Throughout his rise in the amateur ranks and through four fights as a professional, middleweight prospect Dante Kirkman was living a dual life. While shining athletically in boxing, Kirkman was also excelling in school, eventually making his way to prestigious Stanford University in Stanford, California. Having graduated in June, Kirkman can now fully focus on his professional boxing career beginning this Saturday night as he takes on Dylan Carlson in a featured four-round bout at the Venue at Thunder Valley at Thunder Valley Casino Resort in Lincoln, California. 

Kirkman (4-0, 2 KOs) of East Palo Alto, California developed a passion for both boxing and academics at a young age, through his parents Robert and Catherine. Kirkman’s father competed as an amateur boxer and continued to follow the sport as an adult. Robert’s love for boxing eventually rubbed off on his younger son Dante, who had tried his hand at team sports, but gravitated to the one-on-one aspect of the sweet science. 

“In boxing, I could control my own destiny and with my dad being a boxing fan, he always wanted to raise my brother and I to protect ourselves,” recalls Kirkman. “Part of that was watching boxing. I remember watching Floyd Mayweather and thinking he was awesome. He gets to do his own thing and he wins without other people being a factor. Whether he loses a round or anything, it was always up to him. It wasn’t up to a lineman or somebody else making a bad pass.” 

The studious side of Kirkman was heavily influenced by his mother Catherine, as well as his brother Tremaine, who is eight years older and graduated from Stanford in 2016. 

“My mom went to Harvard for undergrad and Stanford for law school,” details Kirkman. “We grew up near Stanford, so if we went to a football game or a basketball game, that’s where we went. Obviously, with my mom having a history there and it being one of the best schools, it was always a dream for my brother and that passed down to me. For my dad, he always wanted us to have a good life. He would always say he wanted us to be cool nerds.” 

As he progressed and began challenging himself as a fighter in national tournaments, Kirkman was hitting the books just as hard so that he could realize his dream of attending Stanford. 

“It was pretty intense,” says Kirkman of the juggling of both worlds. “My mom played a big factor, making sure I didn’t slack off. It would have been very easy to slack off because I was tired after training. Whenever I would get back after training, I’d hit myself with the massage gun and be tired and my mom would go, ‘Alright it is homework time.’ So I would do homework for three or four hours until midnight or however long it took and then wake up for the next day. It was a grueling process that I feel is a testament to the people that care about me. It was not a fun experience necessarily, but something I was able to bite down and get through.” 

By the time Kirkman was accepted and enrolled at Stanford, the COVID-19 pandemic had hit, which meant beginning college life off campus in a remote learning setting. With the coronavirus uncontrolled, Kirkman did not have any sanctioned competitions to worry about as he began school and continued to train. While most of his classmates were likely disappointed, Kirkman found the positive in his unique situation. 

“That year, USA Boxing was on pause for a majority of it,” explains Kirkman. “It was good for my training though, because I could really focus and then hop on the computer and go do homework and then go back to training. That year things were shut down for the most part.” 

In 2023, while preparing for the U.S. Olympic Trials, Kirkman took a break from school to prepare for the tournament. 

“For my schooling, we actually took a little bit of a break before the Olympic Trials,” explains Kirkman. “We felt like this was the time to take a few quarters off and have a good performance in the qualifiers. In the first round, I beat the National Golden Gloves champion of that year. In the quarterfinals, I beat the national champion of the weight class above me, who was also the number two seed. In the semi-finals, I lost a tough fight to Keon Davis. After the Olympic Trials, I went back on campus. Immediately after I lost, I knew that meant I was going to be turning pro and that was pretty tough with school.” 

In many academic programs, student-athletes are given some level of grace with assignment deadlines and the like. As Kirkman prepared for his professional debut, which took place in May of last year and resulted in a four-round unanimous decision win over Henry Rivera, he found out that being a student/professional athlete did not garner him any leeway at Stanford. 

“I thought maybe it might be easier,” admits Kirkman of his expectations. “I thought that professors would be a little more understanding since they knew I was competing at a high level in amateur boxing. But the label amateur led them to believe it was more of a hobby thing. As an athlete, but not an actual Stanford athlete, I wasn’t getting a lot of support from professors. I thought that might change with the professional label, but that did not change. So that was a pretty difficult process. I still had an amazing training camp and a dominant performance in my debut.” 

