When and why you started boxing:
When I was 10, I saw Mike Tyson when he visited Brixton before he fought Julius Francis. I started training after that and had my first amateur bout when I was 16.
Favourite all-time fighter:
Gerald McClellan or James Toney. I’d say that Ricky Hatton and Ryan Rhodes are my favourite British fighters.
Best fight you’ve seen:
I’ve got three – David Haye-Jean Marc Mormeck, Arturo Gatti-Micky Ward I and James Toney-Michael Nunn.
Personal career highlight:
Winning my professional debut [on points over four rounds against Ivan Godor in September last year], but the best is yet to come.
Toughest opponent:
Ivan Godor. Fighting him was an eye-opener because he was a hard person to nail clean. It was a big learning fight.
Best and worst attributes as a boxer:
My strengths are that I’m always learning and I don’t tie myself down to just one style – I can adapt. Weakness? I don’t know what that means!
Training tip:
Study the sport and listen to your trainer.
Favourite meal/restaurant:
After I’ve boxed, I always like to have a cookies and cream milkshake. It’s the first thing I crave.
Best friends in boxing:
My brother Nana, my trainer Archie Dublin and my friend Dennis Oshijo.
Other sportsman you would like to be:
It’d have to be an MMA fighter. I’d say Anthony “Rumble” Johnson.
Last film/TV show you saw:
The last film I watched was Braveheart.
Who would play you in a film of your life:
People tell me I look like Conor Benn. Well I’m older than him, so he looks like me!
Have you ever been starstruck:
Nah, not really. I’ve never met anyone that famous.
Last time you cried:
Probably when I was a kid. I’d get upset when I lost amateur fights, but I never cried.
Best advice received:
In my second year of amateur boxing, one of my friends said to me, “Whatever you do, don’t ever stop.” He meant that the guys I was fighting had more experience than me and that I could catch them up one day if I kept going. It came true.
Worst rumour about yourself:
I haven’t heard one yet.
Something not many people know about you:
I fought in a cage once and almost chose MMA over boxing.
