GOLDSBORO, N.C. — North Carolina is home to many talented athletes in many different sports. High school, college and professional stars all come from the land of the long leaf pine, as we see talent originate from the mountains to the Triangle to the coast.

However, sometimes the best talent comes from the hidden towns most people wind up driving right by on their way to their desired destinations. One example is teenage boxing sensation Shy'Heim Ashford. 

Inside a small community center in Goldsboro, North Carolina, is where the second best amateur boxer out of USA Boxing's 40,000 members trains. Boxing is a passion for 18-year-old Ashford.

"Everyone's got their peace, and this is my peace. It's my bread and butter," he said.

Ashford is making his professional debut in boxing Aug. 24 in Morrisville, North Carolina. He's been training for this moment since he was four.

"It's my passion. I've been doing it since I was a little boy, and it kept me out of trouble, growing up, and now it's opening doors for me," he said.

There's not exactly a lot of gold in Goldsboro. The median income for the city is just over $40,000. Economic freedom for him and the family is what Ashford aims for. However, he also does it because of who has inspired him. 

"When I put these (boxing gloves) on, I think about how I can get better at what I can prove," Ashford said. "You gotta stay in your own lane, do what you do, and I always have my mentor, my dad and my grandpa."

Ashford's father, Steve Ashford Jr., started boxing as a teenager. Now, he's passed on his passion to his son and is helping him on the path to become a world champion boxer. 

"It's good that we kind of had the same passion. I already had it, and he grew into it," Steve Ashford said.

"I mean, it makes me feel like a proud son, that he took what he did and put it all on me. Like you don't find that," Shy'Heim Ashford said.

Go back further than Steve Ashford, though, and you find Steve Ashford Sr., Shy'Heim Ashford's grandfather. He laid the foundation for Shy'Heim Ashford's success before passing away in October. Now, his memory lives on through Shy'Heim Ashford's many victories. 

"That meant a lot to me, because I went for the No. 1 spot but I ended up becoming No. 2," Ashford said of a fight his grandfather took him to. "I thank God for that. He taught me discipline, he taught me the hustle mentality. You gotta go get it while you're young."

"Every day I walked into the house, he gave me a speech," he said. "He took me to the gym every day. He played a big part of my life, him and my dad. He was at my first fight, so he motivates me."

So the question is, how far can Shy'Heim Ashford go once he turns pro in August?

That will be seen soon enough.