Despite the heavy workload in school, Kirkman continued to excel in the ring as a professional. The East Palo Alto native, nicknamed “The Inferno,” scored a four-round unanimous decision over awkward Miguel Soto-Garcia last August before notching his first two stoppage victories last November and this past March. While finishing up his last quarter at Stanford, Kirkman was scheduled to fight this past May against tough Jose Manuel Gomez, before needing to withdraw from the bout. 

“I saw he is also fighting on the sixth, so hopefully I will be able to share the ring with him after this fight,” says Kirkman of Gomez, who will be in the main event on Saturday against undefeated Islam Abdusamadov. “I was hoping to fight him in this fight, but I saw he was already booked. I think it would be a really great fight and I would like to take that step-up.” 

While he did not get to fight in May, Kirkman, who majored in Art Practice, soon thereafter achieved one of his ambitions by graduating from Stanford University. 

“It was pretty tough, but I grinded it out and officially finished as Stanford’s first professional boxer and graduate,” says Kirkman proudly. “It was really an honor. It was a letdown that I didn’t get to fight then, because I did want to fight then, but I was still very happy to graduate at that time and achieve one of my goals.” 

Now, with his degree mounted on the wall, Dante Kirkman can focus entirely on his pursuits as a professional boxer. Outside of his time preparing for the Olympic Trials, Kirkman has always had his studies drawing his time and attention away from boxing, yet he still managed to compete at a high level. With that time no longer diverted, Kirkman the boxer is excited to show what he can do. 

“I am blessed to be boxing full-time and I am really excited for this new journey,” explains Kirkman. “My whole boxing career, both in amateurs and professionally, has been while simultaneously trying to be the best I can be academically. I am excited to be getting the proper rest and proper training times and reaching new levels.” 

Having graduated in June, Kirkman began camp for his next bout in July, his first as a professional boxer only. 

“I graduated in June, so this camp has been pretty clear of anything to interrupt my training, so it has been great,” says Kirkman. “Now that I am out of school and not trying so hard to get an A in class or be late or anything, it really just makes things a whole lot easier. Now that I am full-time boxing, it also makes things easier mentally as well. I am mentally clear and fully have my mind on boxing. We have just been getting ready, looking to get back active and get as many fights as possible. We will take it one fight at a time, but after this, hopefully go up to six rounds and step-up the competition.” 

Dylan Carlson (2-10-3, 1 KO) of Klamath Falls, Oregon may not sport the best record, but he has never been stopped, despite the ten defeats. While four rounds does not always provide the time required to finish a tough opponent inside the distance, Kirkman worries only about putting on the best performance possible and securing the victory this coming Saturday night. 

“Whatever happens in the fight happens,” says Kirkman. “If he gets stopped, he gets stopped, but we are looking overall to just get the win. Our end goal is to get me to the top championship level, so we are always trying to increase our skillset and our secret sauce. I had a lot of improvement in my last fight camp. That fight ended up only being one round, so I didn’t get to show a whole lot of it in there. So for this fight, I am looking forward to showing how I’ve been developing as a pro and hopefully giving a sneak peak of what is to come in the future.” 

Kirkman, no longer the student-athlete and now simply a prizefighter, plans to show his supportive fanbase what he can do when fully focused on his craft, beginning this Saturday in Lincoln. 

“My fans can expect to see someone that is very passionate about boxing, displaying their skills on the blank canvas of the ring and doing what I always do: bringing the heat, as my Inferno nickname indicates,” says Kirkman. “I plan to put on a great show and a dominant performance.”

Tickets for the event, promoted by Upper Cut Promotions, are available online at uppercutpro.com 

Photo by Ed Silva/Original Solo Photos

Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at ortegajr.mario@gmail.com

The San Francisco Bay Area has a crop of young fighters beginning to emerge that may make up the next wave of world champions to come from the region. One fighter that has received some attention, partially due to his unique story of balancing time as a Stanford student, majoring in Art Practice, with a career in the fistic arts, is junior middleweight Dante Kirkman. The Silicon Valley native’s story of perseverance as a fighter overcoming injury is one just as intriguing and inspiring as his tale as a student-athlete. 

Kirkman (3-0, 1 KO) of Palo Alto, California found appeal in boxing as a youth where other team sports had disappointed him. Growing up, Kirkman tried his hand at just about every sport possible, having played soccer, football, basketball, running track and competing as a wrestler. 

