I’ve Done My Apprenticeship, Now I’m Ready For The Big Fights

This Week on The BE FIRST Podcast, We Welcome Professional Boxer Sonny Hardy. 

From His Dad Not Wanting Him To Box, To Being In Sonny’s Corner For over 70 Bouts in The Amateur and Professional World. Dropping Out Of Uni To Chase His Dreams Of Being A Pro Boxer & Also Giving Back To Grassroots Boxing. 

This Is Another NOT To Be Missed Episode, So Be Prepared To Step Into The Ring & BE FIRST 🥊

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Train for nine months, I wasn't fit enough to get on my toes and dance around. So I didn't really have the option but to stand in front of people and try and have a dance. I was an angry man. Yeah, I think we live. Um even though I lost a fight when they announced it was a split decision after I ran to the corner and I've been like, that's a real man, it's got it. It just looked really weird face on the back there. That's why I just managed to get that left down to a split decision. I was I I've never really had many stoppages as an amateur, and they'll come one after another. The three-quarters, quarter, semi-finals, or finals have stopped everyone. I would still be enrolling unit, I said, for about two years. I won these two county 12 times, maybe 13 times, and I have to box no less than three times every time to get out of the time. I know how good I am, and I want to show everyone how good I am.

SPEAKER_02 0:45

And welcome back to the Beat First Podcast. Today's guest, we've got undefeated professional boxer, Mr. Shunny Hardy. How are we, mate?

SPEAKER_00 0:53

Very well, how are you doing?

SPEAKER_02 0:54

Yeah, all good lot. All good. Thanks for taking your time out. Your training camp at the moment, which you said you sort of feel like you're in to come on a podcast.

SPEAKER_00 1:03

No, you're good as God. I appreciate I appreciate the invite. It's a nice opportunity to be here as well.

SPEAKER_02 1:08

Yeah, no, definitely, definitely. And you know, I feel I feel old. I was thinking about it before. I remember you coming in with your dad when you've been in your school uniform and boxing at Charles in as a young amateur, and now you're 11-0 pro. It makes me feel like ancient, but I'm not ancient, I've only just hit my 30s, do you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_00 1:27

Yeah, uh, 15 years I've been doing it now. Wow. I used to come in here at eight years. I I still remember on my first skills belt, I would have been 10 years old. And uh I'd just a pair of Adidas shorts and the vests and the old man's gone, look in the kit, and there was a pair of Susie Wong shorts that had all the all the Union Jacks on the side, all all the lightning strikes. Do you remember the old lightning strikes? Everybody used to have it on their shorts back then. It was a bollocks, it was good.

SPEAKER_02 1:48

Yeah, yeah, it feels like yesterday. It feels like yesterday, that's how quick just time just goes, doesn't it? And now, like with now when like I just introduced you, undefeated boxes, so it's crazy, isn't it? Professional. Yeah, it's just so mad. So if you can take us back to the start, a little bit about where you grew up and yeah, how you got into the sport that you love.

SPEAKER_00 2:08

Uh I've I've been I've been a Wickford lad, born and raised. I've I've always been in the same place. Um I I had quite quite a blessed upbringing, to be fair. I was never, I was always one of them. I've got I had to work for what I wanted by my mum and dad. But if I ever needed anything, they was there to provide it for me. So um, yeah, I'm not one of those who can make out or come up with this story that I had it hard, I didn't have it hard. But um in regards to getting into boxing, I I only found this out a couple of weeks ago. My dad didn't want me to box, uh it was my mum who wanted me to box. My dad wanted my dad refused to take me to the gym. My mum took me to the gym for the first time and I fell in love with it. I tried loads of different sports before, then I'd done football, couldn't kick a ball. Tried swimming, I was right at that, but got boring, tried karate. I even done dance, but I got two left feet, so that don't work. But um, yeah, I went I went down to Chalvedon on my first session 15 years ago, got punched in the face and fell in love with it. Um, and and that's about it.

SPEAKER_02 3:05

Uh why didn't you dad want you to box?

SPEAKER_00 3:08

See, that's one part I need to figure out still. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 3:11

We just never asked them that question. No. Why didn't you want me to box?

SPEAKER_00 3:14

No, so um, from what I'm aware of, I I've got three brothers and three sisters, and all of my brothers were introduced to boxing, and none of them just uh it was just a case of none of them took to it. But um, yeah, I I I got introduced to it and fell in love with it, but my old man supposedly was adamant that he didn't want me to box initially. And then I think he started off as a parent behind the bar at the gym for I'd like say a year and a half, two years. I had my old coach Charlie Blake, who was the head coach at Chelveld and Boxing then, and um now my old man started helping out, helping out, and then Charlie finally saw that as a case of you know, I I can finally take a step back here, I I can I can let Dave off the reins and let him do what he needs to do. And then Dave's taken up, my old man's took over the gym and and Charlie's taking a step back and he's relaxing there.

SPEAKER_02 3:59

Yeah. So how old was you when you first your mum did your mum initially take in science in children?

SPEAKER_00 4:05

No, my mum. Your mum did? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Um I believe so at least. Yeah. But uh, I was I was eight years old when I first walked into the gym, and it's not changed a little, it's not changed a bit since. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 4:16

Yeah. Spit and sawdust. Spit and sawdust. This is what you want.

