B: First thanks for agreeing to be interviewed for my blog, Stephen. That was a great display of heart and stamina you put on last night in The Liverpool Olympia against Jason Ball. There might have been a winner but certainly no loser involved.
Do you feel the referee was right to stop the fight when he did?
SH: No! I thought it was a bit premature, I stayed down to take the count as instructed by my corner and then rose and followed instructions from the ref
B: Ball has a kickboxing background and is used to longer rounds of 5 minutes. To what extent do you think this affected the fight, if at all?
SH: I’m not sure if it did affect the fight he was a tough lad but we had both trained for the 10 x 3 minute
B: There was a great turnout of support for you in that hall. How important is that to a fighter during the fight itself?
SH: Yes it was great! I was made up with the support and it gives you that little extra kick while fighting, just a bit harder when you loose and its in front of all your friend and family!
B: You were also part of the popular ‘Prizefighter’ series. What was that experience like?
SH: Great! It gave me a lot more insight into the other part of boxing, i.e TV/media exposure etc
B: What does your typical training regime consist of?
SH: Hard work! Haha as well as a full time job, I run early every morning around 04.30 go to work then right back to the gym from work not getting home till around 7.30-8.00
B: What part of that regime do you least look forward to?
SH: None of it, I enjoy it, just sometimes gets hard with the hours you put in and you feel sore and tired
B: Do you find making weight for a fight easy or hard?
SH: Bit of both really
B: Who has been your toughest opponent and why?
SH: Have to say Nick Quigley in Prizefighter he’s tall, quick and skillful fighter
B: You are often to be found dropping in to twitter. Do you think that twitter and other social networks such as Facebook, can have a positive influence on your career as a boxer?
SH: Yes definitely, they raise your profile a lot
B: Different boxers prepare differently before a fight. What do you tend to do in that last hour or so?
SH: I just relax and listen to a bit of music
B: Any last minute rituals you like to do?
SH: I say a little prayer in the ring
B: There is a wealth of talent coming up right now. Are there any names you feel we should particularly look out for?
SH: Without being biased there’s a lot of talent coming out of Liverpool at the minute, Phil Smith, Jay Metcalf, Liam Smith, Joe Selkirk, Jazza Dickenson to name a few
B: What do you hope for in the next year, career-wise. What’s the plan?
SH: Not sure yet just have to think about it the next few weeks
B: Thanks again for granting me this interview mate. I hope you have a good year ahead both in and out of the ring.
Monday, 23rd January 2012
No comments:
Post a Comment