David Avila is a prominent and widely followed West Coast boxing writer. His linage to the sport comes from his father who fought a number of times at the Olympic Auditorium in the 1950s. Avila began his journalism career as a writer for the LA Times in the 1990s and is currently working for the Riverside (CA) Press Enterprise and La Prensa newspapers. But, unquestionably, it is Avila’s longtime support for and advocacy of the sport of Women’s boxing and it’s athletes that has earned him this well deserved IWBHF honor.

David was raised in East Los Angeles, California, and is a UCLA graduate. Avila told the IWBHF, "boxing has been a part of my family for over 100 years on both sides of my family. My great grandfather fought more than a dozen world champions in non-title fights from lightweight to light heavyweight from 1916 to 1930. That was on my mother’s side.

My grandfather on my father’s side fought professionally during the same period but on docks and railyards in the early 1900s. He moved to East Los Angeles in the 1920s and that’s where my parents met.

While my father was fighting professionally he brought me into boxing at an early age. I was four years old when I was putting on gloves. When I was in kindergarten I was put in against older kids. I lost almost every fight for the next two or three years. When I finally stretched out in size I began to win matches. But my heart always leaned toward baseball."

David came from a large family of nine brothers and sisters. Fighting was common and a big part of their lives---with three brothers that are former US Marines.

"As a teen I was courted to box professionally but baseball was my passion. It wasn’t until much later that I rediscovered my roots in boxing. I returned to boxing by accident when working as a reporter for the LA Times I was asked to profile Oscar De La Hoya in 1993. Once I stepped back into the boxing world I was hooked", added David.

In around 1995, a publisher, who was a college friend of his, convinced him to help start a boxing magazine called Uppercut Magazine. One of the first female fights that David saw was Wendy Rodriguez at Pechanga Casino.

David said, "her athleticism and skills impressed me deeply and convinced me that female boxing was unique. One of the first female fighters I interviewed was Mia St. John who was just starting and also Bridgett Riley who had been a former kickboxing champion and was moving into the boxing world."

In 1999 David began working for La Prensa newspaper and the Riverside Press-Enterprise as a boxing columnist. He also began working for Maxboxing.com and WBAN as a contributor. In 2005, he signed to work for TheSweetScience.com and he continue to work for the group that also owns TheBoxingChannel.com, CanaldeBoxeo.com, ZonaBoxeo.com and ThePrizefighters.com, a web site dedicated toward female boxing.
David told the IWBHF, "Since the late1990s one of my passions has been to push female prizefighting to the forefront.

Whether it’s female boxing in Japan, Germany, Mexico or the U.S. my goal is to push female boxing to greater heights. The sport of boxing has always had strong ties in my family. It’s an unbreakable bond I have with the sport. I simply love the art of boxing."