KOA special: The next generation of Ipswich boxing

0:08Mark Heath:Hello friends, you join us here at the home of world heavyweight champion Fabio Wardley. Suffolk Punch here in Markisham. We're not here for Fabio Wardley business today though, we're here to meet the new generation, the next generation of fighters who are fighting on a big pro show in Ipswich on February the 21st, Saturday February the 21st at Trinity Park. so today we're hopefully speaking to Eilish Turney, Suffolk's first female professional boxer and Isaiah Hamilton-Allen who's a bit of a protege of fab who's going to make his pro debut on the show we're also going to have a chat with Matt Brennan who manages a lot of the fighters who are going to be on that bill so let's get inside let's get chatting to him.

0:42Mark Heath:Okay then in the ring then with Eilish Turney makes her return to the ring on Saturday February the 21st. Last time we're down here we spoke to you about a fight that actually never happened it's going to be a big one for you as well Stevie Levy it's which v Norwich Derby didn't happen though because you had some kind of health concerns um first of all how are you just brings up to speed on on what

1:00Fabio Wardley:happened if you don't mind yeah i'm all good fully recovered got the all clear and everything um just one of those things had a smear test my results came back not as great as the doctor would have hoped so we just removed what was there fully recovered and back in the gym ready to go

1:16Mark Heath:and obviously a message in terms of the kind of health side of that is get yourself checked get

1:21Fabio Wardley:your smear test people please it saves lives yeah i mean it's something that a lot of women don't get but clearly very important oh 100 like especially at my age where like i'm 27 i think i'm indestructible but then you get news like that and it does bring you back down to earth where you think i need to look after myself so definitely anything changes in your body get it checked in

1:40Mark Heath:with a doctor good stuff well i'm glad you're all clear um pulling out of that fight though obviously for a very good reason that must have been tough because that was a fight you wanted

1:47Fabio Wardley:for a long time and you were very excited about i still do it's one of those fights where respect to Stevie you know she said what she said on social media like I would have been upset too but it's something that could potentially happen um if it doesn't it doesn't if it does I'm game you know so I asked for it I got it once let's see if it happens again okay first up though you're back

2:08Mark Heath:in the ring in Trinity Park as well which is obviously somewhere you fought before fighting at home how excited are you for this one how are you feeling heading into this one I'm feeling good

2:14Fabio Wardley:it's come back what 3.0 now or something but we're coming back Trinity Park good six rounder with a very established boxer so I'm ready to go.

2:24Mark Heath:She's had a lot of fights so she's certainly going to come in there with experience.

2:27Fabio Wardley:Good that's what I want. I want the big fights, I want the experience, I want to show people what I've done while I haven't been at home feeling sorry for myself. I have been grafting and I've been learning and watching and just trying to do everything so it's going to be a new Eilish come the 21st.

2:41Mark Heath:And first fight as well at Superbantam which is the weight you think you're going to be best at. Just talk to us a little bit about that.

2:45Fabio Wardley:I'm going to be unstoppable at Superbantam. Quick, fast, just strong, everything. I can't be touched at Superbannum.

2:52Mark Heath:How do you know? Because, I mean, people watching this who maybe haven't boxed, how do you know when you're kind of at the right weight?

2:57Fabio Wardley:It's just that feeling. Like, everything just clicks. Everything moves well. I don't feel heavy. It's just, you just know. You just know.

3:05Mark Heath:What are we expecting then? Saturday, February 21st, in front of your hometown fans, looking for the stoppage, I'd imagine.

3:11Fabio Wardley:Definitely. I'm saying three. Three rounds. But if it goes to six and I put on a great performance, I'm not upset with that. But three rounds and I want a stoppage.

3:19Mark Heath:And then I'd imagine the big goal for you this year, the tornado, is to keep busy.

3:23Fabio Wardley:Oh, 100%. I want more than one fight. So hopefully speak to my manager, get straight back out and just keep rebuilding up the ranks of Superbantam.

3:31Mark Heath:Excellent. Thanks very much, Arlish. Thank you. OK, then here we are with Isaiah Hamilton-Allen in the ring. You're just a few days away from your pro debut. You're backed by world heavyweight champion Fabio Wardley, which is not something everyone can say. Talk to me a little bit about your journey, though, before we get into your pro debut, your journey in boxing. How did you get into it? How long have you been doing it? What's your background?

3:50Issiah Hamilton-Allen:So I sort of started like throughout lockdown. Like I've always, combat sports has always been my thing. Like, you know, put me in football or anything like that. I'm useless, mate. I'm only good for my, you know, my pace or something like that. But combat sports is where I really stuck to. So I had a background in karate when I was younger and then unfortunately got an injury. And then I was out of sport for a very long time. And then, you know, I was going throughout high school and, you know, I wasn't really doing too much. and then I got to the end of year 11 and I was thinking I really just need to do something I need that fuel again you know to film me to do something and um I thought you know I'm gonna give boxing a go because when I was doing karate I was noticed I was winning most of my points with my hands so then that's when I saw like after 2019 the 2020 period um I'd seen fab um he was doing um PTs yeah so then I got in contact with fab and um I knew him sort of because we're from the same area chantry um so i kind of knew him locally and then um i just you know um gave him a hit up on instagram said oh look mate i'm just looking to get into boxing um are you available and he said yeah so then he told me to head up to um obviously to suffix punch and um yeah from from then on we just you know grew our chemistry together and i feel like he saw something in me and i just kept coming back and back and then he pushed me to do the work collar scene and then you know i you know fought like six times with the work collar stuff and then you know the next move was amateur had five fights in amateur and then obviously now here we are professional about to make a

