Debutant watch - Sean Lewis

The north west of England seems to have a non-stop conveyor belt producing quality fighters and there are no signs of it slowing down.

22 year-old Sean Lewis from Birkenhead is making the transition into the pro game and hopes he too can build a successful career alongside his peers. Sean will be fighting in the highly competitive welterweight division and makes his debut on the 3rd March in Chester.

What made you want to start boxing?

“I started when I was about 14, I used to train at Mersey Park ABC before I went to the Venture ABC. To be honest I didn’t expect anything to come of it, I just decided to start boxing to see what it was like. I started to really enjoy it and then it became quite serious."

Did you have a boxing idol when you were younger?

“I used to watch Mike Tyson when I was young, when I started getting more into boxing I started to watch people like Floyd Mayweather and Miguel Cotto. Now I'm involved in the sport I can really appreciate just how good these guys are. You don’t get that good overnight it takes hard work and determination.”

Did you do much amateur boxing?

“I had 18 amateur fights, I won a Liverpool and Cheshire title about three years ago at light-heavyweight. Last year I was fighting down at middleweight for my final year in the amateur game."

How do you know the time is right to turn pro?

“It was Danny Kelly and Sean Trodden who put the idea to me, they didn’t think the amateur game was suited to me. When I was fighting I wasn’t punching to score points, I was more going into the fight compact and trying to get involved and rough my opponent up which is much more suited to the professional ranks. As soon as going pro was mentioned I was up for it and knew that’s what I wanted to do. I will be fighting at welterweight as a pro, I feel fit and strong and am punching harder than ever at this weight."

Do you see a difference in the pro and amateur codes?

“I do see a huge difference, in the amateurs it’s more like sword fencing. It’s not like you have to get close to people and dig in deep to score points. Sometimes in the amateurs you don’t even score points for landing body shots, it’s much easier scoring with head shots.”

Do you work full-time alongside boxing?

“Yeah I’m a full time mechanic. I do training early in the morning and then more training at night, it’s a very long day. Some days I think ‘why do I bother?’ but then I realise this is what I really want to do. I want to be able to box for a living one day.”

What sort of fighting style do you have?

“I’m a very compact fighter, a lot of people call me a little Tyson. I’m dead strong. I’ve been working on my straight shots a lot and feel I can punch through walls now. I don’t like to take a step backwards in my bouts.”

What ambitions/expectations do you have for your pro career?

“I want to get a few fights in this year to see where I’m at. Hopefully I will win them all and just build on that. One day I would love win a British title. I want to be up there and ranked alongside the best. I want to be a fighter that the kids in the gym can look up to and learn from.”