Interviews
Josh Gooding speaks out ahead of his fourth professional fight
Josh Gooding (3-0) was a fresh-faced 19-year-old who was enjoying a drink or two in the pub with friends when boxing called him.
“All I heard was HA-HA! YA-HA-YA!” Gooding said, full of enthusiasm, as if he was throwing punches, recalling the sounds he heard after drinking a beer from the local liquor.
He continued: “It was an MMA club! I went there and said, “Can I, um… can I join for a while?” So I was in jeans and started hitting the bag!
“I came back the next day and found out that some of the lads from the pub had turned the place into a gym and there was training there before going to the pub, a sort of organized training session, and it was a good laugh.
Undefeated in three competitions and looking for victory number four when he steps into the ring at the Harvey Hadden Sports Village in Nottingham on Saturday evening.
It was a journey that saw 29-year-old experience the ups and downs of a fighting game, describing it as a game of snakes and ladders; but like many others fighting for their lives, you have to dismantle most of the ladders and watch out for the numerous snakes.
Gooding immediately fell in love with boxing and after a summer spent in his hometown, it was time to return to Nottingham Trent University.
Along with the clothes, laptop and books came boxing gloves, hand bands and a pair of boxing shoes.
Gooding will always remember his first visit to an amateur boxing club, but it would be for the wrong reasons.
“I was told you were too petite, too ponderous and couldn’t handle this sport, and those words stuck with me. That after being told I couldn’t do soccer, I didn’t take it well.
Gooding’s heartbreak shattered his self-confidence and boxing was immediately put on the back burner, but after excelling in his studies, he needed this support to take up boxing again.
“University taught me the life lessons I needed to regain my self-confidence. I realized that if you work demanding, if you get a butt transplant, you can be good at something. I returned to Nottingham and found Errol McDonald. He opened a gym called Bad Boys Boxing Gym in Clifton.
“He basically told me the same thing I had heard before, but this man was so full of positivity that I immediately knew he wouldn’t show me the door, I knew this was my fresh home.
“He told me, ‘You’re petite, you’re ponderous, but you have powerful legs and if you put in the work, I will make you a champion.’
“The moment those words reached my ears, I never looked back and believed I could become a champion.”
Following McDonald’s instructions, Gooding began working.
“When I first entered Errol’s gym, I weighed about 92 kilograms and measured 150 cm! But it came organically, through demanding training.
“Then I boxed again at 81 kilograms, still fighting giants in the delicate heavyweight division, but Errol believed in my abilities and simply said I would teach you how to win at that weight.
“I have quick feet and hands too, so I can dart back and forth quickly, spot-firing, without getting hurt by bigger players.
“But my weight just dropped naturally and in my second amateur middleweight fight I entered the East Midlands Gold Cup and won gold.
“Three fights, three wins in three days and that made me realize S***I can do it!”
Gooding took part in twelve amateur fights and left the ring as the winner ten times, winning two regional championships in two weight classes and taking part in the Haringey Box Cup.
The Luton man’s confidence grew and in 2019 he decided to return to the professional ranks and make his first professional appearance in July.
“My experience making my professional debut was phenomenal; that was all I had [had] I’ve ever dreamed of,” he said happily, replaying the moment in his mind.
“I’m not one to analyze my opponent, I leave that to my team, but after winning my debut I found out that the guy I was fighting had fought guys like Junior Witter, Chris Kongo and was the WBC junior champion; so he had decent credentials for a journeyman.
“I may not have performed as extravagantly as I would have liked in this fight, I just wanted to put on a show. I was extremely relaxed and it was a confident performance.”
What Gooding lacks in terms of experience in the ring, he makes up for in the challenges he has dealt with outside of it. At the age of 20, he was learning, maturing and teaching himself how to deal with life’s difficulties.
These life experiences shaped Gooding not only into the man, but also into the warrior he is today. Not even an untimely pandemic could stop him from veering off course.
“When Covid hit, yes, that was the case S***but it never occurred to me to give up. I created a warrior’s life for myself, I have a warrior mentality now, boxing is my life.
“All the paths I have chosen lead to becoming a champion. I worked demanding to purchase a property that allowed me to fully focus on this sport.
“Of course I want to make as much money as possible from this sport, but it is not my priority at the moment.
“I’m just focused on working demanding in the gym and showing what I’ve learned in the ring. I’m focused on competing for titles.”
Eddie Hearn believes Tyson Fury will retire after a legacy-defining clash with Anthony Joshua.
Fury stunned the boxing world on Monday when he announced his retirement from the sport, leaving behind a megafight with Joshua.
The “Gypsy King” announced his shocking decision less than a month after suffering, among other things, second defeat in a row against Oleksandr Usyk in Riyad, but Joshua’s promoter, Hearn, is convinced that the fighter from Morecambe will return to the ring to fight the long-awaited showdown with “AJ”, who is returning after a fifth-round defeat to Daniel Dubois.
“In my opinion, I think he will come back,” the 45-year-old said talkSPORT.
“But I don’t know him well enough to judge that.
“He’s coming back after two defeats, and these defeats hurt the boys.
