Interview: Shaun Brown
BN: Can you believe it’s been just over a year since you fought Artur Beterbiev?
AY: Time flies. Something I tell people all the time. Looking at life around me it feels like only yesterday my niece was turning one and now she’s four. It shows you time flies. It don’t feel like a year already. It just shows you that in this sport it can be a short but exciting career and you’ve got to make the most of it.
BN: How would you assess your own career so far?
AY: I would assess my career so far as… unexpected. That would be a good word for it. There are loads of boxers but there’s none with my story. I’m talking about in terms of having 12 amateur fights, coming from London having had no fighting experience or background. No one in my family had boxed before. Again, having very limited amateur experience, I took a risk turning professional. And made it to the very top of the sport getting a world title shot twice. When I fought [Sergey] Kovalev in Russia I got offered step-aside money for that fight, but because of my mentality and my belief I just thought, you know what, it’s an opportunity. I have to prove to myself that I’m at that level. I want to prove to myself that I’m able to do this. It’s all fun and games talking about it. And money comes and goes but because of my belief in myself money’s going to come anyway. I believed that I was gonna win that fight. It wasn’t my time yet. With the Beterbiev fight it wasn’t my time yet, but in both fights I gave a good account of myself, and I was a heavy underdog in both fights. It shows me something. It shows me I’ve taken on the hardest challenges, and I think I’ve earned that spot to be paid well and to have future big fights. That’s what it’s about in the sport, entertaining the fans, the people that are paying. I see other people taking other routes and they get credit for it. In my opinion it’s about entertaining the fans and giving them the best experience. Time will tell.
BN: Have you ever thought about life after boxing?
AY: Most definitely. I’m very calculated in my mind because I’ve been through a lot in my life. I’ve come from having absolutely nothing. I remember there was a period of time when me and my friends used to share a £2 chicken and chips meal. We used to go halves because at one point we had no money. To see what I’ve come from and what I’ve done with my life. Yes, I’ve done well, but things like money can come and go. When you’re in a career you realise you have to pay tax and there’s other things to pay. I pay attention to life, and I realise that time goes quick. I’m 32 now. I want to retire within six years. It’s about planning. I’ve invested in property and other bits. I think of the here and now because that’s what can make my future better.
BN: Some fighters say after a defeat they find out who their true friends are. Is that true?
AY: A hundred per cent. I’ve always known what it is. They call them bandwagon people, or leeches. I’ve never allowed myself to be surrounded by them people. Humans in general use each other in some way, shape or form. But at the same time there has to be a genuine intention behind the usage. Me and my coaches, people that I train with, are all benefitting from each other. With family you’re closest to those in your family that you get along with or those that can help you or be beneficial to you and your life. The friends you become closest to are the ones that stay in your life the longest. The ones with good intentions, that you gel with the best. I’ve had the same friends since I was very, very young. I am always open to making new friends, I have made new friends, but at the same time I don’t force anything and it’s understanding that my position today is different than before and how would that person act if I wasn’t who I was. And how do some people feel when I’ve taken a loss? They think my career might not be the same, they lose faith in you. They’re the people you have to look at because you see it. When someone loses faith in you, you actually see it and look at it and think, thank you for seeing it now rather than later.
BN: What advice would you give to a young fighter about to make their professional debut?
AY: The same thing I told myself. “Do what makes you happy.” You can’t please boxing fans, you can’t please your friends, you can’t please anyone but yourself. To please a person, you have to disappoint another person, that’s just the way it goes. It’s like football, everyone supports different teams and it’s okay. The difference with boxing is people support the winner and you have to understand that and be thick-skinned. People change all the time. At one point in time everyone loved Adrien Broner. If he does one thing that people don’t like they’re like, I don’t like him no more. The culture of football is: It don’t matter. I’m an Arsenal fan (laughs). You can understand that. We stay loyal. I’m the same with everything in my life. Whether it’s friends, whether it’s boxing… if I like a boxer, I like them. There was a period when people started criticising Anthony Joshua. I don’t forget what he’s done for British boxing, and he is still selling out arenas. They supported him when he was winning and when he beat [Wladimir] Klitschko he was on top of the world. Things don’t go his way people start trying to put him down. What about supporting someone through their rough patches? How can you forget all the entertainment he gave us before? The advice I would give the young fighter is: “Remember, you have to do this for yourself because even family can turn on you. Do what makes you happy. Make decisions for yourself.” That’s my advice. Always make decisions for yourself.
BN: What was your reaction to the Buatsi-Azeez and how it played out?
AY: After round six it ended up being a very good fight. They were feeling each other out for the first four rounds. There was a good few exchanges in there, they both boxed very well and put on a show for the fans and that’s what boxing needs.
BN: When you were watching the fight were you thinking about your own future and a fight against Buatsi?
AY: When I’m watching boxing sometimes, I’m watching as a fan. I try to take my emotions out of it. I try to take myself out of the equation. After watching the fight, I couldn’t help but think to myself if Bivol’s fighting Beterbiev and after that the belts get scattered it would make me and Buatsi for one of the vacant titles the icing on the cake. The reward would be the magnitude of the bout. That would be a sell-out, blockbuster fight. It’s really up to the governing bodies. Surely, they understand what fights make the most sense. I’m fighting February 10, get a good win and then it depends how it all plays out, but it looks like an interesting future.
