It has been a while since he first laced on his boxing gloves at thirteen-years old, but Damon Feldman has made a name for himself in more than one way. Boxing became a passion for him at a very young age under the tutelage of his father. His father Martin Feldman was nicknamed “the Hammer of Thor” based on his powerful punch. He was a pro middle-weight boxer and was inducted into the Pennsylvania Boxing Hall of Fame.
Damon’s brother David was also into the boxing game and founded the Bare-Knuckle Fighting Championship. The Feldman family suffered a tragic event when their mother suffered a terrible accident. The boys ended up being cared for by family friends until rejoining their father. Damon’s father at the time was training a few pro boxers. When Damon entered the sport at thirteen, he was featured in the 1983 edition of Sports Illustrated which was a spotlight into what he would become. This was when he won the Philadelphia Junior Olympic boxing title with a second-round knockout.
“Winning the Junior title was a great experience which motivated me more to be a professional.”
For Damon his first match was the most memorable since as he looked out into the crowd, he caught his father’s eye and they both shared a proud tear. When he reached his nineteenth year is when he was listed as a pro boxer. He was represented by J. Russell Peltz who assisted Damon in bouts at the Blue Horizon on North Philadelphia. After he earned four knockouts, he was given the name “Jewish Rocky”. According to Damon he was honored with that name since he is a come back kid and a never quit never surrender story.
Damon had faced off against boxers like Robert Edmonds, Eduardo Calderon, and Tyrone Griffin. Even though he had great success a neck-injury in 1994 ended his career. But his knack of not giving up only inspired him to look for other avenues in the boxing game, he became a fight promoter.
He would arrange his first match in 1997 bringing Diego Ramos, a radio disc jockey, vs John Bolaris, a weatherman. Damon with the similar idea began
what would be known as “Celebrity Boxing” which was featured on Fox Network. The first episode had Paula Jones vs Tonya Harding. It became a great platform for celebrities to renter into the spotlight. This gave birth to his company Official Celebrity Boxing (OCB) in 2003. Around the same time, he penned his first book entitled “The 16-Minute Man”.
Unfortunately, in 2009 he was suspected of staging events without a promoter’s license in PA. He no longer arranged bouts in Philadelphia and moved his celebrity bouts on the West Coast. Never giving up which was his mantra he matched 16 celebs in 8 matches in 2011. These included bouts like Joey Buttafuoco vs Lou Bellera and Amy Fisher vs Nadya Suleman, Jose Canseco vs Danny Bonaduce and Michael Lohan vs Kato Kaelin. His most favorite match he arranged was the one with Aaron Carter and Lamar Odom. Currently, he is working his celeb matches in South Florida and Atlantic City.
His drive and persona received national attention and he has appeared on The Howard Stern Show, CNN, TMZ, and the Daily Mail. Damon has proven he has what it takes to be the “Jewish Rocky” in not just boxing but in every aspect of his life.