SPEAKER_00 4:20

I'll tell you what, actually, one thing that did change it was gutting. About eight years ago, they had all stencil graffiti work on the walls down there. We had uh Mike Tyson, Rocky Marciano, uh Roy Jones Jr., all raging ball signs. And um the council offered to go come in and paint it all for free. And the old man went, Yeah, but whatever you do, he said, do not touch the graffiti. And we've walked in there to check on what they was doing, and they were just scraping the last bit of graffiti off of a chisel. So they've revealed it all bit. It's all like I don't like it. It looks too modernised now. It's the there's no old name boxes or anything, it's just boxes, but it's all bright colours. I like the old black and white, yeah, old underground, rough looking stuff. Do you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_02 5:02

Yeah, I bet you he hit the roof, didn't he? When he and he fans holes.

SPEAKER_00 5:06

I think it broke his heart. It broke his up. Yeah, I can imagine.

SPEAKER_02 5:09

That's like walking into Repton and someone's got a cloth cleaning the walls because I know they don't like it being clean and stuff, do you in there? So you keep it keeps that magic in there, doesn't it?

SPEAKER_00 5:19

We we've got holes in the ceiling panels, we've got ceiling panels missing, yeah. We've got tiles out of the bathroom missing, but I I don't want to change it. Nah. I don't want tidying the gym up, but I don't want to change all of that that makes the gym.

SPEAKER_02 5:29

100% and and and and it and it can do it. You know, you always remember obviously it was an absolute tragedy what happened to Del Youth's gym. But I always remember when going to the opening of their of their new gym and and you could see the boxers in the trainers, just like we're so so grateful for what we've got, but we missed that old spitting through this feeling in that old place. So yeah, it makes a lot of sense because your your floor's carpeted in this gym, isn't it? That's right, it's just carpet on top of concrete, I'm pretty sure. Yeah, yeah, so always see it in the pictures. You know, it's a bit poor on certainly my behalf. I can't speak for the other boys that have not been down to to Charvadan, certainly with it being local. So you can you can hold me to that about coming down and checking checking our new graffiti work out.

SPEAKER_00 6:13

I I'm not a fan of that. I won't mention it when it comes in. I won't mention it.

SPEAKER_02 6:16

When I come in, I won't mention it.

SPEAKER_00 6:18

You're gonna walk in, that's the first one you're gonna point out. Look at that.

SPEAKER_02 6:20

I can't I can't help myself. I'll probably get told to do one by you now, man.

SPEAKER_00 6:24

No, we've got a new bit of graffiti done last year, uh two years ago, and it looks alright. It's downstairs, we've got a little ring, it's probably from the centre of this platform here going outwards, and that's it. And uh we call it the dog pit, so we've got a big bulldog in the middle of it, so with a dog pit written across it. That looks alright. Yeah, still a bit too colourful for me, but it looks a bit better. It looks it looks rough, I like it.

SPEAKER_02 6:42

Yeah, all the dog pits in the name, so I guess they stand toe-to-toe in that ring, do they?

SPEAKER_00 6:47

Oh, you can't you can't get away from anyone there. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:49

Perfect, that's what you want. I think I've seen videos before of your dads. I think even yourselves and all your help down there of doing like King of the Ring. Yeah, they're all in there. And I think I actually remember speaking to your dad about it, and I said, Oh, I love that when you threw everyone in the ring and they had to defend themselves.

SPEAKER_00 7:02

Oh, yeah, there'll be 12 boxes in there at once or something. We used to do, I remember when I first started, we used to do peevack boxing as well. You used to have two boxes on each other's shoulders, and the two at the two at the bottom had to balance and the two on the top was having a tear-up.

SPEAKER_02 7:14

Not a way. That's brilliant, brilliant. The old school ways are the best ways.

SPEAKER_00 7:20

Oh yeah, you you struggle doing things like that anymore, though.

SPEAKER_02 7:23

Yeah, you do, velving safety and boxing breathing down your neck. Because I guess when you walked into the gym as an eight-year-old, you were given a set of gloves and air guard and told to spar. Yeah. Whereas nowadays they can't spar until they've had the medical, they're carded. Ten, isn't it? Is it ten?

SPEAKER_00 7:40

Ten years old to spar.

SPEAKER_02 7:42

Because they changed all the rulings and stuff and stuff. Yeah. So you walked into Charden, eight, you just said it back there, you got punched in the face, fell in love with it. Um, not a lot of people would say that. I'm sure a lot of people would say, Oh, it wasn't for me, or I wasn't too sure. So, yeah, did you go home and tell your dad got punched in the face, I loved it, I want to go back?

SPEAKER_00 8:04

And from what I remember, yeah. I I remember Chelvin was almost really family oriented as a gym with all of the coaches there and all of the boxers there. It's one of them. The first thing you think of, you're going down to a boxing gym, there's going to be a load of a load of rough kids there. Um everyone's going to be staring at you, everyone's going to want to start something with you. You walk in and they welcomed you in with open arms in in Chalvedon. And um I don't even know initially whether it was a sport that I fell in love with or just the community that I that I got introduced to. But um, yeah, I made mates like that. Um I grew I grew up training with the Coopers, Tommy, Francie, and Tony as well. Um, we came up from babies. There was loads of us there. Um, yeah, I I I remember what going home, and I think I ended up going twice a week, then three times a week. Then I started taking it seriously, started doing my random things like that, and uh it was one of them. The first thing you do as soon as you walk into the gym, even as a kid in the end, you go, When are we sparring? I ain't even skipped yet, I ain't even warmed up. Yeah, I ain't even got my hands wrapped, when are we sparring? I ain't got my gums. You can spar anyway. It was one of them. All I wanted to do was spar.

SPEAKER_02 9:14

Whereas nowadays, as I don't know if you find it in Charleston, I very much doubt you do with the dog pit in there, but do you find in some gyms that kids sort of shy away from the sparring now? They you don't hear that enough.

