 His boxing coach, Matthew Voltolini, adopted him as a son at age 12.At 19 years old after winning the 1992 National Golden Gloves Featherweight title and losing in the semifinals of the U.S. Olympic trials, Michael turned professional, going 24-0 his first 6 years, when his first loss came from Artur Grigorian in a WBO lightweight title match.On the ESPN reality show "Contender Season 2", Clark volunteered to be the captain of the Gold Team and the first member of his team to box.