“AJ was devastated by the defeat to Dubois and I’m sure Fury was too [with his defeats to Usyk]both are winners.
“I don’t know if Fury can leave one of the biggest fights in the history of the sport on the table.
“I know he’s a competitor. I know he will want to give the British fight fans what they want and I hope we see more of him.
“But if we don’t, God bless the speed and all the best.”
Fury hung up his gloves after defeating Dillian Whyte in April 2022, only to return eight months later for a third fight with Derek Chisora, whom he defeated comfortably at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Hearn said Joshua will now look to secure a clash with the winner of the February 22 fight between his former rivals Dubois and Joseph Parker, who will fight in Riyad for the IBF heavyweight world title.
If Fury returns to fight AJ, the Matchroom boss insists the loser would have nowhere to go.
“They would both be devastated by defeat,” he added.
“It’s one thing to lose the world heavyweight title, but at the same time losing in a fight of this magnitude is the biggest bragging rights.
“At this stage of their career, the last word is goodbye.
“Whoever loses this fight is finished and whoever wins it moves on and that’s what you fight for.
“You’re not just fighting for a legacy, you’re fighting to save your career.
“It’s a huge fight, but it’s not on the table right now.”
Callum Simpson defended his British and Commonwealth super middleweight titles after a second-round victory over Steer Woodall on Saturday at the Park Community Arena in Sheffield.
Simpson (16-0, 11 KO) proved too good for Zak Chelli in his last competition and went on to sweep wide and claim the British and Commonwealth titles last August. Woodall (19-3-1, 12 KO) picked up his best career win, stopping Lerrone Richards in six rounds in an upset in Bolton last June.
This attack ended quickly in the second round, with a right uppercut that left Woodall on wobbly legs, and then another attack punctuated by another right uppercut, leaving “The Stallion” on the deck.
Despite beating the count, referee Mark Bates waved off the fight shortly afterwards.
Simpson dedicated his victory his dead sisterwho died tragically in August in a road accident.
“It’s bittersweet,” the 28-year-old said Heavenly sports after the fight.
“I won these titles in front of all my fans, but there’s one person that I think everyone knows who I wish was here, but I know she’s looking down on me and I make her proud.”
Dubois is tied with Camara
On the card below, Caroline Dubois (10-0-1, 5 KO) made her first defense of her WBC lightweight title against Canadian Jessica Camara (14-4-1, 3 KO), but the fight ended in a technical draw.
The fight was stopped due to a cut to Camara’s left eye from the head collision, and she also went down in the first round.
Forrest stops Miller
Cruiserweight prospect Scott Forrest needed just two rounds to defeat Deevorn Miller.
Miller (8-3, 6 KO) lost once in the first and second rounds, while Forrest (7-0, 4 KO) won outright.
Undercard remaining
In the featherlight heavyweight division, where Billy Deniz defeated Mickey Ellison (15-8, 5 KO) by one point.
Deniz (13-0, 5 KO) won with a score of 77-76.
In the six-round middleweight division, Sam Hickey (2-0, 1 KO) stopped Lewis Howells (3-2) three times en route to a first-round victory, and Mauro Silva (7-0, 3 KO) scored a 59-56 victory against Emmanuel Zion (6-3, 3 KOs).
Ellis Price (2-0, 1 KO) stopped Liam Fitzmaurice (0-1) twice en route to a first-round lightweight victory.
Lauren Price believes Natasha Jonas was pressured into fighting her ahead of their March 7 unification clash.
Price will put his WBA and IBO welterweight titles on the line when he faces IBF and WBC champion Jonas live at the Royal Albert Hall. Heavenly sports.
Jonas’ coach, Joe Gallagher, has said he would prefer to see the 40-year-old retire, and Price, who won Olympic gold in 2021, is doubtful whether her rival wants to face her.
“I don’t think either of them wanted this fight,” the 30-year-old said proboxing-fans.com.
“But like I said, she has two belts, I have three and it’s just a great fight.
“The fight is signed, sealed and announced, so on March 7 we will see who will be the best.
“If you look at my amateur record, Olympic gold medalist, I haven’t lost a single round as a professional.
“The performance I am up against [Jessica] McCaskill in Cardiff against the legitimate world champion, the proof is in the pudding.
“I’ve got it. I’m in my youth.
“She’s coming to the end of my career and I don’t blame her, but in the end she has something that I want and that’s really it, there’s nothing personal.”
Jonas secured the WBC crown with a unanimous decision victory over then-champion Ivana Habazin in December in Liverpool, moments after Price defeated Bexcy Mateus in three rounds on the same bill.
The pair then clashed during a heated post-fight interview to confirm their upcoming match.
The Welshwoman believes that her youth, speed and dominance in the ring will allow her to defeat the experienced Liverpool resident on Friday in eight weeks.
Asked what her advantage was over Jonah, Price added: “Probably my youth.
“Reading the fight, my ring IQ, my speed.
“The little feints, the triggers I do, people reading me.
“Everyone says they will do it, they will do it until I stand in front of them, so we will see on March 7.
“But overall I think I’m just better and I believe I’ll win.”
Watch the full interview with Lauren Price:
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