SPEAKER_00 9:24

The kids are like, when we sparring the I feel like nowadays you definitely do. Especially when they get. I think I think as babies, I don't know, yeah. They they definitely do shy away from it.

SPEAKER_02 9:37

I don't think forgot my gum shields and stuff like that.

SPEAKER_00 9:40

It's definitely in the bottom of their bag somewhere. Yeah, London. Or they flush it down the toilet. We've got an old Maserator down our club, and the amount of times it started churning up something, we've gone in, opened it up, and somebody's flushed their gum shield down. No way. Wow, we've had it so many times. It's nearly flooded, or it has flooded the gym a couple of times because of it. But um, it's a nightmare. But I I feel I feel like boxing's not got the same amount of kids with that sort of mindset anymore. I feel like even myself, I was always relatively wrapped up as a kid. I was looked after really well. Whereas you go back 20 years from now, kids growing up, they they was uh street rakers, they was going around, they was never indoors on the Xbox or on their phones. Yeah, yeah. The only way they knew if their mates were at is if they saw a bike outside somebody else. Do you know what I mean? That's the only that's the only way they got in contact with each other. But I feel like there's there's too much comfort in the world now, and I feel like that's why kids avoid things like that so much. Yeah, I feel like it should be introduced into schools. Um you see nine times out of ten, you could tell a boxer by looking at them. Like myself, I've gone from having a pretty little nose to a nose halfway across my face. But you go on a night out, and all of these people who know how to fight, those are the ones that don't fight. They've got the most discipline, they've got the best mannerisms. I I just feel like boxing is such such a good sport in in that sort of aspect, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_02 11:13

No, it is definitely, and it's it's the biggest cliche saying is boxing changes people's lives massively. You know, I've said it so many times on here, like a broken record to the listeners and viewers, but um it's no other sport where you you don't need a darts player or a footballer say change my life, that's it, it doesn't happen. But it's boxing, it's it's it's just because of those things that you said, the values, the discipline.

SPEAKER_00 11:36

Yeah, and that's that's without the money as well. Yeah, exactly. You get boxers who don't own a penny who lose money out of the sport and it's sure it changes their lives a little better. Um but yeah, I think it's brilliant.

SPEAKER_02 11:48

And and I hope that will we will we ever get look, not all kids are like that, are they? But I hope that we can get some of them old traditions and values back into the the youth of today.

SPEAKER_00 11:59

But I think it would be hard to do so, but I never never say never. Not exactly say never. I I know some some schools and things like that or or youth youth district sort of areas are starting to incorporate boxing again, yeah, whether it's non-contact or what, but yeah, the fact that they are slowly reincorporating it into an educational side of side of things is is is a glimmer of hope.

SPEAKER_02 12:21

Yeah, and I know we're jumping way ahead at the moment. Um but with the work that you d you do, Dana Chalden, do you do you see that it's um like 20 years ago we had the dog, we wanted to go and do it ourselves, we enjoy getting punched in the face. But nowadays it's more like the kids don't want to get punched in the face, but their dads, they would they want they want them to do it. Do you see that?

SPEAKER_00 12:47

You see a lot of it. Unfortunately, it is the majority as well. Don't go wrong, I've got lads down the gym, they come in and they're raring to go.

SPEAKER_02 12:54

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:55

But say a year before then, they they was timid, they were shying away, and some of them was being pushed into it. But once they start finding that bit of self-belief, they start believing in themselves, they then want to do it. But we we've had it before, we've had some kids come in and we we almost we we just speak to them and out of them, see if they've done anything beforehand or anything at the bar, just before we let them in. And we'll ask the kid their name and the dad answers for them. You said he goes, has he has he got a tongue? Yeah. The kid might be 14 years old, and the dad goes, Yeah, why? He goes, Well let him let him speak then. A lot of a lot of people nowadays the parents are speaking for the children, so the children can't learn that confidence, they can't find that bit of self-belief because they don't know it, they've never been taught it. But um, yeah, unfortunately, a lot of kids do seem to be pressured into it, and even the ones that are really, really good at it, you'll see further down the line when they get to start making decisions for themselves, even though they are that good at it, the fact that they've been pressured into it their whole life, they fall out of love with the sport.

SPEAKER_02 13:59

They fall out of love with it, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:00

It's a shame.

SPEAKER_02 14:01

Nah, it is definitely, definitely. So back to yourself in your career uh at Chelverton. Um when did you get carded? And do you remember your first your first poll that you had?

SPEAKER_00 14:14

Yeah, I got I got carded, I got carded at 10 years old, and I remember I had my first I had my first skills bat a la against a lad called Isaac Draper. Um and I performed really well there. I pulled it out of the bag. I I was never a technically good fighter. Um I was never that great as a kid. But uh after that I just pulled it out of the bag, performed well in front of a crowd. I performed well under the pressure, and I got I got told from there no more skills back straight away. That was only my first one. And then um I went and won my first five amateur fights, and then I lost my sixth and seventh on a bounce. Uh, and then after that I started progressing. It was all ups and downs. I I thought after my first five wins I was unbeatable. I started believing myself a little bit too much. Not saying it's a bad thing, but I was nowhere near as good as as what I was what I had in my head, so I was enjoying the training a little bit too much, wasn't working as hard necessarily, and uh and ultimately it cost me my next two fights. But I got on. Um in the amateurs, I always hit the post up until a senior. I'd always reach the finals, the semi-finals, and I just couldn't quite get past that. I always had one lad in my category every year, do you know Patrice? Yeah. Patrice Malguzi. Yeah, yeah. And he'd always draw me in the semi-finals, and it was so frustrating. I had the first time I fought him, um, nearly got disqualified. I had two point deductions because I held on for him for dear life because he wouldn't let go, uh, because he wouldn't stop running away. Uh, and he just danced around me, had fun with it. The second time I didn't box too bad, and the first time I managed to get it down to a split decision loss. And I remember even though I lost a fight, when they announced it was a split decision, I've turned around to the corner and I've gone like that to the old man. He's got he's just looked at me with a weird face, when I don't care. I said, I've just managed to get that lad down to a split decision, I've got to cherish that. But um small victories, small victories, yeah. Take it one step at a time. But um, unfortunately, I didn't get to fight him again after that. But yeah, yeah, I ended up having 66 fights as an amateur. Wow. So uh From the ages of 10 to From 10 to 20.

