Fast Facts:
Name: Tom Welland
Age: 19
X: @tomwelland04
Nationality: British/Filipino
From: Wickford, Essex
Stance: Orthodox
Height: 5ft 6ins
Record: 2-0 (1)
Division: Super-bantamweight
Next fight: Welland is due for his third professional outing on the Wasserman card in Telford on March 1.
When and why you started boxing:
I started boxing at 13 with the objective just to get stronger to help me when I was playing football for Cambridge Youth Academy. After my first session boxing, I didn’t go back to football!
Favourite all-time fighter:
Manny Pacquiao. Being Filipino myself, he’s a national hero and an inspiration to everyone.
Best fight you’ve seen:
Nonito Donaire vs Naoya Inoue 1. This fight just had it all!
Personal career highlight:
My best achievement in boxing so far is travelling to the Philippines to live and train with the Olympic squad and represent the Philippines.
Toughest opponent:
Definitely Yuri Zanoli in my second professional fight. Everything I threw at him just didn’t faze him and he kept coming.
Best and worst attributes as a boxer:
My boxing IQ, my power and my accuracy. However, my weaknesses are taking shots on the way out of clinches or exchanges.
Training tip:
Stay consistent and trust the process. Good things come to those who wait and keep grafting.
Favourite meal/restaurant:
A good steak. It must be medium rare.
Best friends in boxing:
Giorgio Visioli. We’ve spent a long time training alongside each other as amateurs on the England setup and at our clubs. We’ve shared many great rounds and he’s a great lad.
Which other athlete would you like to be?
Vasyl Lomachenko as he’s just a world class athlete and can do anything.
Who would play you in a film of your life?
Jackie Chan because my friends say I look like him!
Have you ever been starstruck?
Loads of times, especially when I spent a Saturday night at the boxing with Jermain Defoe. This was so special to me as I’ve been a Tottenham Hotspur fan my whole life.
Last time you cried:
Probably about a year ago when my local supermarket stopped selling my favourite sweets!
Best advice received:
Being a boxer is a pleasure but it’s your job to make weight.
Tell us something not many people know about you:
Not many people know that I’m actually left-handed but I box out of the orthodox stance.
