Javon “Wanna” Walton’s rise to stardom continues. The 16-year-old boxer-turned-actor made history this week when he announced via Instagram that he signed a deal with Jordan Brand, making him the youngest member of “Team Jordan.”
According to SneakerNews, Nike is currently working with Walton to debut a boxing boot, in which Walton will train and compete. The boot is expected to pull design cues from previous boots worn by Roy Jones Jr. and Andre Ward.
Walton, best known for his role as Ashtray in the HBO series “Euphoria,” is an amateur boxer from Georgia with wins in multiple junior amateur tournaments, including five Georgia state titles. With 80 amateur bouts under his belt, Walton, who was recently cast for a role in Netflix’s “The Umbrella Academy,” says he plans to go pro when he turns 18, despite the success he has seen in his acting career.
“I’m not just an actor, you know, it’s not like that came first at all,” Walton told ESPN in August. “Boxing’s first. I love acting, but boxing has always been my priority and it’s something that I just love too much. And I’ll never forget about boxing. It’s what I’ll be doing for the rest of my life.”
Though many have come to recognize him for his roles on television and film, Walton was famous for his talent in the ring. He and his father, DJ Walton, went viral for their appearance on Steve Harvey’s show “STEVE” as Javon showed off his hand speed and a swagger that was well beyond his years.
DJ, a boxing trainer and founder of a boxing equipment company, Onward Athletics, started coaching when he saw that his children had taken an interest in the sport. For Javon, that was at age 4. He has been trained by his father ever since.
Javon’s background and experience fighting proved beneficial on the big screen while he was filming for the movie “Samaritan” with Sylvester Stallone. The two were able to work together on boxing scenes in the movie.
“Doing the boxing scenes was a lot of fun. [I] got to do it with [Stallone], which is amazing,” he said. “It was cool being able to share that moment with [him] because he’s such a historian and he knows his boxing.”
With such a bright future, in the boxing ring and at the box office, Walton has had the opportunity to get guidance from a bevy of successful people. He believes the best advice he’s received is to “stay humble and hungry.”
If Walton can maintain that mentality as his stardom continues to increase, the boxing world could be seeing him a lot more often.