SPEAKER_02 16:26

20.

SPEAKER_00 16:26

20.

SPEAKER_02 16:28

10 years as an amateur.

SPEAKER_00 16:29

Yeah, I had a little bit of time out when I turned 18. I just finished college, and uh I damaged the ligaments of my left wrist. And I ended up not training for nine months. I said to my mum and dad, I said, listen, I said, I'm done with boxing. I said, I'm hanging the gloves up, and I said, I actually went to university. I was going to university studying physiotherapy and sports massage, and um my old man went to me one day, he went, it's such a shame. He said the he said the championships the next week, he said, I'll put you in good stead to beat everyone as well. And luckily enough, I only had a soft cast on, so we took the cast off. I dropped a stone in six days, being 18 years old. Um, no, I would have been 19 at the time, and ended up boxing seven times, beating all seven of them, knocking out four of them. I've never I've never really had many stoppages as an amateur, and they all come one after another. The pre-quarters, quarters, semi-finals, and finals, I stopped everyone. Um when I won my first national title, and I said to my old man, I said, I've got to drop out of uni now. I said, I've got to do this. I think I might even still be enrolled in uni, I just haven't been for about two years. I just I ain't got a clue. Yeah, and uh, and that's how the pro journey started.

SPEAKER_02 17:40

Yeah. So do you reckon um them knockouts come because you just hit that certain age and you you find yourself in your body, like a lot of people talk about it on D WN amateur transition into pros about finding your man's strength.

SPEAKER_00 17:53

So do you think you sort of got it at that age and then I I've always been I've always been relatively strong, but before I tell you what, I think it was a sole fact that where I hadn't trained for nine months, I wasn't fit enough to get on my toes and dance around. So I didn't really have the option but to stand in front of people and try and have a go. Because I wasn't fit enough to dance around. Yeah. Any other time I tried boxing on the back foot, throwing these silly check hooks, trying to trying to tap and move, and it never really well I'd done well out of it. I I won 52 out of 66 fights, I didn't do too bad. But in them senior championships, even though these lads are older than me and things like that, where I had no choice but to sit down on my shots, I started finding power that I never knew that I had. And um I'm still maturing now. I've still got another couple of years of maturing in me. So I'm only gonna I'm only gonna do it harder. Yeah, thankfully. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 18:48

Did you win did you win the Tri Nations?

SPEAKER_00 18:51

Never boxing the Tri Nations.

SPEAKER_02 18:53

Oh what did we what was we watching here then? It must have been It must have been in the Nationals then.

SPEAKER_00 19:01

Yeah, I won the Nationals, that was up in Bridlington. Um the only other thing I've really boxed in other than that that I won was in Mungstown.

SPEAKER_02 19:09

So it had to have been the Nationals that we watched you win then? Yeah, because you said you knocked every knocked everyone out.

SPEAKER_00 19:15

Yeah, I I stopped the lads in the finals, if that's what it was. I stopped the lad in about a minute and after the first round.

SPEAKER_02 19:20

Yeah, um Black Kids bought was he bought?

SPEAKER_00 19:26

Oh, that that one was uh Yeah, that would have been the semi-finals in Bristol.

SPEAKER_02 19:33

Yeah, I remember watching because it was in a it was well as they all are mainly in the sports hall. Yeah. You were in the end ring, so it would have been C if there was A B C. Yeah. Sure. I'm sure he was in the end ring.

SPEAKER_00 19:44

That might have been Fire Verk, his name was. Uh I think he was a Midlands boxer. I'll tell you what, that fight I've never been it so hard in my life.

SPEAKER_02 19:52

I was gonna say you wobbled you first. Yeah, you wobbled you first, and then you came back and yeah, I I lost the first round big.

SPEAKER_00 19:59

I remember I tried standing toe to toe with him, and he hit me a couple of times, and I've gone, Oh my god, yeah, what's going on here then? Um, and yeah, I've never I've never been it like that. He was moving me from pillar to post. And in the second round, my old man he's looked at me and he's gone, Sonny, you went, you need to do something here. And I thought, I can't keep taking shots like that, so I've got to take a chance and throw a big shot. And thankfully I did, and uh and I put him over and then uh I stopped him about 30 seconds after that. I landed another two big hooks, but um yeah, I wouldn't have wanted that fight to go another round anyway. Yeah, he was a strong, strong fella.

SPEAKER_02 20:30

Yeah, it must have been it had to have been it had to have been that one. Remember that because you you also boxed one of our good friends, uh Akash, or he's known as AK. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, that's it. I think he'll hate me for saying it, but you stopped you stopped him as well. I think did I stop him? So you yeah, or was that in the London you stopped him?

