Boxing: Jimmy Sains excited to make professional debut

Unlike your typical 22-year-old, he does not really use social media, nor does he follow what people are saying about him online. He just loves fighting.

The young boxer from Brentwood is set to make his professional debut on September 30 as he looks to silence critics and embark on a long and successful career.

Sains won his final amateur fight, and a gold medal in Great Britain’s Elite Three Nations tournament, after stopping Stephen Clarke – an opponent he had lost to just five weeks earlier.

“There were people saying I was all hype, I was not good or that they’d beat me,” said Sains, son of Hornchurch cricketer Chris.

“I’m so glad I got the opportunity to get revenge so soon. Getting a stoppage is unbelievable and it definitely shut a few people up.”

It has been a steady, but consistent, rise to the professional game for Sains who, by his own admission, prefers to take it ‘step by step’ and savour every milestone as it comes.

“I want to do it the traditional way,” Sains explains proudly, as if imagining the taste of the victories that lie ahead of him.

“I want to win the British, Commonwealth and European titles and then have a world title shot. That’s what I’ve always wanted to do. One step at a time. I want to take my time.”

In a sport often filled with the rash and impatient, Sains is methodical. There is nothing complacent or blasé about the young man who plays down talk of world championships – at least for now.

Whilst he wishes to emulate the great Canelo Alvarez or Darren Barker, he will only do so when he knows he is ready – an uncanny reflection of his boxing style.

Sains talks thoughtfully, each line calculated as if landing a punch on an opponent.

“I like to take my time, get behind the jab, and then let the rest of my shots come,” he added.

“In the amateur three [rounds] by three [minutes] you have to start fast and finish fast. So, I can take my time and I’m enjoying it a lot more now.”

The transition from training for amateur to professional fights has been seamless for Sains, who credits trainer Tony Sims for extracting the best from him.

“Tony is the man,” says Sains of the trainer who has worked with the likes of Anthony Joshua, Kevin Mitchell, Ricky Burns and Barker.

“He knows everything about boxing. He knows about every past or current fighter. He has an answer to every little thing you ask him.”

Even with the ring acumen of Sims, Sains explains that without the support of his parents he would not be making his professional debut at the end of the month.

“I know everyone says it, but it’s true,” he laughs. “My dad used to drive me to London, three or four times a week. He’d come back in from work and we’d leave straight away.

“We wouldn’t get back in until nine or ten and then it was straight to bed and up for work the next morning.”

Sains is warm as he thinks about how his mum, who is too scared to watch, has to wait outside whilst he fights before coming back to show her support. Her concern is even deeper now he has joined the professional ranks.

“When the head guards came off my mum said she didn’t want me to do it. But she knows how much I love and enjoy boxing. I want to be the best – I can’t just give up and let them [my family] down. I fight for them,” he added.

Quitting has never been an option for Sains, with a six-month hiatus from the sport the only time he has stopped fighting in 16 years.

“When I was around 14, I had four of five losses in a row so I took a break,” he said.

“It was hard. After all that effort I put in training, to make weight, missing parties and not going with mates after school. It’s hard but that motivated me to come back, to prove to myself that I am good enough.”

Sains has not only proved to himself he is good enough, but has also impressed Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing.

He describes signing for the Brentwood-based promoters as a ‘dream come true’ and is full of confidence as he makes the step up from an impressive amateur career to fight professionally for the first time – the first step on his path to the top.

“I started boxing when I was six. This is what all the hard training has been for. This is what all the trainers have built me up for. It is one thing doing it as an amateur but, really, this is where it matters,” he said.