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.”
Sky Sports head of boxing development Adam Smith believes Amir Khan and Kell Brook could have put on an even better fight than if they had met in their prime.
Khan and Brook will finally settle their long-running 149lb catchweight feud on February 19 at the AO Arena in Manchester, live on Sky Sports Box Office.
British rivals pushed each other ahead first press conference last month and we exchanged words back and forth in several heated exchanges.
After years of talks and doubts whether this fight would even happen, BOXXER secured the promotional rights and tickets sold out in 10 minutes on Monday, and Smith believes it could exceed all expectations.
“Khan and Brook are great for this,” Smith said proboxing-fans.com at the first press conference on November 29.
“They don’t like each other, it’s true. They have not liked each other for many years.
“They don’t have the respect they have for other players and they want to get along with each other, so Amir will be training in Terence Crawford’s camp and they take it really seriously.
“That’s why Kell is with us [trainer] Dominik [Ingle]back to the place he knows best, back to Wincobank and they will be ready for February 19th and it will be fantastic, [a] I think it’s a case of last man standing.
“Stylistically and at this point in their careers, I think it could be an even better fight because I think there is a hole there.
“I think there’s still power there. I think the skills are there, but the speed is a little less, the reflexes will be a little less.
“They will be a little creaky in both bodies, but they will go through absolutely anything to get into top shape.
“I think being 149 and not 147 just above the welterweight limit is good for their bodies. I think they will give us a little fight back.”
Khan, a former unified super lightweight champion, has won three of his last five fights with losses to Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford and will end more than 19 months of inactivity on Feb. 19, having not fought since a fourth-round stoppage of Billy Dib in July 2019.
Former IBF welterweight champion Brook was defeated in four rounds by WBO champion Crawford last November and will fight for the first time since suffering only the third defeat of his career, with the other two facing Gennady Golovkin after a brave move to middleweight. before an 11th round loss to Errol Spence Jr.
The price of the Khan vs. Brook fight has not yet been confirmed, and Smith insists that the main attraction of the fight is that it will air on pay-per-view.
“Sky Sports Box Office is about special nights,” Smith explained.
“The box office attraction is in the name. It’s a starry fight, it’s a starry night.
“It’s something that regular football fans will love, it’s something that boxing fans have been waiting for for a very long time.
“We want to give our all in every fight, let’s be straightforward. We have a great lineup of fights on Sky. Eubank vs Williams, postponed fight, January 29 in Cardiff on Sky Sports, Josh Taylor vs Jack Catterall on Sky Sports.
“But there is a lot of money involved in this fight. You know it took a long time to do this. It is produced on Sky Sports Box Office.
“Better to have it on Sky Sports Box Office on February 19 than not to have it when they both retire.”
Watch the full interview with Adam Smith below:
Michael Conlan insists Leigh Wood is not prepared for the pressure of fighting in front of home fans ahead of his March 12 featherweight world title fight.
Wood defends his WBA featherweight title for the first time against Conlan at the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham – the champion’s hometown.
Conlan has fought most of his 16-fight career away from his native Belfast, although he made his third home appearance in August, defeating TJ Doheny in front of a raucous crowd at Falls Park, and claims his rival underestimated the weight of expectation ahead of him.
“I know exactly what it’s like to fight under that kind of pressure or to fight at home,” the 30-year-old said during his second press conference in Belfast on Thursday.
“I did it three times and each performance was huge. Lots of people, so many expectations, a specially built arena in the park.
“This guy doesn’t understand it, he has never felt it, you can see that his behavior has changed since yesterday.
“He doesn’t understand the pressure of fighting in your hometown, he had the opportunity to fight at MSG and he can come to Belfast and fight if he wants.
“But no, he wants to fight in Nottingham, at the City Ground, before he retires. He knows I can beat him.”
Wood impressively dethroned Xu Can after a last-round stoppage in August to become the WBA champion, marking consecutive knockout victories since joining the trainer, Ben Davison.
Conlan, who is competing in his maiden world title fight, insists he has no concerns about the 33-year-old’s strength.
“I was proud of him, I wished Leigh good luck the week of the fight and I really wanted him to win,” Conlan said at his first press conference in Nottingham on Wednesday.
“I have a lot of respect for him, he seems like a really good guy and I’ve heard a lot of good things about him.
“I have the utmost respect for him as a man and a fighter, but fuck it all until after the fight. Let’s finish the fight.
“I have fought with substantial boxers all my life, I have fought over 250 fights in the amateur category and I have had many sparring rounds with substantial boxers – Oscar Valdez.
“I have an answer to everything Leigh does. I know what type of player he is. He hits demanding, but his feet are leisurely and his head is spinning. I will strike before him.”
Interviews
Jordan Gill promises to win the European title and rules out a future clash with Leigh Wood
Jordan Gill has vowed to seize his opportunity when he finally faces Karim Guerfi for the European featherweight title on February 27.
Matchroom was confirmed on Monday that Gill will face European champion Guerfi in a rescheduled bout on the undercard of Lawrence Okolie’s second defense of his WBO cruiserweight title against Michał Cieślak at the O2 Arena.
The two were scheduled to meet in Liverpool on December 11, but the Frenchman withdrew from the fight week due to illness.
Instead, Gill was awarded a technical draw with recently replaced Alan Isaias Luques Castillo after an accidental clash of heads stopped the fight after three completed rounds, but ‘The Thrill’ insists he will dethrone the 34-year-old.
“I think it’s going to be a really good year for us,” Gill told proboxing-fans.com.
“I’m fighting for the European title, it’s a huge fight and my only goal is to win this title and I’m going to grab it with both hands.
A very good fighter. He is a four- or five-time European champion, but they don’t give up the belts.
“So he’s a very talented fighter, a very good boxer and I expect the best from him tonight.
So I have to apply myself and make sure I win this fight.”
Prior to the Castillo fight, the Chatteris fighter was on a three-fight winning streak and won the WBA international featherweight title last February with an impressive points victory over Cesar Juarez.
The 27-year-old, who recorded his only defeat in 2019 against Mario Enrique Tinoco, occupies a high position in the IBF ranking, behind world champion Kiko Martinez, who will defend his belt in a fight against Josh Warrington on March 26, and the WBA. , where Leigh Wood and Leo Santa Cruz are the current belt holders.
“The Thrill” is a long-time friend of Wood, who defends his title for the first time against Michael Conlan on March 12 in Nottingham and has ruled out a future fight with him.
Asked if he would like to fight Wood, Gill replied: “No, we both said we wouldn’t fight [each other].
“Of course there are many opportunities for both of us, there are different routes.
“I’m fighting for the European title, I have my own fight to focus on and he has to focus on Conlan.
“I will probably defend my European title and we will see what happens at the end of the year.
“But it’s a good division, a scorching division. We could be like Klitschko and dominate.
Watch the full interview with Jordan Gill below:
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