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JASON “The Sensation” GAVERN (14-4-3, 7 KOs)…
At the age of 29, Jason is a 3 -year pro. A heavyweight prospect, he is 5-2-1 since his only loss last October against Malcolm Tann . Jason had previously won four fights in a row after fighting to a draw in May, 2003.
Jason said, “We're living in Point Sienna , Florida . Now, everything is good down there except for me, I'm never there. I'm still self managed, but I'm talking to a guy now, James Toney's manager, John Arthur . We'll see how that goes.
“I'm here in Sherman Oaks, California . I'm in camp with James Toney. I'm here about five weeks for this camp. This is my second camp here, I was here for my last fight, too. He's getting ready to fight Dominick Guinn on October 1. So I'm getting him ready, and he's getting me ready.
“It's definitely an educational experience. First of all, he is probably one of the top five heavyweights in the world right now. And he's not that big. He's six-foot, five-eleven maybe, and he's competing with all these guys and hanging with them and beating them.
“I'm a small heavyweight myself, so it gives me confidence to know that I'm not going to go in there and get run over by these big heavyweights. I can be in there with anybody and compete with anybody, and beat most anybody.
“Sparring with James, I give just as much as I get. It's more of a mental thing and a confidence builder, because he's one of the top guys in the world and I'm in there with him. And I'm here, so I'm doing something right.
“We're training at the Wild Card Gym, I'm making a lot of connections down there. I'm talking to a lot of people, and when I get out of the ring after sparring, I'm getting a lot of good feedback. It definitely keeps me checked, but it feels good to know that people say, ‘Hey, you're getting better.'
“I've seen Travis Walker fight a few times. It's going to be a good fight. He's a strong kid. We fought in the amateurs a few times together, we fought in a couple of the same tournaments, and we were both super heavyweights, too. But we never fought each other. We never sparred, either. But him and I fight on all the Goossen shows, so I've seen him fight a few times, he's seen me fight a few times. I know he's a good fighter, I'm definitely not taking him lightly by any means. I'm just looking to go in there and do what I got to do. Hopefully, we'll get the job done.
“He's a lot bigger than me, I think he's six-five maybe? And his reach is definitely longer than mine, so I'm just going to box him. In any fight, I never look for the knockout, so I'm not going to go in there and start banging with this guy. It's not going to work. So, I've just got to fight smart. This fight is going to be a smart fight, hit and not be hit. That's the whole point.
“I've been working on my head movement a lot, and footwork, and my defense. James Toney has got some phenomenal defense. For how big he is, I keep asking myself, ‘How come I can't hit this guy?' He'll be against the ropes, and I'll swing at him 10 times and hit him twice. I'm like, ‘How do I miss this guy that much?' So I pick up little things here and there, things I can take with me into my fight.
“I'm doing three-a-days in the gym. Too much, too much. I've been here going on three weeks now. [note: interview on Sept. 8] I landed here on, I'm thinking it was a Monday or a Sunday at nine in the morning, and at noon I was already in the gym. This isn't just a vacation out here, this is work. My last fight, I was in real good shape, so I'm looking for the same results this fight. I'm here working with James, yes, but at the same point, I'm working on what I need to work on.
“Morning, it's cardio. 40, 50 minutes, maybe. We do like, rounds on the treadmill. Run three minutes, take a minute off, run three minutes, take a minute off. I've been doing 10, 12 rounds on the treadmill. Two o'clock, we normally spar at Wild Card. In the beginning it was three or four rounds, but it's starting to get up there because James is getting ready for his fight. We're probably there about two hours. Then I do my floor work, my bags, jump rope, all that stuff. Then we go back to the gym at night and we do maybe some pad work or lifting a little bit. It's pretty much an all-day event. Altogether, I'm in the gym five or six hours a day. I'm doing everything James is doing to get ready for a 12-round fight, he's not doing any more than I am. And I have another three weeks to go. For me to quit my career for this, I'm obviously going to take it very serious. I'll do whatever I got do to get the belt that I want.”
Regarding his nickname, he said, “I'm not ‘The Fighting Cop' any more. When I first started in the amateurs, I was in the Army Reserve. I was away one weekend on a trip, doing military stuff, and we were talking about it. The guys were throwing out names, and one of the guys said that name, and it pretty much always stuck. I wanted like, Killer, or The Bull. My dad was like, ‘The Sensation, that's queer.' But it's catchy.”
