When and why you started boxing:
I started at nine after watching The Contender series with Sugar Ray Leonard and Sylvester Stallone.
Favourite all-time fighter:
Manny Pacquiao.
Best fight you’ve seen:
One of the best fights I’ve seen recently was Leigh Wood against Michael Conlan, but Ruslan Provodnikov against Timothy Bradley that’s my favourite.
Personal career highlight:
Winning my first senior ABA title in Liverpool against Peter McGrail. Obviously, winning medals with GB and getting my major medal at the Europeans was good, but I’d say my first senior ABA title.
Toughest opponent:
The toughest fight, in terms of having to grind it out, was against a Georgian, Otar Eranosyan. He got a World bronze, he was tough. Toughest mentally was boxing [Olympic silver medallist] Sofiane Oumiha from France.
Best and worst attributes as a boxer:
My best are my boxing brain, judgement of distance and my pressure counter-punching. And my worst, I’m not going to reveal in case future opponents are reading.
Training tip:
You get out of this what you put in, so put 100% into everything.
Favourite meal/restaurant:
My favourite go-to meal after a fight is Five Guys.
Best friends in boxing:
The Birtley boys. I’ve been with them since I joined Birtley, at about 12 years old. We’ve all come through the Schoolboys, Juniors, Youths, we were all travelling the country every weekend and then coming through the seniors.
Other sportsperson you would like to be:
Cristiano Ronaldo.
Last film/TV show you saw:
The last film I watched was Ambulance. Unreal, one of the best films I’ve seen for a while.
Who would play you in a film of your life:
Vinnie Jones. Bullet-Tooth Tony out of Snatch.
Have you ever been starstruck:
I can’t say I have. I’m quite calm in the presence of everyone, I believe.
Last time you cried:
At my best mate’s mum’s funeral. Him and his mum used to live two doors along from us. She died a year and a half ago.
Best advice received:
From my mum, growing up, it was: Once you commit to something, go at it 100 per cent. I used to play a lot of sport and sometimes I’d come in from school and say, ‘Oh I don’t really fancy going’ and my mum would say you’ve committed to it now, so you’ve got to go to training. I think that lesson stuck with us.
Worst rumour about yourself:
I’m glad I haven’t heard any. There’s probably loads floating around about us.
Something not many people know about you:
I used to play cricket for the county. I used to open the batting and I was a left arm spinner.
