Growing up in Baltimore, Lorenzo “Truck” Simpson had to learn how to cope with the violence that claimed two men who were important in his life. The 16 year old’s father and mentor were both murdered. Simpson’s mother, Danica Ward, decided that she had to get her son out of Baltimore after losing the father of her children to a deadly home invasion. She moved the family to Reisterstown, MD and invested in Simpson’s passion for boxing.

What started out as just a sport for Simpson has turned into a lifetime sport.

At the age of 9 when he started training at Upton Boxing Center, not many people knew if he would join the ranks of successful boxers from the city. Simpson proved himself with years of extensive training and now, nearly seven years later he is 165 pounds and carries an additional three pounds around his neck.

The weight around his neck are from the Junior Olympics National Boxing Tournament where he took home the gold medal. Catching the eye of Floyd Mayweather, Simpson has more amateur championship titles than Oscar De La Hoya.

“There are a lot of people talking about me,” Simpson told The Baltimore Sun. “But I just laugh a lot, smile a lot and stay focused.”

The teen is more focused than ever. He was named the “Most Outstanding Male Boxer”, beating out over 900 youth who competed in the tournament as well. USA Boxing ranks him first nationally in his weight class. Simpson also trained at Mayweather’s gym over the summer.

What’s next for the nine time national champion and gold medalist? His sights are on entering the U.S. trials for the 2020 Olympics.

Catch Simpson in action.

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