Disappointment for Child on his pro boxing debut

James Child had a frustrating night on his professional boxing debut on Friday when he lost on points to Arnold Lydekaitis.

Middleweight southpaw Child lost 40-37 in the four-round bout to LithuanianLydekaitis at the Coronet Theatre in Elephant & Castle, London.

The 25-year-old from Worthing, who turned professional in April and fights for Brighton & Hove Boxing Team, said: “I didn’t perform the way I really wanted to, which is a bit disappointing.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“I just didn’t seem to get out of first gear. I started to step it up a bit in the last round but it just took me a little bit of time to get into it. “Maybe because it was my first pro fight, I was being a bit careful.

“I hurt him in every single round but I just didn’t pounce on that and he kept catching me with his jab, so his work-rate probably impressed the judges, but it could have gone either way, really.

“I just didn’t punish him enough when I hurt him as I rocked him a few times during the fight.”

Child now plans to work hard in training in the next couple of months, with his next bout likely to be in February – possibly in Brighton – although nothing has been confirmed yet.

He said: “I’ve got to go away and work on things now.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“I’m just going to keep training and work on what I did wrong.

“It was a really frustrating evening on Friday and I was quite angry at myself afterwards as I really should have taken him out.

“I appreciated the support from all my family and friends up there as they were all brilliant.”

Related topics: