Just five weeks have passed since former Olympic gold medalist Howard Davis Jr. succumbed to lung cancer at age 59. But his widow, Karla Guadamuz-Davis, already is busy carrying on his legacy.
The MMA promotional company the couple founded five years ago, http://www.fighttimepromotions.com, will celebrate Davis’ life when it holds its first card since his death on Feb. 12 in Miami.
“The motivation for me for this particular show is a remembrance event for Howard,” Guadamuz-Davis said. “It’s a tribute to him more than anything. It’s also two days before his 60th birthday so it has a lot of meaning. It’s not just another night of fights. It means more to me than that.”
The couple were enjoying the fruits of the labor this time last year. They were on their way to be named the top MMA promotional company in Florida and had locked down a television deal with the CBS Sports Network. Then Howard Davis, the popular gold medal winner for the U.S. Boxing team at the 1976 Olympics, was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer last February. He pursued traditional and non-traditional treatments and railed against the bureaucracy that hampered patients’ access to non-traditional drugs.
“There are corporations and entities that are controlling the cancer industry,” he told the Post during an exclusive interview last August. “It’s a multi-billion dollar industry with no cure in sight. In my opinion they don’t want a cure. They’re making billions every year. Why would you want a cure?”
When Davis died, concerns about the future of the promotional company surfaced.
“When everything first happened, I wasn’t even thinking of that stuff,” Guadamuz-Davis said. “I was just focused on what I had to do as Howard’s wife. Then people were asking our people, ‘Hey what’s going on with Fight Time? We heard they were shutting down.’ I was, ‘Why are people asking those questions? It’s been two days since my husband passed. Can they let me grieve for a few weeks?’ ”
That’s about all she took. Now Guadamuz-Davis is busy not only with Fight Time Promotions, but also with being mother to her daughter, Samiha.
“I’ve been busy,” Guadamuz-Davis said. “But at the end of the day when it’s quiet at the house and it’s just me and our 5-year-old daughter, you feel it. You feel the sadness. You feel the loneliness. When it’s quiet and the phone calls and text messages stop, it’s a little difficult.”
The MMA show on the 12th at the Magic City Casino will feature the traditional 10-count, a remembrance video, and video highlights of Davis’ boxing career and his impact on MMA.
“We have a lot of young MMA fans, who may not know the impact Howard Davis had in the sport of boxing and in MMA, teaching these fighters how to stand and fight,” she said.
Davis stood and fought cancer. He and Karla co-founded the Howard Davis Jr. Foundation with the goal of paying his medical bills and raising awareness of lung cancer. Davis was not a smoker. One event was held in his hometown of Glen Cove, N.Y. The events encouraged Davis and the supporters that attended.
“The people that came out to those four events are probably extremely happy that they did,” she said. “Nobody knew what was going to happen. Howard had his good days and bad days, but Howard looked good. Howard always looked good. Even though he dropped some weight, he always looked good.”
Davis’ daughter is a fixture at the MMA fights and stayed close to his side.
“It will be her first event without her dad, so it will be quite emotional,” Guadamuz-Davis said.
On Feb. 14, mom and daughter will go to the beach and participate in a kite festival in honor of what would have been Howard Davis Jr.’s 60th birthday.
“We’re going to go fly a kite with his picture on it,” Guadamuz-Davis said.
It’s all part of what she says is her mission now: “My job is far from done on doing what I need to do to keep Howard’s legacy alive.”