody out there you would like to face.
As far as the international scene, I am willing to go to any country to fight whoever. Anything I can put in my passport is lovely. As far as the national scene goes, there are a couple of guys out there. There is a guy that beat me twice , 30-51 which is unbelievable and the first time we fought the score was 7-5 in the Junior Olympics. His name is Rodrigo Garcia. He made the Olympic team for Guatemala I think.
William Jackson is another. But as far as Minnesota fighters, I would love to bang it out with Tony Lee. I like Tony because he always comes to fight. He is a little smaller then me so it might be tough to make happen but I would love to make it happen. I would also like to fight Tyler Haultin again. He is very tough. That is what I remember about him. He pushed me to limits I almost thought I didn't have at the time. I barely made it out but I sucked it up and did what I had to do. Rob Brandt also just because people think he is hot right now. I would like to wait until he has more experience but if he wants to fight now, of course I will!

I have heard rumors that you might be turning pro soon. Any truth to that?
I don't believe I will be an amateur past the 2009 year. I plan on competing in 2009 but 2010 is the year I believe will be my time to turn pro. The only thing that could possibly keep me amateur past 2009 would be if I qualify for the Goodwill games. I believe it goes the World's, The Goodwill's, Pan Am's and then the Olympics again. Every other year they have a big event. If I qualify for the World's then of course I will finish off the year of '09. If I qualify for the Goodwill games then I will fight in that and turn pro right after.

What are you doing now to prepare for that step?
The pro's are the next step for me. Everything I am doing right now is preparing me for the pro game. Stuff like keeping my chin down in the pocket, keeping my hands up close to the ears because a lot of the pro punches loop around to the ears with the smaller gloves. Basically just sharpening my game. Things will be getting serious soon and it will be time to make my money!

Talk about your thoughts on the transition from amateur boxing to professional.
The thing that I truly believe is that if you hit a guy without getting hit yourself, you win on any scoring system. The thing that is good for a fighter like me or Rasheed Warren, or Gary Russell is that we box. I am not particularly as fast as those guys or maybe not as smooth or established in the game as they are but I box. I move around the ring. It is easy for me to get out of the way of punches. I am naturally always moving. As opposed to the guys that are always coming forward to take shots. I think that will make things a little bit easier on me when I make the transition. Plus I am long and tall so I can box effectively on the outside.

 

Jamal James teaches his little brother some moves