Scottish boxing + interview with Kenny Davidson

Written for http://www.thecornerstool.co.uk

Written by Danny Hill

Photo by Danny Hill

Last saturday saw Lee Mcallister fight for the European Light Welterweight title in Aberdeen against Denis Shafikov. The fight didnt go as well as Mcallister had hoped with Shafikov been too strong, and although Mcallister retired with an hand injury he was never in the fight. There wasn’t much of interest in the fight other than the skill and strength of Shafikov, but one thing that did catch my eye was the brilliant crowd and atmosphere in the Aberdeen Exhibition Centre.

Scottish boxing is certainly booming at the moment after a lull and it is no coincidence that when the quality fighters are on show in Scotland that the tickets sell quick. The Scots love their boxing and with boxers such as Ricky Burns, Lee Mcallister, Kenny Anderson, Willie Limond and many others selling out their shows, the emergence of promoters such as Alex Arthur can only be good for boxing north of the border. It is yet to be seen whether the reformed Scott Harrison can return to his glory days after time out of the sport but this all adds to the buzz in Scotland.

Scottish fighters are renowned for their bravery, heart, toughness and passion and a great example of this is Kenny Davidson. The 30 year old from Wishaw, North Lanarkshire will not be the first Scottish boxer that comes to mind, but his story is one that displays all the traits mentioned previously. Kenny started as a pro at 25 but just 2 years later developed a blood condition that saw him out of the sport for over 2 years. An amazing fight back against this condition saw him come back in february of last year with a points decision over Jamie Norkett in his home town followed by another win over Londoner Sabie Montieth just 3 months later. Since then he has lost 2 fights, but i’m sure after reading my interview with him wou will agree that this man has got some balls and dedication.

Last year saw you come back from time out of the sport, could you tell us a little bit about the condition you suffered from?

I suffer from a blood deficiency which is all to do with your b12 levels, it’s called pernicious anaemia. I was diagnosed with the condition over 4 yrs ago and the condition makes everything I do inside and outside of boxing a whole lot harder as I have no energy, which is the big negative with it all. I get an injection every 3 months which gives me a big energy boost, but it’s not enough to keep me going until my next injection. I usually feel that after around 6-8 weeks I need it again as I struggle to get up in the mornings, fall asleep really early and have no energy at all which means I really struggle to keep training.

You lost a lot of weight to make your come back in a short period of time. What inspired you and how did you achieve this?

Yes, I did lose a lot of weight while I was away from boxing with my b12 disorder. My weight ballooned upto 17st 10lbs. I went back to the club as a trainer and to help out with the amateurs at the club and went through training courses and got my badges as a trainer. I also had two pro boxers at the club who I helped train. It was on the night the two pro’s were fighting and I was there helping that I decided I wanted to get back in the ring. The buzz I got being there was emotional and I thought to myself I want to do this again. So it was straight after that night I got back into my training. It was the end of November and I was still 17st 10 lbs so I decided to eat properly and start running. At first I couldn’t even run a mile but soon built it up and after a few weeks I was soon doing between 9-13 miles every night on the treadmill, as well as training in the gym. My comeback bout was the middle of Feb, I weighed in at 11 st 12 lbs which was a weight loss of just under 6 stones in 8-10 weeks.

What is your boxing background and what pushed you to go pro?

I started boxing at the age of 11 at the Cleland Miners Amateur Boxing Club. The same club i’m at now, that’s 20 years. I had 176 amateur bouts of which I won 134 and lost 42. I got to two championship finals as a youth but unfortunately I came 2nd. I got to three championship finals as a senior, winning gold once & two silver on those occasions. I was defeated by at that time the British champion. It wasn’t until the computer scoring came into play and decisions started to go against me which I classed as blatant robberies, that I decided it was either time to give pro a shot or hang up the gloves. As you know, I gave pro a go.

What would you say is the highlight of your career so far?

The highlight of my career so far is a lot different from what most boxers may say. It is getting my illness under control and making my comeback in my home town with my little boy walking me into the ring. It was the first time he had ever seen me box so having my son there is the highlight of my career and my proudest.

What are your plans for 2012?

I’ve not been feeling too good with my illness. I was meant to box on the 24th of February but I got injured. I’m thinking i’m gonna take some time off again and just keep ticking over and I will be training the amateurs again.

There seems to be more shows coming up in scotland recently. How is the boxing scene north of the border?

Yes, boxing up here is getting really good. We have Ricky Burns flying the flag. We also have a top pro who is having his first pro bout on home soil called Craig Mcewan, he has been boxing in America since he turned professional. Plus, most of the top amateurs have gone pro so I think in the next few years the boxing in Scotland will be on the rise and there are a lot of names to look out for.

If you could fight anyone in the modern game who would you choose and why?

He’s not in my weight division and he is now retired but it would have to be Ricky Hatton for me. The guy was a class act and a great role model. I looked up to hatton and loved to watch him box. The man put everything he had into his fights so to share the ring with him would be amazing.

Thanks for your time Kenny and I hope to see you in the ring in the near future, whether that be in the middle or the corner.