DANNY CRAVEN:"I HAVE NO MORE TIME TO WASTE"
This Sunday sees the return of Warrington's Danny Craven (5-2) who is back in the ring for the first time since September 2018.
After an impressive start to his career, Danny Craven set the tone early on beating Nathan McIntosh (12-1) for the 2017 British challenge belt in what was only his third outing as a pro.
This automatically propelled him into a bout with fellow prospect Isaac Macleod (8-0 at the time) on the undercard of Callum Smith's bout with Erik Skoglund. The fight was a highly competitive one with both having their fair share of success in the fight, however it was not to be for the Warrington man after the referee Mr. John Latham scored the contest in favor of Macleod.
"Looking back at that time the fight was good for me as I was excelling through the ranks pretty quick so I wanted to keep fighting guys that were considered a step up in opposition"
"I felt I won the fight with MacLeod; I would rematch him tomorrow"
Craven was then thrust straight back into the limelight as he took on fellow welterweight prospect Luther Clay (6-1 at the time) on the undercard of George Groves vs Chris Eubank in February 2018. The fight was typical of a Danny Craven bout it was all action but Clay just edged the contest in the eyes of the referee.
"I felt that in the Clay fight, I should have been more patient and picked my shots instead of rushing in and getting caught with silly shots, but it was a close fight and on that night it was just not meant to be"
"I am not built for four rounders I get better as the fight goes on"
"The losses are going to make me a better fighter"
After two back to back defeats Craven has since returned with two victories under his belt as he prepares to push on in his career.
Craven was due to fight in March for the Central Area title, but due to an injury suffered in training he was unable to compete which has led to more time out of the ring something that has frustrated him greatly
"My back completely went two weeks before the fight I felt like an old man"
"I had a niggling back injury which came back to haunt me, so I had a tough decision to make and I didn't want to go into the fight at anything less than 100%"
"The whole situation sent me into a depression, and I didn't want to go to the gym, I was just not interested"
Danny has since returned to the gym after speaking to promoter Kieran Farrell who provided a fight date and the motivation to get back into the ring
"Kieran called me a few weeks with the fight date and automatically it gave me the kick up the arse I needed to get motivated again"
"I am looking forward to the fight, and as far as I am concerned I have no more time to waste"
"From now on I am taking things one punch at a time and one fight at a time"
Craven is back in action Sunday 16th June on Joe Gallagher's first promotional offering at the Woodhouse Park Lifestyle Centre, Wythenshawe.