The roofer without a slate loose - heavyweight prospect Tom Dallas

Tom Dallas is gradually climbing the ladder of British heavyweights after going 10-0 (8) in less than two years as a professional.

Chatham based Tom combines ring-life with his day job of climbing ladders to carry out his roofing trade and promoter Frank Maloney believes he should continue to lay the slates down rather than ‘sitting around the house, getting bored and eating.’

Dallas is happy to do so for now but would prefer to earn what he describes as ‘good money.’ And the good news for him is those days may not be too far away if he continues giving performances like his last one in May when normally durable Lee Swaby was dispatched in under a round, much to his surprise.

“I wasn’t expecting it to go that quick,” he said when we met recently. On reflection though Tom thinks the knockout blow would also have finished many others. “But the punch that caught him would have knocked a lot of heavyweights out so I was pleased with it.”

Tom gets his next outing on the undercard of the rematch between Tyson Fury and John Mcdermott at Brentwood next Friday (25th) alongside other rising big men, new Southern Area champion Larry Olubamiwo and Olympian David Price. The current British heavyweight scene is shaping up well with British champion Derek Chisora and Commonwealth champion Sam Sexton leading the domestic front while Audley Harrison is chasing his dream bout with WBA champion David Haye.

While Chisora and Fury have made the headlines for their talking, antics and fighting quiet Tom has made his noise solely inside the ropes and feels this works in his favour. “I’m not one for interviews, I would rather keep my head down do my training just come and have a fight and go back home again.”

If country music loving Tom makes it to the top he will quickly find out that the media like to find out and that may even include them following him home. Until that time arrives Dallas is confident he is a match for his fellow heavyweights.

“I have sparred with nearly all of them and held my own, so I’ve go up there amongst them and if I fought them I would have a good chance.” Tom thinks he is good enough to be a British champion in the next 18 months but would like a few more fights before facing Sexton or Chisora. (Dallas lost to Chisora in the 2005 ABA finals)

“I’ve never been past two rounds in my last eight fights so I would like to get some rounds under my belt before I fight them because they are good boxers, they are tough you know if I fight them it could be a long fight.”

At close view Dallas stands like a giant and is working on his flexibility. “I’m just trying to stay loose, doing more stretching in the gym, core work just so I ain’t so stiff. I’m never going to be really loose.”

Dallas cites his punch power and fitness as his major assets and says 16st 8-10lbs is an ideal walking weight but says he doesn’t eat much in the run up to a fight which helps trim him down to 16st 6lbs.

“I run a lot and even when I’m not fighting I’m in the gym all the time, I never have time off.” Despite me noticing Tom eating a huge packet of crisps after the Swaby fight it’s not something he makes a habit of.

“I don’t eat a lot of crisps. About six to eight weeks before a fight I stop drinking and then after a fight I might have a few beers, eat some crap and get back into training. I would like to get up to 17st to get more power.”

Tom’s main hope is that he will earn enough money from boxing to pay his house off.

This will happen if that punch power can bring the top men off the heavyweight roof.