SPEAKER_00 20:49

Trying to think. I I know I know I beat uh AK in it was at Dagham Roundhouse. The Roundhouse?

SPEAKER_02 20:55

Yeah, it was at the Roundhouse, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:56

I I I don't I don't think I did stop him.

SPEAKER_02 20:59

Yeah, I thought he'd shit. I best had to that old then. Listen, I might have done.

SPEAKER_00 21:04

I'll take too many punches to know. I I know I know I gave I think I gave him a count in the eighth uh in the last round, but I don't I don't think I did stop him. No I might be completely wrong there.

SPEAKER_02 21:19

I hope you're right, for my sake. I'll claim it is. There's me saying, oh, you you you stopped one of my armates, you stopped one of my mates, and we didn't even stop him.

SPEAKER_00 21:27

I might have done to be fair. I might have done. I just don't remember exactly.

SPEAKER_02 21:30

But you said you've had 66 damage about your memory might have gone a little bit.

SPEAKER_00 21:34

Alright, I remember AK. That was the NABC. I think wasn't he an Eastern County's fighter?

SPEAKER_02 21:43

Er he No's boxing for at the time, he might have been boxing for Dagnam.

SPEAKER_00 21:49

That's what I think. Yeah, Dagnham. So he would have come under London, wouldn't he? Yeah, I remember that one because I lost afterwards to Jack Orham in the semi finals because I boxed. In the Eastern Counties, I had to box in the quarter finals on Friday, the semi-finals on Saturday, the finals on Sunday, and I boxed for a Central Area Youth title on the Monday as well. So I boxed four times in four days. Um I boxed again Friday. No, no, that the Eastern Counties final was a Friday following, so I had an Eastern Counties pre-quarter. That's how many people was in my category, and I think I boxed AK the round after that. Yeah. So the following weekend, so it was a busy, busy time.

SPEAKER_02 22:26

Busy time, yeah. Whereas now you're just seeing people getting like final.

SPEAKER_00 22:30

Oh yeah, straight bytes, straight walkovers. Yeah, I remember having to box four or five times to get out of Eastern Counties.

SPEAKER_02 22:36

Some people are lucky, some people are.

SPEAKER_00 22:38

I tell you what, I'd I'd hate to win the Eastern Counties without fighting.

SPEAKER_02 22:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:44

I think I won the Eastern Counties 12 times, maybe 13 times, and I had to box no less than three times every time to get out of Eastern Counties. Yeah. Tough fights as well.

SPEAKER_02 22:55

Bit more of achievements, innit? Not to say that people who get through that isn't achievement because they've still got to turn up and win it. But yeah, of course, absolutely. It feels a bit more special, doesn't it? Where you've got to go through all those stages.

SPEAKER_00 23:05

Yeah, you've paved your way of that a little bit more, do you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_02 23:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 23:08

So go going back to you and your dad, um, someone who didn't want you to box, what was your relationship like? Because I'm guessing he coached it all the way through.

SPEAKER_00 23:19

Yeah, so uh to start off with you just helping out. It must have been when I was 12 years old, 13 years old when he really started taking it over. But um people think, oh, your dad, you're gonna get special treatment. I wish they don't know your dad then. No, little Dave was an angry man. Yeah, I didn't call you little. Um but um I used to have it, it was always that father and son sort of bomb where we we get along like best mates, but sometimes it'll work against us where he'd tell me to do something, and because he's told me to, I won't do it. And the amount of times I had it, I lived three miles up the road from where I live uh from the gym, and the amount of times he's called a combination out on a pad or something like that, and I go, I I don't like the way that works. And we'll we'll turn into an argument and he'll grab my bag and he'll throw it into the alleyway and he'll make me walk home three miles down the road. So I'm getting there, about 45 minutes gone by, and I see my old man drive past my way home thinking he's gonna give me a lift, and he just looks at me and carries on driving. But um no, he was he always wanted what what he always wanted the most out of me, and he always wanted what's best for me. Um he looked after me really well during the amateurs coaching wise. I think all the coaches did. Dave, Charlie Blake, all of them did. But um yeah, he's he's like my best mate, my old man. Uh and he's I'm I'm with him most of the day every day, even when I train now, he's he's always in the gym just watching, just I think he's learning off of it as well. He's always learning. Um he just he just lives and breathes the sport, he's taken over his life now. Yeah, but um it was uh I don't think that no, there's not been one fight where he wasn't in my corner. So for 66 fights he was in my corner, and even in the pros, he's been in my corner every fight. So it's nice.

SPEAKER_02 25:08

Oh yeah, it's nice to still have that bond, even as you've you've stepped on to the pros. So you had that you had that little break, you come back, you're knocking people out, win your first national title. What this at what moment did you decide, right, I'm I'm gonna turn professional?

SPEAKER_00 25:28

The second I got out of the ring after the national finals, I said to my old man, because I I was gonna I said to him, I took the cast off, lost the weight, I had the first fight, and where I dropped the weight so quickly, and I hadn't trained in ages, I ended up catching a chest infection, and I was in a bad way for the first two fights. I said to my dad, I said, listen, I said if I lose, I said, I'm giving it a go. I said, if I lose, it's no problem. I said, I'll knock it on the head. I said, I'll go back to you and he finish off my course. And he's going, Yeah, it's fair enough. But I ended up going on winning it. I go, I went to him, oh no, I've got to give it a go now. I said I can't not give it a go. It's been my whole life, and I knocked it on the air because of an injury. Now the injury's miraculously cleared up somehow. I said, I said it's it's almost like a calling for me. So um we spoke to Kevin. Kevin told me we were at a show, he we've known him through family friends all my life. And uh he said to me, old man, when I was 12 years old, he'd come over. He went, When he wants to turn pro, he said, let me know. And he said, I'll look after him, and he he kept his word. And uh I'll be forever grateful for it. He took me straight under his wing, and um and here we are.

