Skilled technician Carl Daniels was a good amateur before turning professional and claiming a junior middleweight title at the second time of asking.

Daniels, one of three children, was born in St. Louis, Missouri on August 26, 1970. He grew up in a single parent family and was raised by his mother in the Vanita Park area.

"I never hung on the streets, we didn't go out a lot playing because the streets were tough, the streets were bad," Daniels told The Ring. "My mom was watching me all the time. I had a curfew; I had to be in the house before streetlights came on. Mom got off work at 5pm and it got dark at 4:30 or 5. I would come home and do my homework."

It was during his early years that he was given his nickname, 'The Squirrel', because he liked to climb trees.

His journey into boxing began when he was 10 years old.

"I played around a lot, I wasn't in a gang," he said. "After I got out of school, I would sneak and go to the gym — my mother didn't know — me and my best friend. I would come home late and one time I had a black eye and my mom was like, 'What happened?' I told her I'd been sneaking off to the gym and she wanted to know did I really want to box and I said, 'Yeah, I really want to box.' She said, 'If that's what you really want to do, do what you've got to do.' And that kept me out of a lot trouble.

"After I got out of school I would go straight to the gym, workout and box, I wouldn't hang around the guys on the streets no more. As we were growing up, I stayed boxing and they went to jail or something happened to them. Boxing saved my life."

He won the Junior Olympics at 15 and had success both domestically and internationally.

"At 16, I fought at the National Golden Gloves [as a flyweight], I won that," he recalled. "At 17, 18, I went to the World Games in Cuba, I won that. From there I went to the Olympic trials, I got a silver medal. I lost to [future IBF junior lightweight titlist] Eddie Hopson in the finals. I was the Olympic alternate. He lost to Kelcie Banks. He beat him but politics, they gave Kelcie Banks the decision. My belief is Eddie Hopson beat him. I really started to focus on boxing when I was 17."

Daniels, who went 170-7 as an amateur, decided to sign professional forms with Cedric Kushner and was managed and trained by Jim Howell. He made in the region of $1000 for his debut in November 1988.

Much of the early stages of Daniels' career took place in the Midwest, far away from the bright lights where he learnt his craft.

"I didn't have to work a day job but had a small signing bonus to help him pay his bills. I was boxing sometimes twice a month, $1000 here, $1500 there, $2000 there, it just kept me going," he reminisced. "I remember one fight, [Gerry Grant] knocked me down, it was a nice shot but I got up and knocked him out."

After three-years as a professional and 26-fights, Daniels, who was still only 21, received his first world title opportunity when he was matched with WBC titlist Terry Norris in San Diego in February 1992.

"Cedric Kushner got me that fight but I feel he rushed me, just because 26-0, I didn't have the experience [Norris] had," said Daniels, who put up a solid effort before succumbing in nine rounds. "He was a seasoned pro at that time. I didn't want to take the fight but I took it. It was more like a learning experience. I won a few rounds but he was much stronger, there was nothing I could do. The only thing I could do was stay boxing but the punches he was hitting me slowed me down."

Unperturbed, Daniels returned with eight wins over the next three years before landing a second world title shot. This time he had to go to Lyon, France to fight Julio Cesar Green for the vacant WBA 154-pound title that Pernell Whitaker had abdicated.

"I had to box him, he was a strong guy, he had been knocking out everybody, I guess that's why they labelled me a 4/1 underdog," said Daniels, who scored a wide 12-round unanimous decision. "I was in real good shape. I had to box him; I couldn't stand toe-to-toe with him. The only time I stood toe-to-toe with him was the 12th round when I wore him down a bit. I closed his eye and was on the way to closing the other eye.

"I was really happy, just went home, went to my mother's house, sat, ate had a big dinner and everybody congratulating me. No parade or nothing like that but I enjoyed the win though."

Six-months later, Daniels earned a plumb spot on the undercard of Mike Tyson's second comeback fight following his incarceration. Daniels put his title on the line against former incumbent Julio Cesar Vasquez at the Core States Spectrum, Philadelphia.

"He was a hard puncher, he had a nice chin, I caught him with some good shots, I knocked him down in the third and he got back up," said Daniels, who enjoyed a strong start and was comfortably ahead on the scorecards going into the penultimate round. "He was a strong fighter, who could take a punch and was durable.

"He caught me in the 11th, and I went down, I got up and the referee stopped the fight. I felt I could continue. I guess he thought I was more hurt than ready [to fight on]. You've got to take the loses with the wins, he caught me with a good shot."

