TEN years ago, unbeaten bantamweights Paul Butler and Ashley Sexton met at York Hall in what became quite the sliding doors moment in their respective careers.
After 10 rounds, Butler, 33-2 (15), defeated Sexton via decision and now, 28 fights later, boxes Jonas Sultan this Friday (April 22) for an Interim WBO bantamweight belt. Sexton, meanwhile, returns that same night to York Hall for his first fight on UK soil in six years, eager to launch phase two of an up-and-down, stop-start professional career.
โWeโre mates now and see each other a lot,โ Sexton, 34, told Boxing News. โPaul trains kids out of Wirral Boxing, and I train at Hoddesdon, so I see him at shows. Iโll be there with my juniors and heโll be there with his.
โWe probably didnโt need that fight at the time. It was one of those fights where I was more aggressive and landed more, but Butler landed the cleaner, nicer shots. We went in different directions after that. He went on to become a โworldโ champion.โ
Not long after losing his undefeated record against Butler, Sexton boxed Stephane Jamoye for the European title, only to find himself stopped inside eight rounds. He was then blighted by inactivity before drifting away from the sport altogether in 2016.
โI started seeing guys fall off, and being released from their contracts, and it scared me,โ he said. โThese were guys at good weights, with good backing, and yet they were being let go after just one or two defeats. I thought, If this boxing doesnโt go anywhere, apart from training people, what can I actually do? I took myself away.
โIโve always been labouring on the railway and I thought that now was the time to get myself a career. I went to college, started doing courses, and then got my first full-time job on the books with a telecommunications company on the railway.
โI literally worked my way up from a labourer to site manager and now I supervise projects across Network Rail and London Overground and Underground.โ
For Sexton, the decision to retrain was perhaps the best one he has ever made. It was also in many ways not even a decision. โIโve got five kids,โ he said. โI had to step back. You canโt box half-heartedly.
โAlso, I had 97 amateur fights, and 20 pro fights, and needed to give my body a chance to recover. My body was falling to bits. You see guys who never have a rest and their body starts deteriorating. My body is in much better condition now and my brain, because I havenโt had all those years of sparring, is as good as new.
โIโve got a foundation now and am always able to provide for my kids, whether boxing works out or not. Iโm not in the sport for money anymore. Iโm past that. Itโs all about winning titles. I want the Commonwealth, the British, and then weโll look at where weโre at. Now Iโve got that security, Iโm enjoying boxing again. Iโm not as stressed.โ
Sexton returned to the ring last June, when outpointing Josรฉ Aguilar over six rounds in Spain. Before that, though, he was asked far tougher questions in the gym. โI had a few dark days down the gym when I questioned myself,โ he said. โIn my first spar at Hoddesdon I sparred two amateurs over six-threes and they pretty much pinged me apart. I hardly landed a glove. I went back home and I was like, โCan I even do this?โ. I was overweight, not fit, and not where I want to be. I thought, โLet me do it and see where I get toโ.
โNow I canโt spar with those guys. Iโm too much for them. Iโm 34, yeah, but Iโve had six years out, so my body is still 28. I donโt have the damage other people have.โ
Sextonโs next fight will be over 10 rounds and his opponent, South Africaโs Sabelo Ngebinyana, will be a considerable step up from his last. Itโs the prospect of future fights, however, that really gets the Cheshunt man excited.
โI struggled so long to get a fight and now Iโve got them coming out my ears,โ he said. โTheyโve said that providing I win this next fight, the Commonwealth (title) on July 1st is a possibility. It was Prince Patelโs but heโs vacated apparently.
โIโd take the Patel fight every day of the week. You canโt really believe anything he says when he says he gets seven figures a fight. I might chuck him 25 grand just to fight me. It would be worth it.
โHeโs trying to talk himself into a big fight, and you canโt blame him for that. Iโve got videos of me sparring him, though. It was my first spar back after a five-year break, and I had no timing, but it was still all one-way traffic. Iโm thinking, โThis guy just boxed two weeks ago and Iโm still hammering himโ. Heโd be silly to take a fight against me at any stage in his career because Iโd knock him out.โ
Sexton, 17-2-2 (5), added: โThere are other guys like Ijaz Ahmed and Quaise Khademi. Quaise is under the same promotional and management banner as me, so theyโll keep him away from me for as long as possible, but if Ijaz beats him in their third fight I could box Ijaz for the British title. That would be a great fight. Who would take a step back? It wouldnโt be me. I think Iโm a level above him.
โThe thing is, though, Iโm not in a position to seriously call anyone out right now. Theyโll just say, โWhatโs he done in recent years?โ Iโm not relevant at the minute but I will be after this fight [on April 22], to a degree, and then when I win the Commonwealth title the rest of the division will have to take notice.โ