By Ashley Pavlakis
Long Island’s own Travis Smith is an amateur boxer from Shirley who continues to win in the ring. The welterweight won his third title of 2024 when he took home the highly sought-after New York City Metro Championship in November.
The fifteen-year-old rising star trains at Atlantic Veteran’s Boxing Club in Bellport. The facility has been training champions since 2001, with the guidance of head trainer Michael Murphy. The club prides itself on developing quality boys, girls, men, and women, in and outside the ring.
Smith hasn’t been boxing for that long, but in the time he’s been involved with the sport, he’s maximized his capabilities. He’s proven to be laser-focused on the task at hand– right now, that’s boxing.
“About five years, but I first started in mixed martial arts. That was the first combat sport I did,” said Smith.
Smith, dubbed the “What’s Next Kid”, attends William Floyd High School as a freshman and competes solely in boxing when he’s not in school. Out of the classroom and into the gym is what most days consist of for the hardworking boxer.
Boxing is a unique sport; the martial art is a hand-to-hand combat sport in which two fighters take to the ring to battle it out with punches and sometimes other body parts. For Smith, who is an amateur boxer, the rules differ from professional boxing in that the scoring is determined by clean blows landed rather than physical damage. Three rounds, consisting of three-minute intervals, are set up to see which boxer can go the distance and claim the title.
The amateur boxer has embraced the sport as a whole, doing whatever it takes in the gym and in the ring to be the best.
“When you sign up for boxing you sign up for two sports. You sign up for running and training really hard. You have to run at least three- two miles, fast speed, good pace, and go to the gym every day and train,” said Smith.
In addition to the NYC Metro championship, Smith took home the Ring Masters title and the New York City Boxing championship in 2024. Smith, determined as ever to keep working hard every day in the ring to fight for what’s his.
2025 is a new year with big things ahead for the young star. But first, Smith will head into familiar territory, looking to go back-to-back at the 2025 RingMasters.
“In February I’m going to be competing in the 2025 RingMasters. I won the RingMasters in 2024, so I’ll be defending. I’m ready, I’m always ready,“ said Smith.
Smith, a Long Island native, sees a bright future for himself and knew early on in his career that he would be able to go far in the sport.
“Ever since I started winning, since I was a little kid… “I see myself as being one of the best,” Smith told The Messenger with pure confidence.