Fight by Fight - 2005 - in his last fight on 5-5-05 in Palm Springs , CA , he won a 6 round unanimous decision against Jermaine Woods (8-2-1), scored 60-54, 59-54, 58-54…
2004 - on 12-9-04 in Temecula , CA , he won a 6 round unanimous decision against Charles “Chili” Wilson (9-5): it was a good, fast-paced fight, but Jason generally outworked him and landed the sharper punches; scored 60-54, 60-54, 59-55…
On 10-1-04 in Coachella , CA , he lost an 8 round unanimous decision against Malcolm Tann (12-1): both fighters came out slugging and it was an exciting fight, but Tann generally had the edge and landed the sharper punches; scored 78-74, 77-75, 77-74…
On 8-19-04 in Dickson City , PA , he TKO'd Adam Smith (2-1) at 1:53 of the 3 rd round…
On 4-24-04 in Miccosukee, FL, he TKO'd previously undefeated Albert Jimenez (5-0) at 1:29 of the 2 nd round…
2003 - on 12-11-03 in Queens , NY , he won a 4 round unanimous decision against Barry Lineberger (3-3), scored 40-36, 40-36, 39-37…
On 10-3-03 in Las Vegas , NV , he won a 4 round unanimous decision against Larry Dawson (1-1), scored 39-36 on all three scorecards…
On 5-18-03 in Bronx , NY , he fought to a 4 round draw against Jay Hobbs (debut), scored 39-37 Gavern, 39-37 Hobbs , 38-38…
On 4-5-03 in Choctaw, MS, he TKO'd George Burrage (0-3): Jason rocked Burrage several times in the 1 st round, and the referee stopped the fight at 2:38; after the fight, Jason said, “He jumped on me and got off a good right hand. I just had to drop back, relax, and go at him.”…
He debuted on 3-15-03 in Dallas , TX , and TKO'd Eduardo De Julian (0-1) at 2:48 of the 1 st round…
AMATEUR, PERSONAL BACKGROUND: Jason said, “I was born in Harrisonburg , Virginia . I have one sister. We moved to Scranton , Pennsylvania , when I was two weeks old. My whole family's there.”…
Jason started boxing at the age of 21…he said, “When I first got hired by the police department, I'd say the spring of ‘98, a lot of guys were doing extra stuff, karate, something extra to have on the street with them. Growing up as a kid, my dad and I watched the fights on TV and I've always been interested in it. I took a couple of lessons and pretty much just fell into it. I've never had anybody in my family fight. I started taking some lessons. I liked it, and I stuck with it.
“I lost my first seven amateur fights and everybody said, ‘Why do you keep doing it?' Well, I love it, it's just awesome. It's the best sport in the world, man. I don't know the exact number of my amateur fights. I have 17 losses, I kept track of those. I have probably 85 wins, somewhere in that area.
Jason progessed quickly and finished third in the National Golden Gloves two times…he climbed in USA Boxing's super heavyweight rankings to No. 3, and was classified as one of their “Elite Athletes”…
AMATEUR HIGHLIGHTS: 2002 National Golden Gloves: in his three fights, Jason defeated Robert Lake III in his first fight and Nicolai Firtha in the quarter-finals, but lost by disqualification to Malcom Tann in the semi-finals…
2002 U.S. Championships: in his first fight, Jason stopped Gregory Lee at 1:54 of the 2 nd round, but lost a 22-4 decision against Jason Estrada in the quarter-finals…
2001 PAL Championships: Jason lost on disqualification to Jason Estrada in the 3 rd round…
2001 National Golden Gloves: in his four fights, Jason defeated Elijio Sena , defeated Nicolai Firtha , defeated Henry Sanders in the quarter-finals, and lost to Henry Sanders, Jr. , in the semi-finals for third place…
2001 U.S. Championships: Jason decision won a 16-11 decision against Henry Sanders ; then lost on disqualification to Diallo Lawson in the quarter-finals…
Jason said, “I'm married and I got two kids. My daughter is seven, her name is Leaira, and my son is four. His name is Landon.
“I quit the Police Department earlier this year. I quit just to train full-time. This boxing thing is my life now. I take it very, very serious. It's a huge step. I've uprooted my family and moved them halfway across the country for boxing. This is now my job. I sold my house in Scranton and we moved to Point Sienna , Florida . It's right next to Kissimmee . My wife's father is the pastor of a church here, and she works for him fulltime. The kids are in school. That makes it a little bit easier, but my immediate family is still in Scranton . It's a big sacrifice, but we know in the long run that, God willing, it'll pay off.
“Financially-wise, I'm not making anything yet. I'm not even going to say my head's above water. My wife works full-time, and we're fine with her working full-time. But I don't want her working full-time, I'd like her to be able to just stay at the house and do whatever she wants to do, and let me work. Right now, it's like I'm putting my time in, it's going to happen. It's going to happen. I know that I've got the talent to take me somewhere. I know I can make a big splash in this division, it's just a matter of getting the right people behind me. I'm not looking at getting rich tomorrow, but I think in time, my talent will speak for itself, and we'll do a little better.
“If it was not for my wife, I would not be able to box. I always tell her she's the glue of the family. She's with them kids 24-7, she works full-time. She's the Wife of the Year. We talked about it, and if I'm going to do what I know I can do in the heavyweight division, I need to do it full-time.”…
STRENGTHS: Has an aggressive style and punching power…tough an determined…had a strong amateur background…
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