John Hedges, the six foot five teenager out to make an impression at light-heavyweight

Latest
Boxers Issue Premium

John Hedges

James Chance/Getty Images

John Hedges will box on the February 27 O2 Arena show

When and why you started boxing:
My brother boxed, my dad boxed. I come from a fighting family.

Favourite all-time fighter:
It changes but I’d have to say Canelo Álvarez, for his inside and outside the ring performance.

Best fight you’ve seen:
Michael Katsidis versus Graham Earl – an all-time great fight.

Personal career highlight:
Signing for Matchroom on my 18th birthday. To get with Eddie Hearn right from the start, it’s pretty much unheard of.

Toughest opponent:
I boxed a Swedish lad in the Schwerin Box Cup tournament. I won gold but it was war of a fight.

Best and worst attributes as a boxer:
My best attributes are my boxing brain and I know how to use my height. I need to not just be a quick picky puncher but also be a power puncher.

Training tip:
Train very hard but don’t overtrain. Rest is as important as the training.

Favourite meal/restaurant:
After a fight I like a really greasy Chinese takeaway and then a day after I go for a nice Italian steak.

Best friends in boxing:
My management team, and the family we’ve made at our stable, Mark Tibbs, Johnny Fisher, Harvey Horn, Tommy Fletcher. We all train together. It’s a great team.

Other sportsperson you would like to be:
Someone like Ronnie O’Sullivan. He doesn’t get punched, he keeps his marbles. It’s a great sport, you can’t really get too old for it.

Last film/TV show you saw:
After Life, the new series, it’s good.

Who would play you in a film of your life:
Leonardo DiCaprio. I look a little like him with the curtains and you see how good he done in Wolf of Wall Street.

Have you ever been starstruck:
Tyson Fury. I live close to Cambridge and I was ordering food and he came in behind me. We sat on a park bench and ate together.

Last time you cried:
It would probably be the last time I lost a fight, back in the amateurs.

Best advice received:
Jimmy Tibbs telling me to put on a bit of weight. When I turned pro I thought unless I boxed at super-middleweight I would never have a chance.

Worst rumour about yourself:
I got a lot of criticism after my debut, there were a lot of haters. I took quite a bit of abuse online. That’s when I decided to switch [trainer] to Mark Tibbs and it was the best move I’ve ever made.

Something not many people know about you:
After I boxed in the [Schwerin] the whole of my face dropped on the left hand side. It looked like a stroke. I went to the hospital and they shaved my head ready to operate on me and it turned out it wasn’t a blood clot, it was actually Bell’s Palsy, is a virus that affects the muscle tissue in your face.

Products You May Like

Articles You May Like

De La Hoya tells Canelo to halt ‘defamatory’ claims
Top table tension as Canelo and De La Hoya clash
‘People die, this isn’t a joking matter’: Devin Haney on Garcia’s failed drug test
Squash matches are bad for everyone
‘Step up and face that man’: Bradley says if Canelo has any dignity he’ll face Benavidez

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *