WBC Profiles: Dr. Arthif Daniel

Smile and the World Smiles with you!

Dr Arthif Daniel`s skills encompass a broad and diverse spectrum.

From London, England, he`s a dental specialist, surgeon with special interests and a clinical teacher, a professional boxer, holding a very respectable record of 20-3 and a member of the World Boxing Council`s Medical Committee.

Daniel`s love of boxing spans three generations. He says: “Muhammad Ali is my boxing hero, and that of my father and grandfather. My grandfather met Ali, then Cassius Clay, in Regent`s Park, when he came over to London to fight Henry Cooper. My Dad used to wake up early in the morning to listen to the Ali fights on the radio and then we had VHS tapes of him and Mike Tyson, which my two elder brothers and I used to watch time and again, which would inspire our own boxing training. ”

Daniel started martial arts aged four and boxing at eight, with his father training him in the finer points of The Noble Art, persevering with amateur boxing.  He went on to study dentistry on his mother`s advice and it was a boon, allowing him the flexibility of this profession plus boxing.

Daniel put a lot of work impetus into his boxing helped by heavyweight Danny Williams, who in his time defeated Mike Tyson. He said: “I was getting a lot of help, advice and inspiration from Danny, who is like an older brother. He helped me realize my potential and take it further.”

Initially Daniel was denied a pro boxing license due to the minor eye problem of being slightly short sighted. Undeterred, he underwent laser surgery to correct this and fought his pro debut in December 2014. Daniel has the nickname of Dr Hitman, which aptly combines his abilities and capabilities. The Great Bernard “Executioner” Hopkins on meeting Daniel, complimented him on this choice and Daniel said: “Knowing that my boxing alias had the approval of The Executioner was an apt seal of approval. The Klitschko brothers Vitali-Dr Iron Fist, and Wladimir-Dr Steel Hammer were the original inspiration as was Tommy “The Hitman” Hearns.”

Daniel has left some of the greats open mouthed, when they sat down in his dentist`s chair for check- ups and treatment. The likes of Amir Khan, Callum and Liam Smith, Floyd Mayweather Jr and Deontay Wilder.

A lineup of greats have also inspired Daniel, offering wisdom, practical advice and encouragement. First and foremost Danny Williams. Daniel shared three training camps with Floyd Mayweather Jr. Lennox Lewis advises him prior to fights providing inspiration, practical pointers, and tips.

Also pearls of wisdom from Paulie Malignaggi, Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera, Sugar Ray Leonard, Tommy Hearns and Roberto Duran, along the way.  Saul Canelo Alvarez was also kind and gracious enough to face time to Daniel in 2019, in the run up to a bout. Daniel is based in London, but has also extended his training to Team Victor Ortiz in California. His Coach there is Roger Romo, who he describes as very intelligent and practical, adding:

“There`s a wonderful set up there. We`ve also got an assistant coach called Adam who looks at things from a different perspective. And Coach C (Cicileo), who`s in charge of our strength and conditioning, plus nutritionist Krista. A really wonderful team and atmosphere.”

Daniel is a strong proponent of individually designed mouth-guards made by dentists, advising: “This can`t be emphasized enough. It gives proper protection to the soft and the hard tissues. The so called boil and bite mouth-guard is totally inadequate and affects respiration.”

Daniel who has given talks about dentistry to World Boxing Council Conventions, was invited to join the prestigious WBC Medical Committee, which is led by Dr Paul Wallace, and at the most recent Convention in Mexico City, its members discussed a case study by one of the board of doctors on the effects of covid on a world Champion, presenting recommendations for the future.