By Oliver McManus: Goodwin Boxing’s Sam Gilley turned professional in the latter half of last year and has wasted no time in notching his way to 5 and 0, two wins inside the distance, and the 23 year old is working his way, relatively quietly, up the ranks by knuckling down and getting the job done.
Next out on September 15th, at York, on the undercard of Shinkwin-McIntyre 3 the welterweight will be looking to make statements as he targets a Southern Area belt before the end of 2019…
Sam, thanks for speaking to me, let’s go back to the beginning – when did you first get into boxing?
I first got into Boxing when I was 11 years old when I started down at Waltham Forest ABC, tt was a trial and error thing really as I tried football, basketball but instantly fell in love with boxing the second the gloves went on.
And was there a particular moment when you thought “I could turn pro” or did it all just piece together naturally?
To be honest after I turned 18 I started working full time and, having a bit of money to do things, boxing started to fade into the distance but luckily a mate of mine told me to go to RJ’s and see what Rod Julian thought of me and the idea of turning pro came a few months after that so I must have done something right!
Growing up, who was your favorite boxer?
My favourite fighter growing up by a mile was Ricky Hatton – just a normal lad from a normal background who could proper fight.
One year into the pro game, then, how pleased are you with your progress?
I am pleased with my progress after a year, yes, as a pro I’m still unbeaten, I’ve boxed at the 02 and going into my second year I’m very confident in my ability to win titles in the not so distant future.
Aside from the obvious differences, what has been the biggest change from amateur to professional?
Taking my time more in the amateurs everything is 100 mile per hour as a pro I’m learning to sit on shots, set traps up and to break fighters down slowly rather than trying to do it all in round one.
You recently fought at the O2, how much of a buzz do those big occasions give you?
It was a massive buzz to fight at the 02 I was very lucky to be given the opportunity and I look forward to one day walking out into an arena like that when it’s packed out – whether there my fans or not I’ll thrive off it.
Looking at the level of opponent you’ve faced, how much can you learn from those guys at the beginning of your career and how much is it about just getting the rounds under your belt?
To be fair I’ve learnt bits from all of my opponents but I’d say my last fight against Sam Omidi taught me the most because I cut him early and hurt him a few times but then I ended up looking for big shots to take him out rather than doing everything we had practiced. I don’t think you can rush in the pro game unless you’re an ex Olympian or GB lad who had hundreds of amateur fights.
If we look at your career then, what performance has pleased you the most?
I’m actually quite harsh on myself so that would be a question for my trainer, I’m never happy with my performance.
And how long do you think until we can see you in the title mix?
Hopefully next year maybe a southern area or something, nothing mad just yet I’m just turning 24 so I have bundles of time.
You’ve been in with the likes of Kell Brook in sparring, that’s surely got to help your confidence in your own ability?
Yeah I was lucky enough to do a few rounds with Kell and Jason Quigley out in Spain, that’s another class experience for me I’ve been all over the place to watch Brook fight then all of a sudden I was sparring him.
In this sort of summer break from boxing, how do you keep busy? Are you still in the gym a lot?
No summer break for me I’m in the gym twice a day 6 days a week but I’ve got a nice holiday booked with my girlfriend after my next fight on September 15th so I can have a little break then.
Finally, from me, in 12 months time what will your world look like?
Hopefully not to different to how it is now, I’ve got a great team, great sponsors, great friends, a lovely family and girlfriend all around me supporting me so I’m very lucky as for the Boxing I just want to keep improving and when next year comes hopefully I’m starting to think about having belts put round my waist