SPEAKER_02 26:30

Yeah. So you you made that decision, and then you debut with most professionals, are certainly local ones. You made it at your call. What was what was that like?

SPEAKER_00 26:40

That's unbelievable. I've um I've always been quite good with nerves. I've I've always I always get that bit of adrenaline rush before the fight. Like 20 minutes before a fight, I'll get a little bit of butterflies, but more excitement, bit of pre-anticipation for what's what's coming. Um I'm getting the butterflies, and all of a sudden I'm I'm waiting behind the stage for my name to be called out to do my ring walk. And the second I stood up, the lights are on me. There's there was hundreds of people cheering me on. It was it was emotional. It was a weird, weird feeling to think, yeah, I've I've made this myself, and and all of these people really believe in me. And I think that there's there's something special about that. That alone is something I'll never forget, never forget. It's it's weird. You're going out there for your first fight, only being four rounds looking at it now. My next fight, touch wood's gonna be a 10 rounder, and um you're going out there fighting a journal in your first fight, but it means everything, it means absolutely everything. It's is it's different now looking back on it, but it meant absolutely everything.

SPEAKER_02 27:41

Well, it the biggest device, and I'm sure Kev said this to you in the changes. Um the you only get one day, but you should go out and enjoy it.

SPEAKER_00 27:48

Yeah, absolutely. I remember I managed to get one clip that blew up a little bit from my debut fight, and um I thought I'm I'm either gonna mug myself right off here and I'm gonna get clipped and either go on my ass or just or just look like an idiot, or it's gonna look unbelievable. And I've managed to drop my hands, stay dead in front of this guy, and I've I've managed to get out of the way of about four or five shots by about a millimeter of each shot.

SPEAKER_02 28:10

Was that on your debut?

SPEAKER_00 28:11

That was my debut.

SPEAKER_02 28:12

I remember that clip, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:13

I didn't think that was on Yazebu. That was that was my professional debut, that was in the last round.

SPEAKER_02 28:18

I bet you that went down like a lebloo when you got back to the corner, didn't it?

SPEAKER_00 28:22

Yeah. I no, I'll tell you what, Kevin saw the bright side on that. He was calling me Sonnychenko for the next four weeks. Oh, was it? Yeah, but um yeah, that that video done really well. But I thought to myself, he got to the fourth round. I thought, I'm hitting this lab with absolutely everything, and this fellas not this fella's laughing at me, he's dancing at me. I'm not gonna knock him out, I'm not gonna stop him, I might as well have a bit of fun with it and try to put on a show. Yeah, and I managed to do that.

SPEAKER_02 28:46

Yeah, yeah, I didn't realize it was on your debut. I've seen I've seen that clip, yeah. I'll trust Kev to find the funny side. Did your dad find the funny side, or was he like, keep your hands up?

SPEAKER_00 28:57

Like I think they both let me off of it. Yeah, because you probably so for my first two pro fights, it was mainly my dad training me at the time. Okay. Um Kevin was Kevin was my trainer and manager, but I was doing a lot of the work with my old man uh still at Chalvedon. So um we hadn't necessarily transitioned fully into that pro style. I still had my hands halfway up or down by my waist, slipping with my hands low. But um, in the training rooms before my fights, Kevin made sure to reiterate the fact that hands up because it doesn't take a lot to get caught with an eight-ounce gloves nowadays. But um, I still found a way of dropping my hands.

SPEAKER_02 29:37

Yeah. So your style sort of um do you think your style's changed in the amateurs into the proles?

SPEAKER_00 29:45

Oh, a hundred percent. Yeah, a hundred percent. In the amateurs, you'd never see me with my hands up. Never seen with my hands up, it just wasn't in my nature. Um I always felt like I was more elusive and I can move better with my hands down, but you get older, you start maturing, other people start maturing, and the shots start to hurt a little bit. And there's only so many punches that you can take with your hands down by your waist before you wake up and think, you know what, I've got to actually start being a bit more practical about this, get my hands up and start looking long term, finding that bit of longevity. Oh, I want to be boxing until I'm 30. Yeah, I don't want to be getting caught with silly shots early on.

SPEAKER_02 30:20

Yeah, exactly. And what's it like been learning from Kevin Mitchell, like someone who's been around and had that experience?

SPEAKER_00 30:27

It's been really good. It's been really good. Um to start with, I didn't understand why the training was so hard. I thought Kevin was just overdoing it, pushing us. Um me and Kevin had a few bickers in the gym, but then again, that was just that just came with maturity. After a while, a few things started to click into place, only small minor things, like a certain step, for instance, or the way I'd pivot off of a jab, or the way I'd throw a jab. And small things like that will start clicking into place. I'm sitting there thinking, oh my god, this is why we're doing this. I'm starting to understand the fundamentals behind it. It's it's like starting from scratch. Yeah. Fresh canvas, blank canvas. Kevin's doing whatever he needs to do with it, and he's he's building me into a new boxer, and he has done that. I've matured, I've gotten fitter, stronger, I've never been this fit in my life. But yeah, now now Kev's like a coach to me and a good mate. He's a very good mate. Um, I'm very grateful for what he's done with my career and and going into the future as well. I think I think we've got a very strong team behind us.

