Roman Catholic’s Jamir Robertson has earned a football scholarship. Could boxing also be in his future?

Mark Robertson remembers coming home each night from one of Philadelphia’s boxing dungeons dragging a pair of sweaty, puffy sparring gloves home with him.

Invariably, Robertson recalls, his young son, Jamir, still in diapers, would sink his little paws into each glove, which would cover his short, chubby baby arms and proceed to punch everything in sight.

The unsuspecting sofa was going down. Mark’s vulnerable shins were getting whacked. The gym bag lying prone on the living room floor was pummeled. The walls were touched. That triggered Mark into thinking Jamir wanted to get into the family business with Dad, a boxing trainer.

A boxing prodigy was being forged.

But something a few years later intervened, and for now, has stolen Jamir’s sports heart — football.

On Saturday at 1 p.m., Jamir, Roman Catholic’s 5-foot-9, 174-pound running back heading to Central Connecticut State on a football scholarship, will be playing for the Non-Public League All-Stars against the Philadelphia Public League All-Stars in the Philadelphia City All-Star Game at Northeast High School.

It will be Jamir’s last time playing in a high school game before leaving for Central Connecticut State in August.

» READ MORE: Roman Catholic’s Jordan Montgomery and Jameial Lyons bought in and helped rebuild the Cahillites program

But there was a time, growing up, when he wasn’t too sure about football. He would play the game for fun. His first love was boxing. And he was really good at it, and still is.

It’s a conflict that still wages inside him. Football is winning. His father and many in the boxing community, locally and nationally, are hoping that Jamir, known as “Future” in boxing circles, doesn’t completely abandon the ring.

“I don’t think I can ever completely give up boxing, it’s part of me, was a part of me and will always be a part of me,” said Jamir, who this past season rushed for 1,036 yards over 10 games for Roman, averaging 7 yards a carry and 96 yards, while scoring 10 touchdowns. “I loved boxing.”

When Future was 8, he was winning piles of amateur titles. He stopped competing in tournaments when he was 13. He gained the nickname “Lil Future,” which evolved into “Big Future,” as he grew older, and now it’s just “Future,” as in the “Future” of boxing.

That came from winning the Philadelphia Golden Gloves title when he was 8 in the 65-pound class, the Hometown Heroes national championship in consecutive years when he was 11 and 12, and Junior Olympics runner-up at 80 pounds in 2015 and at 90 pounds in 2017.

His talent drew the attention of all-time great and Hall of Famer Bernard Hopkins, a close family friend, and former world champion Danny Garcia, and he even had a bit part in Creed II, as one of the background fighters hitting the heavy bag in one of the gym shots.

» READ MORE: Bernard Hopkins’ Hall of Fame career started with a visit in prison from a boxing ref named Rudy Battle

Future’s future looked like it was heading in the direction his father had hoped.

“Jamir’s amateur career started at 8 and I threw him right into the fire,” Mark said. “His first competition was in the Philadelphia Golden Gloves, and he won the whole tournament. That’s when Jamir’s name blew up out of nowhere, but I think some of that came from his physique alone as a little kid. People would see him and ask how a kid that age was built like he was.”

Jamir was also ripping through kids his own age. He was in a gym almost from birth. Mark would take him everywhere when he was training a fighter. Jamir sometimes would climb through the ropes himself and mimic what his father was teaching.

At 7, he started playing football. His mother, Talea, signed him up for a weight league and at first, football was just something to occupy his time between going to the gym with his father.

Gradually, the sway began turning to football.

“My mom signed me up and I just went along with it,” Jamir said. “I would say I felt lonely in the gym, with just me and my dad growing up. I was always so much younger than everyone else in the gym that I was alone in my early years. I was in there with grown men every day, hitting the bag, sparring, sparring kids older than me.

“With football, those doors opened in middle school, and in eighth grade I got a chance to take the Lawncrest Lions to the American Youth Football national championship at quarterback. We always made it to the final four, but we never won.”

» READ MORE: Jameial Lyons committed to a position switch and becoming Penn State’s edge rusher of the future

That success began steering his direction toward a larger picture with football. He would still box, although sporadically.

The times Mark does take Jamir to the gym, he still winds up in the ring. A few weeks ago, Mark was working with one of his smaller fighters, who implored Mark to spar with Jamir. It had been a while since Jamir fought, though his boxing IQ was quite evident, according to Mark, sidestepping shots, throwing counters and hooks.

“I understand Jamir’s thinking, football is on his mind, and I think he has a better chance of becoming a world champion fighter than reaching the NFL, but you can’t tell Jamir he can’t do something,” Mark said. “He loves proving people wrong. He did it in boxing. He’ll do it in football. He already has a fan base in boxing. If it came out that he was turning pro on July 1, he would easily get tails in seats. People know his name. He’s been in the public eye for years.”

A few weeks ago, Hopkins visited Jamir before his prom send-off. Hopkins has not let go of one day signing Jamir to a professional contract. Jamir, a yes-sir, no-sir young man, has not exactly waved boxing away.

Cut him open, he admits, and boxing gloves may still spill out.

“It is still out there,” he admits. “My focus, to be honest, is the present. And my present is football and being the best player that I can be for my teammates at Central Connecticut State. I’ll be a freshman, and my goal is to start as a freshman. I want to be the best version of myself.

“Bernard is my guy. Bernard, Andre Ward, Danny Garcia, Boots Ennis, Devin Haney, they all know I play football right now, and they’re all supportive of me. I’m so fortunate to have the support system that I have. There are a lot of people who can’t wait for me to turn pro. But I have to live the life I want to live. I will say I won’t close the book on boxing.

“I do want to see what story I write about football. I want to one day be able to go to the NFL and buy a big house for my mother. That’s my goal. I can’t do something just for the money. I play football because I love playing football. If I were to box right now, I would just be boxing for the money at this point. My heart wouldn’t be completely in it.”

» READ MORE: Philly boxer Danny Garcia is back in the ring after a nearly 2-year break to confront his anxiety