A couple minutes into my conversation with junior lightweight prospect Daniel Bailey, I admit that I’m judging him. 

He laughs in response when I explain that as exciting as his cousin, former world champion Randall Bailey, could be on fight night thanks to his devastating power, he was in the Top 10 of worst interviews ever. Thankfully, that trait did not pass along family lines.

“Nah, only that punching power,” Bailey said. “I might not have that one-punch knockout power but give me a few fights and I'll develop something nasty.”

Whether Bailey reaches the heights Randall did over the course of his two decades in the ring remains to be seen, but the 27-year-old Miami native is off to a good start with wins in 13 of his first 14 bouts heading into tonight’s DAZN headliner against Edward Vazquez at Red Owl Boxing Arena in Houston. 

It’s his fourth fight since the lone loss of his career against Jonathan Javier Fierro in March of 2022, but Bailey has also kept busy with a gig in the Team Combat League, where he’s fought nine one-round fights since 2023, going 4-4 with one no contest.

“I'm definitely grateful for the Team Combat League right now,” he said. “I'm a part of the Miami Stealth team. Last year, I was a part of the Dallas Enforcers and honestly, it just made me speed up my pace (in traditional pro fights). It gave me so much more confidence in my boxing ability. I'm a fighter who boxed at the 135-pound limit for the Team Combat League against really heavy guys, but I'm able to use my boxing ability to get me over and get me to victory. So it gave me that confidence that I could step in the ring with anyone no matter the size and still perform.”

Now hold that thought, and think about Bailey winning a one-round fight when his goals in the ring are far from what his cousin’s were. Randall Bailey wanted to turn your lights out. Daniel Bailey counts Argentinean defensive wizard Nicolino Locche as one of his boxing heroes.

Yes. Nicolino Locche. Admired by a 27-year-old. I couldn’t believe it, either.

“My goal in boxing has always been to be one of the greatest defensive fighters ever,” said Bailey. “So one day, I was just like, ‘You know what? I'm going to just keep watching highlights of these guys and I'm going to keep studying all the drills they do.’ So I came across this guy and I'm like, ‘Hold on. This is way before Floyd (Mayweather)'s time. And this guy was just so crafty. He was so relaxed. And it's crazy because he was that crafty in the ring, but he would smoke cigarettes outside the ring all the time. Imagine if that guy didn't do that, if he lived a clean life; he could have been even greater than what he was already.”

If you haven’t figured it out by now, Bailey is a unicorn in the sport, a U.S. Army veteran and Political Science major who just happens to want to dazzle with defense on fight night. Then again, there is that promise of some family punching power showing up sometime soon. But for now, Daniel Bailey is a young man with a plan, and he plans on hitting his marks by doing things his way.

“In a perfect world, the Team Combat League Miami team wins the championship,” he said when asked how he hopes the next 12 months play out. “Then I get in a real title eliminator this year, and by the beginning of next year, I'll be a real champion.”