When and why you started boxing:
I joined boxing off the back off a football injury, and having put on weight I walked into a gym seven years ago to drop fat, and the fairytale continues…
Favourite all-time fighter:
My favourite fighter is Lennox Lewis.
Best fight you’ve seen:
Mikkel Kessler versus Carl Froch II at the O2, wow.
Personal career highlight:
Boxing for my country as an amateur and hearing my national anthem.
Toughest opponent:
Only seven fights in I fought someone in the Novice under 20s quarter-finals, I won a unanimous decision but could have hit him with an iron bar and he would have still been on me.
Best and worst attributes as a boxer:
My best attribute I would say is my jab. My worst attribute is definitely my Rocky face-to-fist style
Training tip:
Don’t overtrain. Rest when your body tells you to. Recover correctly and give 110 per cent all the time.
Favourite meal/restaurant:
My favourite meal is a chicken wrap with chips and cheese. My favourite restaurant is Rio, an all-you-can-eat Brazilian steak house.
Best friends in boxing:
Mark Clauzel, my coach from day one. He was a great pro and a kickboxing world champion. He is my coach, manager and best friend in one.
Other sportsperson you would like to be:
Michael Jordan because he got to meet the Looney Tunes in Space Jam and I reckon me and Taz would get on great. Or Alan Shearer – to week in and week out walk out to 52,000 Geordies screaming your name.
Last film/TV show you saw:
That new horror, Malignant at the cinema, a load of tripe. Last TV programme was the Squid Game.
Who would play you in a film of your life:
Dolph Lundgren, my real dad [laughs]! Or Will Ferrell for personality and bad hair.
Have you ever been starstruck:
I sparred Anthony Joshua recently. I wasn’t exactly starstruck because that’s the level I want to go to but it was an honour.
Last time you cried:
Every time I watch Lion King or The Notebook [laughs]. Or to be honest any sad film.
Best advice received:
It’s never too late. No what-ifs or regrets, just give it your all.
Worst rumour about yourself:
Stan isn’t my real dad and Dolph Lundgren is!
Something not many people know about you:
I doubt myself daily when I see 22-year-olds turning pro and winning titles, then I look at the likes of Joe Joyce, and think I can do it. With my friends and family – and my coaches – supporting me and reassuring me, it really spurs me on.
