Football was the sport Davis took up before getting into boxing two years later at six years old. He boxed for half of the year before turning his focus to the gridiron.

Despite not being fully committed to boxing at the time, Davis excelled against kids his age who were competing in the Silver Gloves, Golden Gloves or Junior Olympics. Seeing that success, Davis' father decided, much to his son's chagrin, that he should focus solely on the squared circle just before his 12th birthday.

That proved to be the right decision, now that Davis has emerged as one of boxing's top young prospects 11 fights into his pro career.

“I cried like a baby,” Davis told The Ring.

“I wanted to be a football player so bad, but I believe I made the right decision. I believe I’m special in boxing, I have a light and just an aura about me that people are going to love to see.”

Davis saw turning his full attention to boxing was the right decision the following year, after beginning to focus solely on the sport. He participated in the Ringside World Championship and recalled beating highly touted amateurs, including some who were ranked No. 1 in their weight class.

As he grew older, Davis sparred with former world champions Stephen Fulton, Lamont Peterson, Shawn Porter and WBA lightweight champion in recess Gervonta “Tank” Davis. Sharing the ring with Davis and earning his respect was an experience that the younger Davis found invaluable.

“It was like great dog work, and he himself gave me that nod of approval, like, ‘keep going,’ ” Davis recalled. “He just gave me a little juice, it just brewed me into a fighter where I’m not worried about nobody I’m in the ring with... I know I’m on that level.

“It doesn’t matter who I’m in the ring with. I can fight you, I’m gonna do it well, and I’m gonna break you down then I’m gonna drown you in the deep waters.”

Davis (11-0, 10 KOs) will take a step up in competition when facing Carlos Ramos in an eight-round lightweight bout on the undercard of Abdullah Mason versus Albert Bell on Saturday night at Cleveland State University’s Wolstein Center. Davis-Ramos opens the card, which will be streamed DAZN worldwide and broadcast by TNT in the United States (8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT).

The 23-year-old Washington, D.C. native went the distance for the first time in his last fight, a unanimous-decision win over Moises Garcia Zenteno on April 25.

The ascending 135-pound prospect hadn’t fought beyond the third round before going eight rounds against Zenteno (7-6-3, 3 KOs), but it showed him he is ready to keep climbing the ranks.

“I had so much fun,” Davis said. “I had so much more energy to give, so much more I wanted to do. I believe if I had two more rounds, I probably would have stopped him.

“In the middle of the fight, I came back to my corner, I said, ‘Oh man, oh yeah, I’m a 12-round fighter. I want to do this. This is fun.’ It got to the point where you get from just the physical aspect to the mental aspect. Now it’s time to think. Time to use your ring generalship, your IQ and out-think your opponent, rather than brute strength or just having raw energy.”

D.C. has produced fighters like Lamont Roach and retired ex-champions in Peterson and Mark “Too Sharp” Johnson. Davis hopes to follow in their footsteps and become the next big name to emerge from the nation’s capital, which can be aided by his performance against Ramos (18-4-1, 10 KOs).

Ramos, 30, went 10 rounds in decision defeats to Henry LeBron and former junior lightweight champion Jazza Dickens. The Guayaquil, Ecuador, native is coming off a stoppage defeat to Dzmitry Asanau (13-0, 7 KOs) on February 5.

“I have to win in a dominant and spectacular fashion, because I want to be a pay-per-view superstar,” Davis said.

“This is my first flash on the scene. I have to make an imprint, make my mark and let people know, like, ‘When he’s on TV, you don't want to miss it.’ When you see Deric ‘Scooter’ Davis, you see ‘Mr. Shark’ on the screen, it’s going to be a scene. I’m ready to do my thing, to show the world that I’m the next guy up.”