SPEAKER_02 31:32

Yeah. Well, you're 11 and old at the moment, so you've you've rocketed your way through. Um but normally like we were chatting off camera when when you came in, you mentioned the you've done your apprenticeship now. Um, and then I replied with you you have. A lot of people have already will do it in four or five fights and then get their shot. So is that what's next for you now? You've done your apprenticeship that a summary area fight is gonna come next for you. Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 32:02

I bel I believe I was ready for a southern area three or four fights ago. Uh, as I said to you again off camera, my last four fights were all scheduled to be a 50-50 contest. Um, but the opponents have been putting out within two days of the fight, so it's frustrating. You're having to get a late notice filling. No nobody looking for a 50-50 is gonna take a fight in two days' notice. You can't blame them for it, they want to camp for the fight. But it's frustrating as myself because I want to progress, so I want to give the people a show who are paying their harder money to come and watch me fight. And it's frustrating to do that when when you have got a late notice filling. Um, the only fight that was scheduled to be a 50-50 that did end up going ahead was uh with Ellison Suchi, and that was a tough, tough fight. We both we both stepped up really early there. Those two unbeaten fighters, you don't really see that at this stage. No, but yeah, I've I've I've got my eye on quite a few domestic level fighters. I want to fight for a southern area, I want I want to challenge myself because I don't feel like I can progress any further than what I am unless I have them fights. I know how good I am and I want to show everyone how good I am. Do you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_02 33:07

So is that is that your goals within the property and is is just to get that first professional title and see what comes from it?

SPEAKER_00 33:15

Yeah, yeah, I I think I want I want to do it the right route, I want to do it the domestic level route, I want to do the southern area, the English, the British, the Commonwealth, and then go on to the Europeans, Intercontinentals, and things like that. Um if a if a belt, if a European title comes up and the options there, I'll take it, don't get me wrong. But I I think there's no better belt in professional boxing than that British boxing belt, that the than the Lonsdale belt. I I think it's there's something special about that belt. And um I think it's only only a matter of time that I get that belt.

SPEAKER_02 33:48

Yeah, and and at the moment uh the plans to stay at the weight that you're like, there's no plans to move up or down or nothing.

SPEAKER_00 33:56

No, I'm I'm massive for the weight I'm currently at. Like I'm I'm feeling out and maintaining the weight well. Um I used to get a little bit carried away outside of camp putting on the weight and then having to drop it all off, but now I'm maintaining my weight a lot better. Um, fighting at super featherweight. My last three fights now have been at super feather. I've I've knocked people out at super light now, lightweight and super featherweight. And through super featherweight, I'm I'm I just feel like I'm massive. I went from winning the nationals at 63 and a half in the amateurs, my first senior fight at 68, and I'm fighting just under 59. It's nearly a 10 kilo difference when I was an amateur. It just shows that I wasn't training as hard as I should have been in the amateurs, and and now I'm living the sport the way it should be lived.

SPEAKER_02 34:40

Well, you're reaping the rewards from absolutely yeah.

SPEAKER_00 34:44

Yeah, I I regret that I didn't do it sooner. I feel like I would have won a lot more in the amateurs if I did that earlier. But it's all trials and tribulations and it's all learning and maturing.

SPEAKER_02 34:53

Massively, and you know, and I again another thing I preach so much is L stands for learning and the amateurs don't stand for loss. You know what, and and and you're you're seeing that, and again you're reaping it from in your in your program, you're understanding that, and there's a reason why you're 11 and oh and not you know that's what I I never really had easy fights as an amateur.

SPEAKER_00 35:15

My old man was a matchmaker, and I think he deliberately want to see me have hard fights. I think he just likes seeing me get punched in the face. But um, yeah, I always say it to kids nowadays, you get a lot of them they say, Oh, I'm fighting in two weeks' time. What's his name? Don't matter what his name is. What's he done? Don't matter what he's done. It's gonna be similar to you. Yeah. Oh yeah. Orthodox of South Park. I say, stop worrying. I say, listen, at your point, I said, you're an amount of boxer, you've had two fights. I said, Your priority shouldn't be I want to go 3-0 by the end of the year. It should be I want to have had 10 fights by the end of the year. Get out and be as productive and as active as possible. That's the only way you're gonna learn. Yeah. If you sit there and constantly procrastinate about who you're fighting and sit there and worry, just go out there and enjoy the sport you're doing. Yeah. If you panic all the time, there's there's no point doing it.

SPEAKER_02 36:05

No, exactly. And and um one of our previous guests, who was one of the people you were sparring, who was said, Louis Ward, he he he mentioned that the you know he wishes the kids would just go out and just get that experience. That's something the Americans have over us. They have so many more fights than us, it's because we're worried of what's his name? What schools do you go to? Self-world docks, just like you said, just you just do your work in the gym, turn up and be the best fair in the yourself on the day.

SPEAKER_00 36:32

But I've always said it to I said it to a lad the other day that I was training as well. Or always technically the kid's unbelievable, but he's just got no self-belief, and I can't understand why. But I said to him, I said, I said, what's the matter? He goes, I just get nervous. He goes, don't you get nervous? I go, I do get nervous. I said, everyone gets nervous. I said, I I absolutely shit myself before I fight. I said, I'm not gonna lie to you. I said, but those those nerves they remind you of why you why you've trained so hard, they remind you of the sport that you love, they they remind you of how passionate you are about the sport, and rather than running from the nerves, you've got to get in there and use them nerves to your advantage and and use that passion, that hard work, that dedication, and and that willpower then through the nerves to get to go out there and perform well.

