Calvin Ford, the Baltimore boxing figure best known as the trainer for Gervonta “Tank” Davis, spent several weeks in jail while awaiting extradition to Nevada on two counts of assault with a deadly weapon. But a legal adviser for the head of Upton Boxing Center claims the allegations stem from disgruntled business associates.
“Calvin isn’t a man of violence — at all,” said Elijah Claiborne, who spoke on behalf of Ford’s close associates. “I think a lot of people are taking this story and running with it with their own assumptions, but they’re not actually knowing the actuality and circumstances of the situation itself.”
The allegations against Ford date back almost one year.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police reported that they were called to the Mayweather Boxing Club for a robbery on Feb. 21, 2023.
A man reported that he and his partner had agreed with Ford to transport his 2021 Cadillac Escalade from Baltimore to Las Vegas for $2,000.
When they pulled the SUV out of the trailer, Ford claimed that the vehicle was scratched and offered to pay them $500. He then proposed paying $1,000 after some haggling, police allege.
The men refused.
That’s when Ford, police assert, lifted his shirt to reveal a gun and stated, “You don’t have any problems, and I don’t want any problems, get out of here before I kill you.”
Ford, 58, of Northeast Baltimore, then got in the SUV and drove off, according to police.
Authorities allege that they obtained surveillance video that corroborated the statement. But detectives reported the footage does not contain audio and it’s from an overhead angle, which makes it hard to determine when Ford showed the weapon.
Detective Semyon Ostrovsky wrote that he left Ford a voicemail on a landline but did not hear back.
Las Vegas authorities issued a warrant for Ford’s arrest Oct. 16. Baltimore Police detained him after Christmas as he was leaving Upton Boxing Center.
During a hearing in the District Court of Maryland for Baltimore City, J. Wyndal Gordon, Ford’s attorney, asked the judge to allow his client to self-surrender or release him on home detention but was told that could not happen if he waived extradition.
Gordon brought up the age of the allegations and the delay in police filing charges. He noted that Carl Arnold, a defense attorney in Las Vegas, would be representing Ford.
“We didn’t know it was hanging out there,” Gordon said. “We didn’t imagine in a million years that what is ostensibly a civil matter [has] been manipulated to present a criminal matter.”
Ford agreed to waive extradition so he would not have to potentially spend more time incarcerated while waiting for law enforcement to bring him to Nevada. He previously spent 10 years in federal prison for racketeering and conspiracy convictions.
His absence has been deeply felt at Upton Boxing Center, where he has trained hundreds of aspiring boxers. Claiborne acknowledged the arrest has “been hard on everybody” but stated that Ford has remained “in great spirits” and sounded upbeat in phone calls in spite of being incarcerated.
“He was very happy and very excited about all the great news that we had to share with him regarding the situation,” Claiborne said. “And in fact he believes in what we believe in, that he will be free soon.”