5:15Mark Heath:professional debut feb 21st can you remember the time when you thought actually i'm going to be good at this or i could be good at this the karate is was that transferable because karate is a striking thing yeah very much about speed and kind of precision yeah was that transferable

5:28Issiah Hamilton-Allen:yeah i think it was like i thought from a very young age like you know i feel like everyone does stuff like you know I used to be into my boxing still at a very young age I never did it but like you know I used to run around maybe hit things and stuff like that um and you know boxing things like that but yeah just from from a very young age any sort of combat sports I would just felt like you know I was just like stuck to you know I could I could I could pick it up really easily um and yeah I feel like that's just what's transferred to boxing as well how do you make

5:55Mark Heath:the decision to go pro then obviously you've got people around you who decide if you're good enough or not but making that decision must be quite a big thing for you yeah it is a big thing I thought

6:03Issiah Hamilton-Allen:you know when I very first started out boxing we you know come into this gym that's a you know very pro style gym you you learn a lot more from them and you pick up that pro style and I feel like from from the start you know everyone around me we we kind of knew that you know the pro style was always going to be my style and as we as we saw when I went to the amateurs you know it's it's great that I went there and you know because you need to learn different different sort of you know how to go about in this sport because you can't just be one style. So it was nice to pick up things from amateur, but my style was preferably made for the pros 100%.

6:39Mark Heath:How would you describe yourself as a boxer? And we know fab is a murderous punch. You're all about power. I would suspect with your karate background, you're kind of more of a precision kind of surgeon. How would you describe yourself as a fighter?

6:49Issiah Hamilton-Allen:I feel like I like to go through the gears, pick my shots. I like to be defensive. I like to be offensive, just literally whatever. you know I feel like I decide when I want to do what I want to do and I feel that's what you need to do in the sport.

7:01Mark Heath:Talk to me about your pro debut then you only ever get one you're going to be getting your pro debut in front of your home found fans as well your home crowd yeah what do you hope for what do you expect what do you kind of are worried about if you like from a pro debut because there's going to be nerves there's going to be adrenaline there's going to be a lot of

7:14Issiah Hamilton-Allen:pressure on you as well yeah um well like I say pressure makes diamonds at the end of the day so you know I'm just you know happy to go in there and you know what a way to do it then in my hometown with all the support of everyone. I just can't wait to get out there and display my skills and show the world what I'm really about. That's what I intend to do.

7:30Mark Heath:Excellent. Talk about sparring as well. I know you've been down sparring at Ben Davidson's gym. That's going to be some tough sparring, I'd imagine, stepping into. Quite intimidating as well for someone just starting out in the sport. What's that been like? I'd imagine you've had to be learning really quickly.

7:44Issiah Hamilton-Allen:It's great, especially to go to that gym and just see all them boys. You've got future champions, present champions, everything like that. And just to see them, you know, there working hard, it just makes, it gets you motivated as well. And I think you learn no better way than to jump in there with the best. And if you're not, then you're kidding yourself at the end of the day because it's a hard sport. And if you're not willing to take it to the top, then, you know, what are you doing?

8:07Mark Heath:Do you learn quite a lot about yourself? I'd imagine there's a moment in sparring when you're sparring with those kind of people. You think, actually, I can do this. I am going to be all right at this sort of thing.

8:14Issiah Hamilton-Allen:Yeah, I feel like, yeah, you're kind of in there. And some people feel like, I feel like that's where you're actually made, like, if you really want it or not. And, you know, there's sessions I come up with and I'm like, yeah, you know, I do want this. Do you know what I mean? And that's what gives me the feel to go back. And I'm like, I'm going to do better next time. Do you know what I mean? And that's just what I intend to do every time.

8:30Mark Heath:Talk to me about Fabio Wardy then. It's not everyone that's got a world heavyweight champion backing them. I know he's not officially your manager, but you're kind of going to be his protege. He's going to take you on this wing, give you some advice and stuff. How big is that for you? Having someone like that guiding you is, you know, one of the best stories in sport, what he's done. And now you're kind of starting on the same path.

8:47Issiah Hamilton-Allen:oh it's great honestly like I said like I couldn't ask for no one better you know like like you said like how many people can say that they've got like a world champion in their corner and to to you know come up here and learn stuff from fab and just see him and just see a local lad come from the same area and change their life change their family's life it's so inspiring and you know it just makes you just see that you know anything's possible unless you just put your mind to it and you know I've always believed that the sky's the limit and you know I hope to do the same you know eventually one day myself.

9:18Mark Heath:Well, final question then. A few years ago now, I stood next to Fab just as we're stood now and I said, Fab, how far can you go? And he said, I'm going to be world champion. And I thought, Fab, you're nuts. But he's done it. Yeah. What can you do? Can you emulate that?

9:31Issiah Hamilton-Allen:Of course. You know, like I said, you believe, you know, you believe you achieve and I intend to do the same thing. You know, it's just all about hard work and dedication and, you know, that's, I feel like that's what I have and, you know, I'm not going to stop until I get to the top.

9:45Mark Heath:Excellent. best of luck Isaiah appreciate it

9:46Issiah Hamilton-Allen:thank you very much

9:47Mark Heath:okay and here we are then with the man behind the show Matt Brennan we've just been speaking to Eilish and Isaiah obviously talking to them about the fights other fighters obviously on the card what can you tell us about the other fighters that people are going to see on the night