SPEAKER_02 37:16

Yeah. Do you think the work that you do now helping out a a traveling, them kids just look up to you straight away because you've had a seasoned amateur career and now you're 11 hours as a professional? Do you think they straight away just want to a bit like you are Kev Mitchell now? Do you do you see them kids as like what you are with Kev that they just want to take all your knowledge?

SPEAKER_00 37:37

Absolutely. I I see it's it's funny you say that actually. There are there's a lot of the kids looking up to me, and uh and it is nice. I do like helping out the kids, and I do like seeing them progress and do well. I just like seeing them enjoy the sport. Don't be wrong, I I've trained some kids through my years who they're never gonna box. They're just they've not got it in their nature, but they're enjoying what they're doing, and there's nothing that puts a smile on my face more than see a kid enjoying what he's doing, yeah. But um, yeah, there's there's some kids in that gym. We've got we've got Timmy Aken Rimbola, and we've got Jaden Saker. Those two kids are very early seniors, they're both just turned 18. Uh, Timmy won the developments last year. Jaden Saker's a three-time national champion. Both of them kids, they're their their resume, let alone their actual boxing style and their talent, completely puts what I wasn't as an amateur to shame. They've not had anywhere near as many fights as me, but on the path that they're going, they're going to be a lot better than what I was during the amateurs. And it's good to see, and that's what I want to see. Yeah, I want to see kids doing better. That's all I want, and that and they are doing that. They are doing that.

SPEAKER_02 38:44

As like I said, it's re rewarding. Yeah. Rewarding, rewarding for you, and it goes hand in hand with you, with your day job in the pros.

SPEAKER_00 38:54

Even now, you're gonna you're you're starting to see some of the littlens where we've got national champions in the gym, they're starting to look up to them, and the national champions are looking up to me, and and in a few years' time, there's gonna be new littlens coming through the club that are gonna be looking up to the littlens at the bottom right now. It's gonna be that sort of cycle, yeah. And I hope it maintains it like that. I hope all of these kids constantly progress and inspire one another. Uh, and I think that that's what motivates a lot of the kids nowadays. Again, it's a community like what I was going back to when I first started. I think that strides kids on big time.

SPEAKER_02 39:24

No, it does massively. So I'll just put you on the spot 12-18 months' time. Where where do you see yourself at in the pros?

SPEAKER_00 39:34

Um 12 to 18 months time, southern area title. Um any other title I can get in the process. I'd like to be, I'd like to have fought or be lined up for an English or a British by then. Um and I'd like to be I'd like to have sat down or be due to sit down in regards to a contract at that point. Again, I I feel like by that point my stocks will be well up. I feel like I'd have proved a lot of a lot of people right and a lot of doubters wrong. And um, yeah, I just I just need some of these names that I'm asking for to come forward and fight to allow me to progress onto that. Yeah, I want the hard fights.

SPEAKER_02 40:17

Well, let's hope they do transition and and you do get what you want because you've certainly put the graft in, you certainly ain't it. And again, we'll use that analogy that you said, you've certainly done your apprenticeship, so you you you it you rightfully should earn that that that that shot, and yeah, hopefully it does come out and you get what you want.

SPEAKER_00 40:36

Yes, absolutely, that's ambition.

SPEAKER_02 40:38

Yeah, and as always, we'll be following like we have in your amateur career, watching you on the tele. Um we'll be doing the same in the pros. So best of luck, and thanks for coming down and telling your story, really appreciate it. And say hello to your dad and tell him I want him on the podcast.

SPEAKER_00 40:55

I'll get him down for the next podcast.

SPEAKER_02 40:57

I want to hear, I want to ask him the question of why didn't you want Sonny to box?

SPEAKER_00 41:01

I want to know the answer to that as well. You know what? I'm not even gonna ask him, I'm gonna get him down and you can ask him.

SPEAKER_02 41:05

Yeah, that can ask him, yeah, and then and then you can find out. But no, he he he's been obviously a massive inspiration to you and and and where you are, so we'll give a massive prompts to him for sure.

SPEAKER_00 41:16

Yeah, 100%. Even though he didn't get me into the sport, which is what I just found out. Yeah, but he's moulded you in it. I I would have never ended up continuing the sport if it wasn't for him. Yeah, and he never pushed me into it, he was one of them. Well, I've had it before where I doubted myself, and he'd go, I had it before I had four losses on the trot, all to good kids, but I started losing heart in it. My old man, he went, if you want to knock it on the head, knock it on the head. He'd never put any pressure on my shoulders. And um it just made that sport that little bit more enjoyable, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 41:45

And that's the best way to be in there, that's why he's probably got the best out of you, and and why you're so close as well, because that respect's there for each for each other, but but yeah, props to him and and and to you, and we wish him all the best and you all the best, and Chalvadin, and I said, more importantly, your pro career. Thank you very much, it means a lot. We'll um we'll be tuning in. But yeah, thanks again, thank you, guys. Thanks very much for for watching and listen, listening on today. Oh Sonny's fantastic, and you know, gritting an amateur career, like you said, over 60 odds about there, and he's rising through them pro ranks 11 and 0. And less fingers crossed, he he gets that shot that he rightly deserves. He's done his apprenticeship, he's ready to take on them big big fights and get that that belt. So if you don't give it, give him a follow on social media. Uh Sonny Hardy, just follow the hard work he does in the jib with Kevin Mitchell, uh, and also the great work he does for the amateurs, giving back to the sport that made him who he is. So, yeah, follow him. Uh, and if you don't give us a like and subscribe on our YouTube channel and a nice rating wherever you pick up your podcast, and as always, be prepared to step into the ring and be first.