IF you were at Haringey Box Cup and were disappointed the punching machine was broken, let Terrell Bernard explain. . .
“I hit it really hard,” he said, “and my fist went through the padding and hit something sharp.
“I broke my knuckle. All from one punch on that silly machine.”
Bernard says coaches have told him he resembles Thomas ‘The Hitman’ Hearns and he will be aiming his power punches at pro super-middleweights in future after deciding to turn over with manager/promoter Costas Evangelou.
The 6ft 5ins South Londoner is making the switch at 30 and said: “I will dedicate myself for the next five years and feel I can achieve a lot in that time.
“I know there are some people who will say I have left it too late, but I feel I’m in my prime.
“I have been in the gym since I was 11 and have had time off messing around and now I’m ready to take it seriously.”
Bernard won 14 of 16 amateurs and did toy with a career in MMA before deciding to stick with the Queensberry Rules.
He said: “I was doing Brazilian jiu-jitsu and got up to a white belt in six months, but I didn’t have the same love for it.
“I didn’t see any point going back to the amateurs and one of my coaches said: ‘You should turn pro.’
“I’ve decided to come back to haunt the boxing scene !”
Bernard admits he needs boxing.
“I had a break during covid and I lost myself,” he said. “I had a bad patch and it turned out I was missing boxing.
“I was missing the discipline and routine and once I got back into boxing I found myself again.”
Bernard, from Tooting and now living in Orpington, has his pro debut pencilled in for September.
He said: “People say I’m like Thomas Hearns. I’m long and gangly, have that snappy jab and I have that whip in my punches.”
