Sunderland's Olympian
THE end of a year is always a good time to look back and 2009 has given me some of the best and worst times of my life.
This time 12 months ago was the best, with my then-promoter Dennis Hobson offering me an absolute fortune and promising me the world, and my girlfriend Sarah pregnant.
But all those good things quickly went at the beginning of the year when Sarah had a miscarriage and it became clear Dennis wasn’t going to be able to keep his end of the bargain. It soon turned into one of the worst times of my life.
When the deal with Dennis broke up I didn’t know where to go because professional boxing was new to me. It’s all about money and you hear all these horror stories about it.
When I signed with Frank Maloney, the good things started happening again. I don’t think there’s a promoter who could do a better job for me than Frank is doing.
Two thousand and nine has been a tough year at times, but overall I’m pleased with how it’s gone. It feels like everything’s falling into place. My injuries haven’t been that bad compared to my amateur days, when I had quite a few. I’ve had one or two little niggles, and that’s it.
My first Sunderland fight, against Roy Meissner at the Crowtree Leisure Centre, was unbelievable. The next two in Sunderland were great occasions as well. Being in a leisure centre with tiered seats made the atmosphere even more electric.
I’ve learned so much in my five professional fights – three of them ending in first-round stoppages, one in the second, and one won on points – and picked up some excellent experience.
I try not to look too far into the future, but my main aim for 2010 is to end it still undefeated. Hopefully by then I might have another six fights under my belt and maybe we might be able to start thinking about fighting for titles. But I’ll leave all that to Frank. I don’t know what he’s got planned for me because I just wanted to concentrate on what’s next in front of me, which will hopefully be a fight in early March.
We’ll just have to wait and see, but whatever happens you’ll be able to follow it on my blog.
I’d just like to end by thanking you all for your great support and wishing you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year.
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For more information on Tony, please see his official website… www.tonyjeffries.com