Montgomery boxer Dwayne Zeigler ready to dish out pain Friday on Showtime
Dwayne Zeigler is constantly reaching for new heights in his boxing career, and there’s a huge televised one ahead for the undefeated Montgomery native.
“It’s time for Montgomery to shine,” said Zeigler, who sports an 11-0-1 record (one match was a draw in 2014). “It’s time for us to get our shine on.”
On Friday, he'll take on 9-0 Florida boxer Sean Mason for 6 rounds in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The lightweight division fight is part of the eight-match card for Showtime’s “SHOBOX: The New Generation.” The fights start at 8 p.m.
Mason’s nickname is “Untouchable.” He’s 5’9” and since his debut in 2019, seven of his wins have been by knockout.
Since his debut in 2013, the 5’7” Zeigler, (who's been known as "One Hitta Quita" and "Abiyah Ben Yahweh") has knocked out five opponents. This will be his first Atlantic City fight, though he’s fought plenty in Detroit and in Louisville, Kentucky.
Zeigler admits to being viewed as a bit of an underdog, but he had no hesitation when the chance came to fight Mason.
“This guy that’s fixin’ to step up, he ain’t never fought anybody like me,” Zeigler said. “I’ve seen a couple of his fights. I really think I’m going to hurt him. But we’ll have to see.”
The thought of fighting on a national platform has Zeigler ready to explode.
"There's going to be a lot of fireworks next week," Zeigler said Friday during a video chat, walking during the entire interview. (The training never stops.)
Along with working out two or three times a day and carefully watching his diet, Zeigler said he’s been doing a lot of jogging and sparring to get ready for the match. As of last week, he had a couple of pounds left to get rid of before the fight.
To be in the lightweight division, his fighting weight is 135 pounds. Zeigler said he went into training at 170 pounds.
"I've been training for about a month and a half now. My weight is low and I'm ready to go," he said. “I’m ready to get in the ring and shed blood. Whatever I’ve got to do.”
Zeigler has star power guiding him through training. His manager is retired hall of fame boxer Roy Jones Jr., a nine-time world champion in multiple weight divisions.
"That's my right hand man. My mentor. My trainer," Zeigler said. "I've got a lot of good people on my side, you know what I mean?"
Along with the physical toll, there’s a mental challenge that comes with preparing for each fight. He puts a lot of focus on thinking about how to put pain into his opponents.
“I get kind or nervous. Well, not really nervous, but I’m anxious to fight,” he said.
Zeigler loves his screaming fans, the biggest of which is his two-year-old daughter Zaza. He said she’s full of energy. She often goes to the gym with him, and even gets in her own workout.
“She gives me extra motivation,” Zeigler said. “Anything I do, she wants to do. If I do a pushup, she wants to do one. If I’m doing cardio, she wants to do it. I’m blessed to have her.”
Years from now, if she’s interested in boxing, he’d be proud to help his girl take it to the next level. One day, he could be the one watching his daughter on TV.
“If she wants to do it, I ain’t going to bash her,” he said. “Let her do it. Let her try.”
Zeiger said he’s unaware of any watch parties planned for his Showtime fight, but he wants everyone to see it.
“I hope everybody gets something positive out of it,” he said.
The path from Montgomery
“Boxing paved my way. It took me all the way around the world,” Zeigler said.
The road to his 11-0-1 record began in his hometown, where he grew up on the north side in the Sheridan Heights community. As a kid, he attended Chisholm Elementary and Goodwyn Middle School.
“After that, I went to Job Corps,” he said.
Zeigler's love for the sport stems from time with his older brother, a former boxer. Zeigler said he grew up alongside him at Bad Boys Boxing Gym in Montgomery.
"I ain't never looked back, once I put the gloves on," he said.
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The simple basis of his success, he said, is hard work and sweat, especially in a state known far more for sports like football and basketball. He’d love to be a source of inspiration to a new generation of future Alabama boxers.
“It’s a great sport,” he said. “It installs discipline, hard work, weight management, everything.”
Along with his talent, Zeigler’s character has evolved. While bringing pain is always a part of boxing, early on he included some smack talk as well. Don’t expect that from him against Mason.
“At the end of the day, Friday night me and him have got to get in the ring,” he said. “No words have been exchanged. There’s nothing to talk about. I’m just ready to let my fists do the talking.”
Zeigler will promote a Montgomery company on Showtime
It’s almost ironic that a hardcore boxer like Zeigler has close ties with someone from Montgomery known for spreading a message of peace and unity.
Along with leading the Hateless Foundation nonprofit, which provides food, clothing and education to underserved people, Jarvis Provitt of Montgomery owns a growing bottled water company called Drip. Locally, it’s available at Vintage Café, Sanctuary Cigars and Red Bluff Bar.
Thanks to a chance encounter with Drip, Provitt's company is sponsoring Zeigler and will have its logo on his boxing shorts for the Showtime fight.
“A while back, I was having dinner with one of my buddies. I had some water, and I had never seen the brand before,” Zeigler said.
Zeigler decided to find out more about Drip, and that soon led to him getting in touch with Provitt.
“His water and what I do as a professional boxer, it goes right together,” Zeigler said. “The water is delicious. I use it every day.”
That includes the Showtime match.
“Drip water will be in my corner,” Zeigler said. “I’ll be drinking Drip water. Nothing else.”
Asked to describe Zeigler, Provitt summed him in one word: Greatness.
“Dwayne works really hard, day in and day out,” Provitt said. “Dwayne believes in his camp. He believes in his team, and we believe in Dwayne.”
Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Shannon Heupel at sheupel@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Montgomery boxer Dwayne Zeigler ready to dish out pain on Showtime