“I remember, with team sports, I never felt like I was getting my fair chance,” explains Kirkman. “I felt like in football, the coaches would play their sons the most or give their sons the ball the most. Or we would lose because somebody didn’t block or something that was out of my control. In boxing, I could control my own destiny and with my dad being a boxing fan, he always wanted to raise my brother and I to protect ourselves.” 

Kirkman’s father, Robert, is not only a boxing fan, he took part in the sport as a young amateur growing up in East Palo Alto. Robert’s passion for the sport did not diminish once his time as an athlete concluded and he eventually passed down his love of boxing to his son. 

“Where my father grew up was, at one point, the murder capital of the U.S. I believe, but he found a great path in life in amateur boxing, competing in the local Golden Gloves and traveling with his gym team,” details Dante. “He never really knew how to pursue boxing as a career, so it was just something he was really good at and really proud of. He was a big Sugar Ray Leonard fan and boxing fan in general. He always kept watching boxing and eventually introduced it to me at a young age.” 

Robert’s fighting career did not blossom into a profession, but when his son expressed interest in boxing, Dante’s father wanted to make sure he got started off the right way so that if he displayed an aptitude for the sweet science, Kirkman would be set up for success. Eventually, Robert was put in touch with retired formerly world-ranked contender Mitchell Julien, who had carved out a noteworthy career mainly in Northern California rings. 

“With my dad’s background in boxing, he had always felt that he wasn’t able to pursue a career because of where he was training at and people not knowing the real route to success,” explains Kirkman. “Because of that, my dad would call and ask around for people that had a deeper history in boxing than he did, like Mitch Julien, who I believe at one point was ranked number eight in the world and fought Roger Mayweather. Mitch wasn’t going to be staying here. I believe he was moving to Houston, but my dad asked Mitch, ‘My son is going to box and I am not going to just bring him to a fitness instructor. I really want him to be led the right way from the beginning.’ So Mitch recommended Eddie Croft.”

Croft, a former world title challenger and one of the most well-respected trainers in Northern California out of his B Street Boxing in San Mateo, turned out to be a perfect fit for Dante and, just as his father had hoped, the young Kirkman would be led the right way from the start. 

“From the beginning, Eddie’s and my personalities were very similar,” says Kirkman. “I really appreciated Eddie’s hunger and knowledge for boxing. All of the things he was teaching to these ten and eleven-year-old kids, he wasn’t just letting them go through the motions, but actually enabling them to understand how boxing works. Eddie was actually teaching them and not letting them slack off.” 

By the time he turned 16, Kirkman had progressed to the point that he was ready to take on the best fighters in the country in national tournaments. Unfortunately, the only thing that could hold Kirkman back was his own body. 

“I had a lot of injuries growing up, from overtraining and issues with my growth plates,” explains Kirkman. “For example, I started out orthodox and I hurt my left shoulder. Then I started training southpaw for a year or two and injured my left shoulder and switched back. I would constantly have something, whether it was a shoulder, elbow or hand, just something that would allow me to have a few fights and then take me out for a little bit. Eventually those injuries slowed down enough for me to be able to compete. My team and I decided it was the time to really start doing it and getting to the next level.” 

While the injuries to his shoulders were a hindrance to his amateur career at the time, the experience of learning to box out of both stances will prove to be quite useful as he pursues his professional career. 

“What is funny is that I am left handed, but I played sports like I was right handed,” recalls Kirkman. “So when Eddie asked me to show my stance, I hesitated for a bit, but I went into the orthodox stance. It wasn’t until two years later, when I injured my shoulder, that Eddie learned that I was actually left handed. Because of that, it was a pretty smooth transition to southpaw because I was actually left handed.” 

All the while Kirkman was pursuing athletic achievement in the ring, the Palo Alto native was also excelling in the classroom. When away from the gym, Kirkman applied his studious nature not only to his classwork, but also to improve as a fighter. 

“I would do film study, where I would see examples of these cool switches, like Willie Pep doing cool sidestep movements and I played around with how I could integrate these subtle switches or how I could do these things,” explains Kirkman. “I ended up doing whole national tournaments orthodox and other whole national tournaments completely southpaw and whole national tournaments going back-and-forth. So that was a great experience for me to be able to have that in my arsenal.” 

While learning to box from both stances was a positive side effect from Kirkman’s recurring injuries, the young boxer was going to need to find a way to stay healthy if he wanted to pursue his Olympic or professional dreams. Luck would have it, that Kirkman’s trainer Eddie Croft knew someone very well that could be of great help.

