Larry Ekundayo: ‘I started boxing to protect myself from bullies’

Larry Ekundayo

When and why you started boxing:
I started boxing at 12 because I wanted to be able to protect myself from bullies at school.

Favourite all-time fighter:
Sugar Ray Leonard is my all-time favourite because of his boxing ability and confidence.

Best fight you’ve seen:
The Sugar Ray Leonard-Marvin Hagler fight is one that I always love watching.

Personal career highlight:
My best achievement in boxing is that Iโ€™m still going strong, even though I turned pro not long before my 30th birthday and lots of people doubted me.

Toughest opponent:
Gary Corcoran has been my toughest opponent [l sd 12 โ€“ July 2017]. I didnโ€™t get the decision that I believe I deserved that night. But Iโ€™m sure Gary and his team would see it completely differently to the way my team and I see it.

Best and worst attributes as a boxer:
My main strength is my mental ability. My weakness is overeating. I donโ€™t know when to stop!

Training tip:
As I always say, train smart, fight easy.

Favourite meal/restaurant:
My favourite meal is pounded yam with egusi soup. Itโ€™s Nigerian food. I donโ€™t have a favourite restaurant as there are so many to choose from.

Best friends in boxing:
Almost everyone to be honest, apart from the ones who punch me too hard when I move around with them in sparring!

Other sportsman you would like to be:
To me, thereโ€™s nothing like boxing. But if I had to choose then Iโ€™d say the UFC middleweight champ, Israel Adesanya.

Last film/TV show you saw:
The last show I watched was McMafia on Netflix.

Who would play you in a film of your life:
Iโ€™d like it to be John Boyega.

Have you ever been starstruck:
No, Iโ€™ve never been starstruck.

Last time you cried:
I cry almost every time one of my children doesnโ€™t feel well, as it makes me feel useless that I canโ€™t take their pain away.

Best advice received:
โ€˜Persistence beats resistance. Weโ€™re not giving up!โ€™ That came from my commercial agent, Ben Gray.

Worst rumour about yourself:
The worst rumour Iโ€™ve heard came from Nigeria. Apparently Iโ€™m making almost the same amount of money per fight as Floyd Mayweather used to make.

Something not many people know about you:
I donโ€™t think many people know that I canโ€™t dance.

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