Daniels returned a couple of months later and got back in the win column. He scored two more wins and in March 1997, he met Vasquez conquer, Laurant Boudouani, in Las Vegas.

"[Boudouani] started coming on really coming on strong in the 10th round, he started using his power backing me up," he said. "He didn't really dominate me; it was a close fight. They gave it to him on points.

"It wasn't a one-sided fight. I think he beat me by a point or two. I thought it was a closer fight than the scorecards suggested."

Daniels took 15-months off before returning. He was able to claim the USBA 154-pound title before heading up to middleweight. After a handful of wins, he fought an IBF eliminator in December 2000.

"I beat [Brian] Barbosa, I was on short notice, and I beat him," said Daniels, who claimed a 12-round unanimous decision. "I was expected to lose. He was supposed to fight Bernard Hopkins, but I won."

The St. Louis native had to wait for his shot at IBF titlist Bernard Hopkins, who took part and won Don King's Middleweight Tournament, dominating Keith Holmes before picking apart Felix Trinidad. It meant Daniels wouldn't fight for a year while he waited for his opportunity.

"Don King put the fight on short notice. First, I said, 'No.' Then he said, 'Look you take this fight or I'll strip you from this spot and you won't get a chance to fight for the title,'" recalled Daniels. "What am I going to do say, 'No?'. So, I went on and took the fight and try to get ready at three-weeks' notice. I feel I was in a little bit of shape, not top shape, like he was. It was a big fight. He was undisputed middleweight champion of the world. I did what I could.

"The odds were against me, I felt he was winning, I don't feel I could have comeback points wise. I couldn't adjust to what I was trying to do against him. Me and my trainer agreed to let it go. I was already behind, there was no way I could have knocked him out or got the decision."

Daniels fell into the gatekeeper roll, losing more than he won, often against future world champions such as Chad Dawson (TKO 7) and Andy Lee (KO 3). An all too well known sad tale that has befallen many former champions after their championships days are behind them.

"My heart wasn't in it like it was at the beginning," he admitted. "I was going through the motions. I stuck around which I shouldn't have but I didn't have a good job and boxing was paying my bills."

He lost 14 of his final 15 contests before calling it a day in August 2009.

"I was tired of taking fights and doing OK, just mainly surviving," he said. "I got tired of being an opponent. I said let me get out of there and go get me a job. I came out OK. I'm not punchy or anything, I've got my thoughts. I said let me get out while I've got the chance."

Initially Daniels tried to help coach the local kids at a gym: "It's hard when they don't want to do it, you go out and try to make them do it. You want them to want to do it because they want to do it. It just wasn't working out for me."

However, although he has no connection with the sport anymore his endeavors haven't been forgotten in his home city.

"They still recognize me, I definitely enjoyed my career as far as being world champion," he said. "I got a lot of congratulations and sign some autographs. I'm OK."

Daniels, now 53, has four children and lives in St. Louis and works a job in Home Removals.

He graciously took time to speak to The Ring about the best he fought in 10 key categories.

Chad Dawson: "It was kind of hard because he was taller, I had to get under his jab."

Terry Norris: "His defense was blocking the punches and countering."

Ray Collins: "Quick movement, OK hand speed."

Norris: "Fast hands and a hard puncher."

Bernard Hopkins: "He was more technical. I guess it was the way he held his guard, he held his guard real high, it was kind of hard to hit him. He blocked my jab. I was more nervous than anything. That took me out of the fight.

Laurent Boudouani: "Terry Norris, Laurent Boudouani, Julio Cesar Vazquez, even Julio Cesar Green they were strong guys but Laurent Boudouani stood out, he kept coming. He was taller than me and bigger."

Norris: "I hit him a couple of times dead on the chin and he said, 'You hit like a bitch.' I hit him nice and hard, and he still said I didn't hit hard. He took a good punch. I would in his later years he weakened a bit but when I fought him, he was at his best."

Boudouani: "He was a hard hitter: he knocked out Julio Cesar Vazquez. I never went down [against Boudouani] but I couldn't stand in front of him or trade with him."

Hopkins: "He was more technical fighter."

Hopkins: "I would say Bernard. He was more technical. I'm a southpaw, I'm going to throw a right hook, and he kept his left hand real high, so I couldn't land the hook. He was good at pushing backwards and forwards."