By Ian Aldous: On Saturday March 11th, Craig Kennedy (16-0) battles Stephen Simmons (15-2) for the vacant British cruiserweight title at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff, live on Channel 5 in the UK. The undefeated Welshman was due to be facing Matty Askin, but he was forced to withdraw just two weeks away from fight night. Last week I spoke with Craig, over the phone, about his journey to British gold just hours after the change of opponent was confirmed.
IA: We’re about two weeks away from fight night, how are preparations going and what stage are you at with the training camp for your huge British cruiserweight title fight against Stephen Simmons?
CK: Everything’s good, everything’s on point. I’m well above schedule. I knew about this (fight) a while back, so you can imagine Christmas was half cancelled this year, I didn’t have all the puddings and that, the treats. So we started our conditioning nice and early, we’ve been getting the early morning hill sprints in. I’m just feeling on point. It’s an opportunity which don’t come around every day and I’m gonna make sure I make the most of it and make sure that title stays in Wales.
IA: When you turned professional back at the start of 2013, did you ever genuinely imagine then that you’d be headlining a show at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff?
CK: No way in hell, little old me from Trowbridge, Cardiff! I’ve been to many shows at the Motorpoint Arena and it was just a dream of mine to think that one day potentially I might get on one of the undercards. But to be headlining, building a show around me, on terrestrial TV on Channel 5 is a dream come true. But I’m gonna make sure I don’t get caught up in all the hype, it’s another day at the office. I know if I do what I do best, the best Kennedy beats the best Simmons, it’s as simple as that.
IA: You get some world level fighters who can’t headline big arenas, do you think it’s the fact that you’re a really popular guy and a good ticket seller, does that help that you’re in the position you’re going to be in on March 11th?
CK: Of course. You know, it’s a business. Putting boxing aside, I treat people how I want to be treated and it’s paid off, you know. I’m a man of the community. I always give back and do as much as I can for different charities. I’ve had the whole east end of Cardiff behind me and now I’ve got the whole of Cardiff behind me. I’m hoping now my next effort is to get the whole of Wales behind me! It helps to be nice and that’s just in my nature, it’s the way I’ve been brought up, it’s not an act and thankfully it’s paid off.
IA: It’s been two years since the British cruiserweight championship has actually been fought for inside a ring. Ovill McKenzie had it for a while and he was off doing other things. That must seem crazy to you seeing as you’re a guy who likes to fight regularly?
CK: Ovill McKenzie kept it ransom (laughs). He was off doing what he was doing and there’s so much politics involved in boxing, you can’t just come in and take if off him. Thankfully the time is now and I just believe that I am number one, excluding (Tony) Bellew. I think I’m the best in the country, this is just another chance to prove it. We will see now on March 11th, who’s the best.
IA: I heard that a year or so ago, you travelled over to Russia to spar, what was that experience like and how did it come about?
CK: It was through my management. It was a guy out in Russia by the name of Dmitry Kudryashov. At the time, he was eighteen fights and eighteen wins with eighteen knockouts. So, as you can imagine he’s a natural killer. They wanted someone with a nice, loose style who can punch and the Russians rate the UK fighters. They had a middleman, a Russian guy based in Swindon, he got hold of my management and he thought I met the criteria. They asked me if I’d be interested and I jumped at it with both hands. I flew out to Russia and we stopped off in the capital but we didn’t stay there, then we went on another plane up into the mountains. I was in the middle of nowhere for three and a half weeks on my own, and they loved me, treated me like family. It all worked out well. The truth of the matter is that I did not really know how they’d take to me, me being a darkie. But with the experience that I had, I was loved. I did not see one person turn their nose up to me. If anything, they were quite intrigued by me. I was walking round with Dmitry, so I didn’t have a problem around the Olympic village (laughs). It was an experience and I take that experience into my career now. I’d been to Russia for three and half weeks on my own, no-one holding my hand. It was an experience that got me to believe in myself. Once I’ve done something like that, I can do anything. I’m still in touch with them now.
IA: You defeated Courtney Fry in June of 2015 in a British title eliminator, why do you think it’s taken so long for you to get your title shot? Is it purely because of Ovill McKenzie and the situation he was in?
CK: I’m the type of guy who tries to just stick to the boxing, my manager lines them up. They deal with all the politics, that’s the arrangement we’ve got. But, I just believe there was a lot of bad luck on my part. I do believe that I am the unluckiest cruiserweight out there and there’s many a man who would’ve quit by now if they would’ve been put against the tests I’ve faced. To date, I think I’ve had six or seven pull-outs and when you put in eight, ten or twelve week camps, and not only that financially, and putting my family through it, then the door just gets slammed in my face at the last hurdle, it’s not a nice thing. Thankfully my family and friends have kept me going. So, Matty Askin and the switch of opponent is nothing new to me. Nothing shocks me now, so it’s going to take more than that to stop me. I am winning that British title and it’s going to make it so much sweeter when I do because of the barriers that have been put up.
IA: Last year, you had your breakout fight on Channel 5 when you beat Joel Tambwe Djeko. After being cut within the first minute and being floored in the second, you battled back and got the decision. I think a lot of fighters would’ve been found out in a fight like that and they wouldn’t have been able to come through it.
CK: It was a good test of my character, it tested me as a fighter, tested me as a person. I ticked a couple of boxes I wasn’t sure I could overcome. I’d never been put down in training and I’ve sparred with world-class operators, so to go in there in front of a live audience and millions of viewers on terrestrial TV and ride that storm – cut in thirty seconds, put on my backside for the first ever time and still come through and win – that just shows you what type of man I am. Obviously it was all the conditioning I’d done and it just takes a lot of guts and desire and it just shows how much I want it.
IA: Am I right in saying that night Lee Haskins’ world title defence was the official main event, but you were on after him, right?
CK: That’s right, I obviously sold so many tickets, they learned in the past that my fans are practically there just for me and they’ve made that mistake in the past. They’ve put me on a bit earlier and the building has just emptied (laughs). They weren’t going to make that same mistake again. It was a twelve rounder but it would’ve been on Spike TV a bit earlier, so they just asked if they could put it as a ten-rounder on Channel 5, you get more viewers and thankfully it paid off. I could’ve potentially done with those extra two rounds but we dug deep and we got the victory.
IA: You’ve got two of the best people in your corner in Steve Robinson and Chris Sanigar, how key have they been to your development so far? They’re such good boxing people.
CK: Steve Robinson, the proof’s in the pudding. On two days notice, he won a world title, so you can imagine he’s constantly on my back and always keeping me in the gym. I’m just a true believer that I’ve had a lot of bad luck and at some point that bad luck has got to run out, and when it does I’ve got to make sure I’m ready. Steve Robinson was in the position I’m in now and hadn’t actually fought for a British title and on two days notice he got offered a world title shot and the rest is history. Chris Sanigar is a master of the sport, he’s a very smart man and he’s the one that plans out all our fight plans etc. and I just listen to his voice because when Chris speaks, it’s short and sharp and I trust his word. To have them behind me and in my corner definitely gives me a lift.
Tickets for Kennedy Vs. Simmons for the British Cruiserweight championship on Saturday March 11th are available now fromticketmaster.co.uk and motorpointarenacardiff.co.uk. The fight will be broadcast live on Channel 5 in the UK.