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Conner Tudsbury Gearing Up For Pro Debut on Catterall Barboza Card
NEWS
John Evans
John Evans
RingMagazine.com
Conner Tudsbury Gearing Up For Pro Debut on Catterall-Barboza Card
Top level amateurs have a lot to contend with when they decide to make the switch and turn professional.

Yes, they have to get used to smaller gloves, longer rounds and a different way of fighting but when they sign with a major promotional company, there is also a hefty burden of expectation to shoulder and a deluge of media work to contend with.

After a successful amateur career which saw him represent England and Team GB and win bronze medals at both the 2018 World and European Youth Championships, Conner Tudsbury recently agreed a a multi-fight deal with Matchroom.

The 24-year-old is still getting used to the uptick in attention but isn’t letting it distract him from the task at hand.

The Ring caught up with the light heavyweight as he quietly warmed up before hitting some pads at a media day to promote Jack Catterall’s interim WBO junior welterweight fight with Arnold Barboza Jnr.

Tudsbury will make his debut on the show's undercard, taking place at Manchester’s Co-Op Live Arena on February 15th and set to be screened live worldwide by DAZN.

“Everything's just coming in. I've got a signing, I've got a fight date. The fight's not yet sunk in. I'm still building up,” he said.

“I get a little bit of butterflies here and there, but it's good. I just don't think about it. I just work on what I need to work on, and then when it comes to the day, I just deliver. Might be a bit of nerves here and there, but it's all good.

“I think I'm pretty good and composed at just locking in.”

Once the first bell rings on February 15th and he can finally concentrate on the boxing, everything will suddenly feel very routine to Tudsbury, who will also have plenty of experienced support to lean on in the build up.

Fight week will have a familiar feel. The Mancunian trains under Jamie Moore and Nigel Travis while working alongside Catterall on a daily basis.

Lots of new professionals leave behind their amateur gym and make their debut after just a few months spent with a new team.

Not only do they have to tweak their style to suit professional boxing, they also have to adapt to how their new trainer likes to approach fight week and make weight, how they behave in the changing room on fight night and the way they get their message across in-between rounds.

Tudsbury won’t have that problem. He spent years boxing for Travis at the Moss Side Fire Station Boxing Club and knows exactly what to expect from him.

Over the years, the colourful Travis has regularly - and proudly - dropped Tudsbury’s name into conversations, building the prospect’s profile without him even realising it. Now, he gets the opportunity to show everything Travis said about him is true.

“He's still crazy. He's still bonkers,” Tudsbury said when asked if Travis’ approach has changed now he is a professional. “It's fun. It's fun working with Nigel.

“I've worked with him for over a decade. Really good. Yeah, he's a great coach, great role model and I hope to do him proud when I box.

“What kind of happened was, when I first got in Team GB and stuff, there was quite a lot of hype. Then I kind of went under the radar due to a couple of injuries, but soon come, I'll be back up there and everyone will start feeling like, ‘Conner's that, Conner's this.’

“I think my boxing will do a lot of the talking. I think people will underestimate me because they don't really know me yet and then they'll find out to know what I'm about when I start getting these fights in.”

Nothing is certain in boxing but is almost a given that newly signed, talented amateurs will be matched favourably and win their early fights. It isn’t quite as certain that they will do so in a fan-friendly manner and create some early excitement.

Having spent years boxing top-level opponents who are willing to use every ounce of skill, knowledge and stamina they possess to eke out even the narrowest of wins, they are suddenly matched with fighters who are just as determined not to get stopped so that they can fight again - and get paid again - the following weekend.

Rather than feinting their man into a mistake or using an opponent’s aggression against them, they suddenly need to figure out ways to prise apart a resolute defence and hurt somebody who is grimly determined not to be hurt.

Beating somebody who isn’t intent on winning is straightforward. Doing it in impressive fashion can be hard.

“Yeah, I've thought about that,” Tudsbury said. “You've just got to be wary not to just get dragged into anything, and just work on you. Do what you've got to do. Use your boxing skills. Do what you've learnt over the years, and, yeah, just learn the game. Learn the new scene, because it's not amateur no more, it's pros.

“I'm just going to take it as it comes. I feel like if I smell blood, I'll go for it. If I want to box, I'll box. I'll take it as it comes. All I'm doing now is sharpening my skills and working on my ring knowledge for when I'm actually in the ring.”

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