app.com September 28, 2009 A new horizon: Forked River's Beaton bursts onto boxing scene By JOHN BUSH Staff Writer Two years ago, Deroy Beaton gave himself an unusual present on his 30th birthday. He wanted to take up boxing. So on March 31, 2007, Beaton walked into Gladiator Boxing in Forked River with no boxing experience whatsoever, aside from watching the sport on television, to begin his new endeavor. "I said, "Who's this skinny guy coming in here with the funny accent?' " Gladiator Boxing owner Shawn Darling said. "I'm like, "What's your name? Leroy, Deroy?' He said, "I'm Deroy from Guyana.' I'm like, "Alright.' We'll see how he does." It turns out Beaton, 32, of Toms River, has done just fine. Last month, Beaton, a 5-foot-11, 145-pound southpaw, won his first professional fight. He defeated Jason Sia of Philadelphia in a four-round junior welterweight match at the Blue Horizon in Philadelphia, winning on all three judges' cards, 40-36, 40-36 and 39-37. "Everything worked out the way I wanted it to work out," Beaton said. "The jitters were there, but I was confident when I stepped in the ring." "We were big underdogs," Darling said. "Deroy saw a kid with more experience in his hometown and from Joe Frazier's gym. (Sia) had a former world champ as his coach, a guy named Robert "Bam Bam" Hines (who won the IBF light middleweight title in 1988). He had the bigger crowd and everything was against us, but Deroy took it out of everybody's hands." Beaton, who earned $1,000 for the fight, hopes his first professional victory is just the start of a promising career. No matter how his things turn out, though, the fight was the culmination of a life-long dream for Beaton that began in another continent. A native of Guyana, Beaton grew up in a family that included nine brothers and one sister. Even as a teenager, Beaton had always wanted to take up boxing, but was not permitted to do so by an aunt he was living with at the time. "When I was 13, 14, I had to get papers signed to box at school," Beaton said. "My aunt wouldn't sign it, she didn't want me to box. I had to do track and field, but boxing was always in my heart." Beaton, whose father, Vibert, came to the United States in the mid-1980s, eventually came to the U.S. in 1997 and settled in Ocean County. While his dream of becoming a boxer never left, he had to put his aspirations on hold in order to keep working while supporting a family of five children. "Once I had the time off and there was no more kids in the future, I figured I should go ahead," said Beaton, whose children range in age from 2 to 8 years old. Beaton found out about Darling's boxing gym and decided to finally give the sport a try. That Beaton was 30 years old and had no experience in a sport where he would be facing younger, faster athletes did not deter him one bit. "A lot of people have said to me, "It's late.' To me it's not because I feel like I'm 18 years old," Beaton said. "The age is just a number to me. It doesn't affect me at all." Darling was somewhat skeptical at first, but soon realized he had a different kind of pupil under his tutelage. "We see so many people come and go in here," Darling said. "Some people think it's a bad thing to come in at 30, but he came in with the maturity. He's always listening to me one hundred percent about everything. He runs 7-10 miles every day, seven days a week, rain or shine. He runs the hills up and down Island Heights, he runs up and down Route 37. It's just a pleasure to work with him." Beaton said he lost to a girl the first time he fought, but he kept at it and developed into a smart, rangy boxer. One year after starting with Darling, Beaton won a New Jersey Golden Gloves title at the Dunn Center in Elizabeth. "I didn't expect to be in the (Golden Gloves) finals, but once I came in the gym I wanted to box," Beaton said. "I've worked hard toward every single thing." After compiling a 15-5 record as an amateur, Beaton was ready to turn pro. Facing a shorter opponent in Sia, Beaton mainly stayed on the outside and used his considerable reach to keep Sia from working inside. By the end, Beaton had won a unanimous decision. "(Sia) caught me with a four-punch combination in the second round," Beaton said. "It stunned me for about three seconds and that was it. I recouped and I finished the round stronger. In the end I could have gone two more rounds. I felt stronger as the rounds went by." "Deroy was the bigger, stronger guy and he just came out dictating the pace," Darling said. "He came out with a sharp straight jab, and that's what it's all about. Whoever has the better jab is going to control everything, and that's what he did. He used his reach, just sticking it out there, keeping him at bay, setting up his punches. He was sticking and moving and being smart." So determined was Beaton to make his pro debut that he fought through a slight shoulder strain incurred just a week before the fight. Having seen several offers to make his pro debut fall through, Beaton wasn't about to back out of his big chance. "We made the commitment, and he knew it would have looked bad if he pulled out," Darling said. "You don't want to burn your bridges with these different promoters. I knew he wanted to be 100 percent, but he said he wanted to do it, and I said, "Alright, let's do it.' " Darling is now hoping to get Beaton another fight at the Blue Horizon this month, followed by a possible date in Atlantic City in November. "They all thought they saw the really good Deroy," Beaton said. "They're going to be surprised the next time." "It's finally there," Beaton said of fulfilling his boxing dream. "I just have to work and execute. I'm expecting better and bigger things in the future."