An Interview with Professional Middleweight Boxer, Harry Matthews

Posted by PredatorAdmin at 16:34 19/01/12

Rick: So, this is an interview today with Harry Matthews, young and upcoming middleweight boxer. Mind saying ‘Hi’ to everyone out there Harry.


Harry: Hi.


Rick: Well there you have it! So you seem to have been a ‘born fighter’ Harry. Do You think you could outline your boxing career to everyone, just for those who perhaps haven’t heard of you.


Harry: Well, basically, I started off as a martial artist (Ju-Jitsu, DAN grade) and I wanted to compete when I was about 12-13 (years old). My martial arts instructor told me at the time, if I wanted to compete, I should do boxing or karate.


I just so happened to be walking up the street one day in York and I saw an advert for York Boxing Club and thought ‘I’ll give that a try’. So I went along to session and mentioned that I’d sparred before and got pitched against this other lad, who’d had about 20-odd fights (Luke Atkin).


I went at him like a bull in a china shop! Thinking after two rounds ‘I’ve got this lad, this is the sport for me!’ Next round...‘BOOM’ he smashed my nose to bits!


So I went home that night thinking ‘I’m not having any of that, this is it, I’m going to get good at this sport and that’s not happening again!’


Rick: and then the fighter today was born?


Harry: And then the fighter today was born! I think when you get caught in the ring for the first time you automatically realise whether it’s going to be for you or not. Even though I had a bleeding nose at the time, I was more bothered about losing face than I was about the pain.

Rick: So how many years in total now have you been fighting?


Harry: About 8 years. I had my first amateur fight at 15 years of age, my first 3 were for York Amateur Boxing Club (won all them). Then I moved to Sharkies’ in Leeds, where we had a year together and I learnt quite a lot and I used to spar with old pro Danny Reynolds (won the central title) at this club. I moved on after that to a college in Durham.


Rick: So in terms of numbers of wins vs. losses, I’m sure everyone out there wants to know just how good you are Harry. How many wins have you had?


Harry: I’ve had 14 Pro Fights, won 11 and only stopped two of them. However, I don’t think I’ve realised my full potential yet.


Rick: Who are you training with at the moment?


Harry: Nick Manners and since I’ve been training with Nick, I’ve developed power that I never even realised I had. Helping me develop that extra couple of inches on each shot and that’s come through a lot of stretching, conditioning and not ‘overdoing it’ in training.


Rick: I see.


Harry: Whereas before, the trainer I was with, he was great, but I don’t think he knew how to ‘peak me’ as an athlete. It would always be, come in the gym, train hard. By the third or fourth week, you’re knackered! You’re thinking ‘I can’t possibly get any fitter’ and by the time the fight comes, you’re ‘flat’ and I always felt I was peaking a little too soon.


I stayed with him for 8 fights and then I went down to Finchley in London with trainer Don Charles for my 9th Pro fight. I boxed Terry Curruthas, a tough lad from Birmingham and that fight I had to stop. People were doubting my power.

Rick: I heard that your last fight didn’t go so well?


Harry: That’s true. For that fight (Rocky Cakir) I started with my original trainer again Len Banks and we prepped for 13 weeks. He put in things like sprints etc. all the hard training, way too soon. So what I’ve been doing in this camp is just building things up nice and slowly.


I knew I had the power to hurt Rocky, but I just didn’t have what it took to sustain it on the night because I’d left most of what I had in the gym!


Rick: So it sounds like you’re really ready for this next fight?


Harry: I’m really ready for it. I’m confident. I was originally supposed to be having a re-match against Rocky, but because he’s on Ramadan, he said it’s not for him at the minute. So I’m fighting Rich True for the British Masters Title on 24th September. He’s a fit guy, he comes for a fight, having knocked out his last match. So he’s a worthy opponent.


Rick: Sounds like you’re really up for this fight Harry. I would imagine there’s some amateur fighters out there who’re looking to get to your level, do you think you could outline your training week so they get a flavour for what it takes to be a pro fighter?


