Crews Wants To Take Fight To New Arena

By: Keith Mills

You never know when or where you're going to meet a national champion.

"Excuse me," the young lady said. "I'm Franchon Crews, and I just wanted to say hi. It's a pleasure to meet you."

The introduction took place three weeks ago at a restaurant at Baltimore/Washington International Airport. I was waiting for a flight to Orlando and a high school baseball tournament in Coco Beach, Fla., while Crews was waiting tables and talking excitedly about an upcoming event that would once again prove she's one of the best female boxers in the world.

"Boxing?" I asked her, stunned that the 20-year-old former Frederick Douglass High School student would be a national champion boxer.

"Yes, sir," she said. "I've won three national championships already."

Make that four because two weeks ago, Crews won the light middleweight title at the United States Boxing Championships at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. She beat Grace Parks of Bellingham, Wash., 8-3, to win her first light middleweight championship to go with the three middleweight crowns she won in 2005, '06 and '07.

"It was very exciting," Crews said. "Sometimes I even surprise myself at how well I do in the ring."

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Crews is no stranger to the spotlight or the big stage. Three years ago, she appeared on "American Idol," singing in front of Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell in the audition phase of the show that was watched by more than 30 million people.

But it has been the boxing ring where Franchon has built an international reputation. She grew up in Norfolk, Va., with her mother Sarah Crews and three brothers, Javon, Darious and Chris.

"That's when I learned to fight," Franchon said. "I'd fight my brothers all the time when I was a little girl."

When Franchon was 13, her mom lost her job and moved the family from Norfolk to West Baltimore, where Franchon's life began to change dramatically -- and unfortunately for the worse.

"We lived on Druid Hill Avenue near Martin Luther King," Franchon said. "And it was tough. I had a southern accent, and the kids were making fun of me all the time. I was getting into fights a lot. They picked on me, and I decided I wasn't going to take it anymore and fought back."

Crews was a sophomore at Frederick Douglass High when she got kicked out for fighting. She finished her high school career at the Central Career Academy, but it was a decision she made in 2004 that changed her life. Crews walked into the UMAR Boxing Club and began to take out her anger and aggression on other girls (and some guys) in the boxing ring under the direction of longtime local trainers Marvin McDowell and Louis Butler.

"It was amazing how strong I was when I got in there," Franchon said. And more amazing how quickly she became a national championship contender.

After just four fights and just two months after appearing on "American Idol," Crews won her first national crown at 165 pounds in March 2005. Three more national titles and two Pan Am Games championships have followed, and Franchon looks back on a whirlwind last three years with a great deal of satisfaction and pride.

"I had to control myself in the ring," said Crews, who trains now under noted amateur trainer Gary Russell Sr. in the Capital Heights section of Prince George's County. "When I was 16, I was really frustrated. I was angry. Boxing helped me control that anger. I couldn't just go off in the ring. I couldn't kick. I had to really control myself."

And she has. She has also nurtured her love of singing that could one day include another appearance on "American Idol".

"When I was 8 years old, I would always sit in my room and sing, and my mother would always tell me to shut up," Crews said. "Well, I kept on singing, and finally she said, 'Girl, you have to do something with that voice of yours.'"

Crews did just that. For three days she sat with thousands of other "Idol" hopefuls at the Washington Convention Center, hoping for a chance to show the judges she was talented enough and poised enough to "go to Hollywood."

"It was crazy," said Crews, who was 17 at the time. "I waited in line for three days in what seemed like an airport hangar. It's not what it seems like on television."

Eventually, Franchon got her chance, singing "A Woman's Worth," an Alicia Keys song that drew this response from the three judges and special guest judge Mark McGrath, lead singer for the group Sugar Ray.

Crews was not given the coveted pass to Hollywood, but she continues to sing in hopes of landing a recording contract. She also continues to box, hoping that women's boxing is sanctioned for the 2012 Olympic Games in London, while she looks to make a difference in the lives of young high school and middle school students of today.

"I'd love to do some motivational speaking with children and kids," said Crews, who turns 21 in June. "I want to help other people. Especially kids who are labeled as a 'problem child.' I had to deal with that. I also had some people who really helped me out. I want to share my experience with others, and hopefully they'll benefit the way I have."

Until then, Crews will continue to greet hungry airport guests at her BWI restaurant with a smile, a kind word and the pride in knowing she's fought the good fight the right way.

Issue 3.14: April 3, 2008