SAM LARKIN: "I'M LEARNING NEW THINGS EVERYDAY"
Colne's Sam Larkin will be looking to get back on track after picking up a shock defeat in his last outing against Jamie Quinn
Larkin enjoyed his pro-debut back in March and after various setbacks and fights fell through, he managed to finally step between the ropes to pick up a points victory over Ricky Leach in Bolton.
Eager to make up for lost time, Larkin took the fight with Quinn only a few short weeks later and ended up losing via a points decision, this was something that Larkin openly regrets.
"After the debut I felt on top of the world, I felt like I could go again quite quickly and because there had been a delay in getting my career off the ground I just wanted to get back to action quickly"
“I made a mistake of boxing above what I believe is my natural weight".
“I couldn’t punch and I didn't feel know where near as sharp as I did in my pro-debut"
Larkin admits that finances have also been a massive factor in getting his professional career off the ground
"When I was supposed to originally make my debut last year, I sold plenty of tickets which was great, but because the fights fell through, people were more reluctant to buy them again not knowing whether I would step in the ring or not"
"Last year I was only working part time, so I was not making enough money to pay the bills which was a real problem.
"I had to be realistic, at this stage of my career, boxing was not going to pay all my bills, so i went out and got a full time job, I am now training in the evening's but I feel less pressure than i did before.
Training under Alex Matvienko at Elite boxing in Bolton, Larkin admits that the move to the Bolton gym has been a welcome change to the way he trains and the level of sparring.
"I was with Karl Ince who got me to this point, I used to spar a lot with Shayne Singleton which were all fantastic experiences.
"Now I am with Alex who does things different and i am learning new things every day"
In his upcoming outing on the 30th June, Larkin fights in his hometown of Colne at a venue he grew up watching local fighters from the area make their names in the sport.
“It is a dream of mine to be fighting at Colne Municipl, to be able to fight in front of your home crowd with all your friends and family watching is just something special"
Tickets can be purchased directly from Sam via his social media accounts.