“SNAC [Scientific Nutrition for Advanced Conditioning] started helping me, through Eddie’s wife, Casey Croft, who is a director at SNAC and has been amazing for my career, about five months before the Olympic Trials,” recalls Kirkman. “I started at the USA Boxing Eastern Qualifier. That was the introductory point, where I just started to get help from them, but even a week made a huge difference in how my body felt. After that, I had a full summer training camp, or multiple training camps with them, where my body completely changed. I grew a lot because I was getting the food I was supposed to eat. I wasn’t overtraining and so I noticed a big difference in my body.” 

Healthy and fully-focused on boxing, with a respite from his workload as a Stanford student, Kirkman performed well at the U.S. Olympic Trials, besting two national champions in early rounds of the December of 2023 tournament, but ultimately coming up short in a semi-final bout with Keon Davis. 

“It was a great experience,” says Kirkman. “I was there to compete, but it also just felt really good to be around the best fighters that in the coming years are going to be competing for or defending world titles. It felt like I belonged there and the legends before me, whether they won or lost, like Terence Crawford, who lost in the Olympic Trials and was there at that Olympic Trials as well, it definitely made me realize that I could do something special in this sport. No matter my story, whether I won or lost, it would be a part of my unique path and one day lead me to greatness.” 

With his Olympic Trials experience in the rearview, Kirkman and his team immediately turned their focus to his professional debut, which would ultimately land in Redwood City, California in May of last year and result in a four-round unanimous decision over a seven-fight veteran. In his second bout, Kirkman would take another four-round decision, this time in Oakland, California, and again sweep all three official scorecards. Unlike some young prospects, Kirkman is planning to keep busy fighting at home and not make any trips to Mexico or elsewhere to fill out his record. Kirkman, who carries the nickname of “The Inferno,” it is part of a concerted effort to build his name in the local markets. 

“It has been a choice,” explains Kirkman. “As a Bay Area native, inspired by Andre Ward, I have always felt that I wanted to have that fanbase behind me and to fight in front of friends and family. I want to be able to gain a larger fanbase behind me and someday fight in the 49ers stadium or Stanford Stadium or the Warriors stadium and have a big Bay Area show.”

Last time out, Kirkman scored his first professional knockout over Jose Madrigal Rodriguez in the third round back in Redwood City. For Kirkman, the victory was extra sweet as he felt he may have silenced some critics by his display of power. 

“That felt great,” explains Kirkman. “I would always get little comments questioning my power from people. It never bothered me. My power played a factor in my amateur fights, and that was with extra padded gloves and headgear, but I would have fight-altering power at times. Also, in my first two fights, once my opponents felt my punches, they did not want to feel them again. It was just awkward, trying to get someone out that once they felt the power, they did not want to feel that again and kind of hopped on the defensive end. So finally getting to close the show in the third fight felt like a confirmation of my hard work and fighting ability.” 

Kirkman will return to the ring on March 8th against eight-fight pro Jose Cruz in a four-rounder at the Venue at Thunder Valley in Lincoln, California. Kirkman will come prepared, having studied his opponent and preparing as best he can for the test come fight night. 

“He’s a bit of an awkward guy,” Kirkman has surmised from his study. “He has a little bit of flash. He’s not a showboat, but he has some extra stuff. He tries to think a little bit. I am just interested in doing what I have to do. My coach Eddie Croft and I have a gameplan and we’re always going to be able to execute it. I just look forward to putting on a good show against a good opponent and hopefully have an exciting fight and get the job done and get my second knockout.” 

To get to this point in his career, it has been a long road traveled from those early years of watching boxing with his father on television for Kirkman. Given his skill, determination and attention to detail, Kirkman’s journey ahead could be one to keep on every Bay Area fight fan’s radar. The promising young fighter looks forward to building his name in just under a month’s time at the Thunder Valley Casino Resort. 

“My fans can expect to see someone that is very passionate about boxing, displaying their skills on the blank canvas of the ring and doing what I always do: bringing the heat,” says Kirkman. “As my Inferno nickname indicates, and hopefully putting on a great show and a dominant performance.” 

Tickets for the March 8th event, promoted by Upper Cut Promotions, are available online at uppercutpro.com 

Photos by Ed Silva/Original Solo Photos 

Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at ortegajr.mario@gmail.com