David Ribeiro with Joey “Gee” Gomes

“I want to be an inspiration coming out of the community showing others like, hey, look at David Ribeiro. He’s doing big things, and I want to inspire others to do the same,” said Ribeiro.

And so far, David Ribeiro, a native of Brockton is doing it, as one of the top contenders in his weight class…. Cape Verde even wanted David to represent them in the Olympics 2016.

“If you focus, put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything. I’m confident and I train every day. And I want to show people, you gotta believe in yourself…”

David’s dad says his son has become the star of the family. You can see the father’s pride written all over his face. But dad remembers a time when he thought David’s journey through life was taking a wrong turn.

“…I see drug dealers, I see homeless people,” David recounts, “Hey I could have been like them, you know, growing up I was a bad kid…”

Thankfully his parents steered young David back on track.

“We have to put David into something. If we don’t put him in something, things are looking bad,” said David’s father, Bebiano Correia.

“My parents put me in boxing, boxing kept me out of trouble. Boxing kept me in school. Boxing kept me disciplined, and it kept me busy, kept me focused on the right path.”

City street workers like Joey Gomes are making a difference here too.

“I started mentoring David cause I felt that even though he had a father and mother, he didn’t have a brother,” said Gomes. Joey wanted to make sure this talented young man stayed out of the streets by staying in the gym. “David realizes he wants more. When you don’t want more, you settle for less. And I always tell him; you got to want more brother. You have to want more, you have to believe it, digest it, sleep it, wake up with it, pray on it, ask god for guidance, but you got to really believe this. Because haters, nay sayers, they are always going to be around to get in your bus,” said Gomes.

For this young creolo, success doesn’t come from just being in a gym.

“Success comes from a dream or vision. Like Muhammad Ali says the desire that you have deep inside you. If its not boxing, it can be school, it can be anything but overall don’t settle to be ordinary but make a difference for your family, for your country, for the city, and you know, you can, its all up to you.”