Once accused of murder, he is undefeated and on the rise as he fights Saturday night in Atlantic City
Hateful Griffin maybe one day he will get knocked out in the boxing ring, but he certainly won’t stay, because that’s nothing compared to what he went through in the “real life” arena ”. You’d have to go a long way to find another professional boxer who was wrongfully imprisoned for murder and had to come back from there.
It’s a success story right now and it will continue on Saturday when the Chattanooga, TN native takes on Nicaragua’s Lesther Espino in a scheduled eight-round welterweight bout. This is part of the May 11 performance on the Boardwalk, because Larry Goldberg’s boxing insider promotion bring professional boxing back Tropicana Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City after a seven-year absence.
Griffin had about 160 amateur bouts, competing against some of the best at the national level, doing so under the watchful eye of his father, Alvin, who introduced him to the sport as a rookie. 8 years old.
The two are inseparable and plan to climb the ladder together. But fate threw Griffin a curveball. Three weeks before his professional debut, a blood vessel in Alvin’s brain burst and as Avious was taking him to the hospital he died in the back seat.
Avious felt his father wanted him to continue fighting, so he did so. That took place in June 2016, and in the first 13 months of his professional career, he registered four knockouts in a total of seven rounds.
Then fate stepped in once again. There was a murder investigation in Chattanooga and an acquaintance of Griffin used his name in connection with the crime. That led to Griffin’s arrest and conviction, and he spent 11 months in prison. It was difficult because everyone turned their backs on him, but he had to believe in himself. In his own words, “I had to rebuild myself from scratch. Everything is like kindergarten again.”
As he was languishing in prison, several others connected to the crime admitted that Griffin had nothing to do with it and the process that followed led to his release.
After regaining his freedom, he went to Floyd Mayweather’s gym in Las Vegas and went to work. His first fight in nearly four years came in May 2021 when he stopped Jair Garza in the first round.
From then on there was no stopping him.
In 13 professional fights, only one opponent – Marcelo Bzowski – can match him. That was in February 2022. In his last fight, which took place in July, he scored a second-round KO against veteran Jonathan Jose Eniz. He was supposed to compete last November in Costa Rica but missed out due to injury.
Griffin is no stranger to Atlantic City, having fought there twice. On Saturday (May 11), he is scheduled to face Espino, a resident of Nicaragua who is 8-5 with six KOs. 4 of Espino’s 5 losses came to undefeated opponents.
Currently ranked 7th by the United States Boxing Association (USBA), Griffin is targeting anyone rated higher than him. And he doesn’t care too much about the obstacles that stand in his way.
“A lot of people couldn’t take the shocks I suffered and got up and carried on.”
Including the Avious Griffin fight, here’s the lineup for Saturday night’s Inside Boxing Promotions:
8 rounds – Featherweight
JOHN LEONARDO (10-1-1, 4 KOs), Manalapan Township, NJ vs. Frank Gonzalez (12-5, 6 KOs), Tampa, FL
8 rounds – Welterweight
GREAT (13-0, 12 KOs), Chattanooga, TN vs. LESTHER IS AMAZING (8-5, 6 KOs), Nicaragua
6 rounds – Junior Intermediate
JUSTIN FIGUEROA (8-0, 6 KOs), Atlantic City, NJ vs. ANTONIO ARMAS (13-7, 8 KOs), Venezuela
6 rounds – Jr. Medium
DWYKE Flemings (6-0, 6 KOs), Paterson, NJ vs. JONATHAN HAMPTON (3-4, 1 KO), Gary, IN
4 rounds – Heavyweight
PRYCE TAYLOR (3-0, 2 KOs), Brooklyn, NY vs. LAWRENCE KING JR. (2-1.1 KOs), Rochester, NY
4 rounds – middleweight
JACOB SOLIS (3-0, 3 KOs), New York, NY vs. MARTINZ BRAND (1-3, 1 KO), Tucson, AZ
4 rounds – lightweight
KOBY WILLIAM (professional debut), Brooklyn, NY vs. KEVIN HICKS (1-2, 1 KO), Taswell, WV
Tickets are priced at $60, $100, $150 and $200, and are available through TicketMaster (https://www.ticketmaster.com/boxing-insider-live-professional-boxing-atlantic-city-new-jersey-05-11-2024/event/02006076BA7B700C), or at the Tropicana box office.
The event will also be streamed live and free at BoxingInsider.com
