Get to Know… 'Dashing' Jack Hughes
BBN visited North London to meet Southern Area title contender Jack Hughes.
The 27-year-old self-confessed punk revealed all about himself, including his love for boxing, music and ladies!
Name: Jack Hughes
Record: W6-L2
Weight: 5'6"
Born: Wembley
Residence: Wembley
DOB: 12/05/1992
Nickname? "I have many haha! But I'm going by "Dashing" or "Punk kid”… for now."
Favourite all-time boxer? “Ricky Hatton.”
Favourite current boxer? “Josh Warrington.”
Favourite fight? “Favourite fight would be Amir Khan vs Marcos Maidana, it was amazing to watch, and Ricky Hatton vs Juan lazcano, as that was the first ever fight I went to.”
Boxing clubs? “As an amateur, I trained at Hooks and Ruislip. As a pro, State of Mind (which I have tattooed on me) and now I'm at New Kings.”
Amateur honours? “I only had 10 amateur fights. I won the under 7 bout North/West London Champoinships.”
Biggest achievement in boxing? “A nothing title to many, but it means a lot to me winning a Challenge belt; getting a standing ovation at York Hall in my Southen Area title fight was a big deal to me; and also getting interviewed by Sky Sports was massive.”
Toughest ever opponent? “Gary Reeve, tough little man he was.”
Goals in boxing? “I want to win a Southern Area title and an English, and one day to fight for a Commonwealth and British title.”
Retirement age? “I dont want to set an age, as I love boxing so much I could fight til' I'm 50! When my body starts to slow down, I will call it a day then.”
Team? “New Kings is a funny one as the gym is full of inspirational and wise people who just come to train like Deano, who's the wisest person I've ever met in my life, I can listen to that guy talk for hours. But the mainn team is Rob Taylor (head coach), Andy (2nd coach), Mabs (amateur coach), Fuaad, Ryan, Aaron and Louis (pro boxers).”
Boxing style? “I would say im an awkward boxer/brawler, as I have pretty good movemeant and good head movemeant, so it makes me awkward when I use it, but I love a good scrap!”
Ring walk song? “Bad motherf*cker by MGK.”
Pre-fight rituals? “I dont have any. If you put the work in and believe in yourself, you dont need rituals.”
Favourite brand of gloves? “Rival.”
Best venue? “I've only fought at York Hall, which is amazing but my dream is to fight at the O2.”
Best belt? “WBC.”
Favourite football team? “QPR.”
Other sports? “Al ittle bit of football, I dont follow many sports, but I love playing all sports.”
Favourite holiday destination? “Would love to go back to Disney World, amazing child hood memories at that place.”
Favourite TV programme? “13 Reasons Why; Gotham; Smallville; Bob's Burgers, to name a few.”
Favourite film? “Batman – The Dark Knight.”
What actor would play you in a film of your life? “Joseph Gordon-Levitt because we are both good looking!”
Favourite music? “Pop-punk (which is how i got my nickname as the punk kid).”
Favourite food? “Love a burger! Five Guys and GBK do it the best.”
Favourite restaurant? “Five Guys or GBK.”
Favourite bands? “Music is a massive part of my life. Two bands that mean alot to me are Blink 182 (who I have tattooed on my arm) and Neckdeep (who I will be getting tattooed soon) and, as a solo artist, MGK.”
Favourite superhero? “Batman.”
Phobias? “Spiders.”
Motto? “Machine gun Jacky. Rob used it once in one of my fights and I just went crazy when he said it and it became a joke in the gym and now whenever he says it I know he wants me to step it up and put it on someone haha!”
Next fight? “I was meant to be fighting on October 5 in a rematch for the Southen Area title but the show got called off. It was heartbreaking to hear but I'm waiting on a new date for the fight.”
What fight do you want to see happen this year? “Callum Smith vs Canelo Alvarez would be great to see.”
If you could fight anyone, past or present, who would it be? “Johnny 'the match stick' Owen, as when I was a young lad working on building sites there was an old man called Mick, who was around 80, and he always use to talk to me about the old days and how I reminded him of Johnny, as I was a skinny lad just like him.”
*John Richard Owens was a British, Commonwealth and European bantamweight champion from Wales. His fragile appearance earned him many epithets, including 'the Bionic Bantam' and 'the Merthyr Matchstick'.
What is the best division to watch in boxing? “Welterweight. I feel like over the years most of the big names of the sport have come through the welterweight division like Mayweather and Hatton and the two biggest fights in history have also been in the welterweight division Floyd vs Manny and Floyd vs Connor McGregor.”
What is most important to you in your career between money and glory? “None, it's all about the ladies, for me haha!”
Where do you want to be in your career in exactly one year’s time from now? “English champ.”
Tell us something that not many people know about you? “I will tell you two things: 1. I use to eat cookies and tea for 15 years growing up, and 2. I sing and write my own sounds. I have a soundcloud, it's London Made Punk, check it out and listen to the song, 'Music Found Us, Love Kept Us'. I wrote it about an ex-girlfriend, I think I'm a really talented songwriter.”
Twitter?@dashing_jack_h
Insta?@dashing_jack_hughes “I use this all the time. For a good time and some laughs, follow the gram haha!”