Harry: First of all, once I’ve had a match I have a bit of a rest! When I’m preparing for a fight I’ll be in the gym 3-4 times a week, hit the bags, 3-4 rounds, get a few long runs (7 miles +) and add a few circuits in there as the weeks go on.


2-3 weeks into training I’ll start my sparring. Just for 4 rounds and then I’ll step it up.


Monday and Tuesday I train with Nick Manners at the Precise Accurate Training Gym, in Leeds. Then Wednesday I’ll go down to Burmatofts to Mark Bateson’s gym for my sparring practice.


Thursday I don’t do anything! I tend to rest that day.


Rick: So actually have a rest day! Wow!


Harry: Yeah I have a rest day. Then on Friday I’m back down in the gym with Nick, usually working on technique, stretching and conditioning. I tend to bang everything in one session because I work as well. On a weekend, I tend to concentrate on my ‘roadwork’ (running) and then pretty much chilling out!


Rick: Fair enough. What about on the other side of the equation, are you on any sort of special diet at the moment?


Harry: I’m just on basic, set plan from my Dietitian and the weight seems to be coming down quite nicely, nothing drastic. I’ve got faith in him that it’ll change as my training continues.



Rick: What about ‘special routines’ to mentally prepare yourself before a fight?


Harry: Well I tend to find out as much as I can about my opponent, I try to get hold of videos of both him and myself, working on my weaknesses, where I went wrong in my last fight etc. I think at this gym I’ve managed to iron out most of my problems.


I think in boxing, that’s what makes it so addictive, you never stop learning. There’s always another level.


Rick: Indeed. I think it’s always a work in progress. Is there anybody that you aspire to be like in boxing?


Harry: Probably Ricky Hatton. He’s the man I’ve grown up watching and I admire him. He was never one of these fighters that ‘mouthed off’. He was confident but he was the people’s champion, and I think I would like to be known as the people’s champion too. Someone that people feel like they can come up and have a bit of a chat with, they don’t feel like they have to ‘bow down’ to me or anything. I’m a normal person, just like anyone else.


Rick: Indeed and I think that seems to be a bit of problem in boxing as whole, there’s a lot of attitude...


Harry: Well why do you need to be?


Like Ricky Hatton again, he went in the ring, he did a great performance and everyone wanted to go and watch what he did in the ring. No one was bothered what he did outside the ring. I’m not bothered about making too much of an impression on people outside the ring as long as people think I’m alright and you know, like me, that’s all I’m bothered about.

Rick: And just for anyone who is aspiring to get into Pro Boxing one day and they’re training really hard and perhaps they’ve come to a bit of a sticking point.


What 3 pieces of advice would you give them as amateur fighters?


Harry: Well one thing you do want to do, to get recognised by one of these big promoters is at least try and get as far as you can in the ABA (Amateur Boxing Association) and make sure you go with the right promoter as well, one that’s offering the right deal.


Some one you trust, because, at the end of the day we work very hard in this game. It’s not the best paid, so you want to make sure that you’re getting paid what you’re worth.


Second bit of advice is to stay focused. Be prepared for disappointments, it’s not always going to go your way. You find out a lot about yourself when it comes to a loss. Every fighter wants to be unbeaten, but most of us get a loss at some point and I think that you learn more from a loss than you do a win really. You learn to become a champion through losing.


Rick: Any final pieces of advice? Perhaps training or nutrition?


Harry: I’d say it’s good to have a good balance of them all really. It’s never good to overtrain, over-diet and when it does come to training hard, just think that your opponent may be doing more, so you need to do more.


Rick: Any final parting words as we bring this interview to a close? It’s been fantastic talking to you today.


Harry: Anybody who comes to support me I really appreciate it. I’m hoping you can get down to my fight at Elland Road in Leeds on 24th September, it’s going to be greatand I hope you can all watch me win the British Masters Title!

Interview By Rick Miller
 

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