Metro-east boxer will compete for national championship, with eye on Olympics

A promising lightweight boxer from the metro-east has legitimate hopes for his future and a chance to win a national Golden Glove Championship and compete as an Olympian.

Daniel Nolan, 19, from Cahokia Heights, defeated Quinci Page in a knockout to win the St. Louis Golden Glove Lightweight Championship in March.

He advances to the 2023 Golden Gloves of America National Tournament, which will be held in Philadelphia from May 8 to May 13. From there, the two best boxers in their respective weight classes will advance to the 2024 Olympic Trial where they will compete in a single-elimination tournament.

Nolan says what separates him from other competitors is that he works way harder, and he studies the FIGHT game to prepare himself. He also is a left-handed boxer, which makes him unorthodox in his style and gives him an advantage.

“For the most part, I have been working and learning as much as I can from everybody,” Nolan said.

He said the journey has been rough through ups and downs, but he knows he can make it through and won’t quit on his goals.

Daniel Nolan lost to Walter Assandri in the Prelim Round of the Elite Male welterweight division during the USA Boxing National Championships in Lubbock, Texas in December 2022 which was his first opportunity to qualify for the 2024 Olympic Trials. Assandri eventually lost to Joseph Abudy in the quarterfinal.

In talks about his national championship defeat last year at the 2022 USA National Championships Prelim Round, Nolan stated, “You have to keep pushing and later get the results that you want.”

Nolan felt like his success did not come as a surprise due to his consistent work ethic.

“I definitely seen this success,” he said. “When I’m working towards something, I envision the biggest outcome.”

Nolan has been training at the Flash Boxing and Activity Center for the last two years, which is owned by former East St. Louis Golden Glove Champion and 1984 U.S. Olympic Team member Arthur “Flash” Johnson.

In 2001, Johnson and his wife, Latanya, founded the Arthur Johnson Foundation which focuses on developing the community by supporting the youth through athletes and giving back to families in need. The two opened the Flash Boxing and Activity Center in 2018 to help push their mission.

Johnson was a two-time world junior featherweight and one-time bantamweight champion. He finished his amateur career with 170-25 record and was the first American boxer to win a gold medal in the Goodwill Games, along with bringing 12 national championships.

Before retiring from the fighting world in 2003, Johnson competed in the pro leagues where he would finish his career with a 22-6 record and three world championship belts.

“It’s a great feeling to be able to see a kid that has the potential to grow to the highest level,” Johnson said. “That he can possibly go from national to international (in the Olympic Games).”

Johnson says Nolan is special because of his old-school boxing style and his agility in the ring. He wants to allow Nolan to capitalize on what he learned from competing in previous national tournaments.

“I just want him to give 100% effort and if he gives that then I think the winning and the other side of the coin, being victorious, will take its place,” he said.

Johnson said boxing officials who remember him from his hey-day see his influence in Nolan.

“’Hey man,’” Johnson said they tell him, “’ he’s a flashback of you.’”

Something that Johnson prioritizes with his boxers is having faith in competition.

“We are faith-based group, so we have a prayer before any competition,” Johnson said. “One thing I learned was not so much to pray to win, but to pray to give my best effort because that within itself covers the winning and everything else.”

To get prepared for this upcoming match, Nolan is doing a lot of cardio, shadowboxing and repetition in his mind every week as the Golden Glove National Championship approaches next month.

Relishing the ride

Following the path of a former boxing champion in the area is no easy feat, Nolan admits, but he says he has been enjoying the journey.

“It definitely is the best since the last person to do something big (in the metro-east) was (Johnson), and he’s training me, so that makes the city look even better,” Nolan said.

Nolan has a list of goals for his future boxing career and they are to win the Golden Glove Championship, then eventually turn professional and become a world championship in multiple weight classes.