After graduating high school, Derek was unsure about the direction of his future until one fateful night. That night Derek was stabbed 7 times. From that day on, his outlook on life was forever changed. The following year Derek enrolled at the College of Dupage and was recruited for their nationally ranked basketball organization. Realizing his skills as an athlete, he decided to transfer them into the ring by competing for his first Chicago Golden Gloves title in 2002. Since then, he has won three Chicago Golden Glove championship belts and captured silver and bronze medals at national amateur competitions. These achievements led to him being ranked among the top ten amateur fighters for his weight class by the USA Boxing Organization. Now, Chi-Town’s Finest is about to embark on his professional boxing journey into greatness.