Kieran Gething begins his next fight camp and believes he has the advantage
Reigning Welsh Area super-lightweight champion Kieran Gething (9-2-2, 2KOs) has a secret weapon in his armoury in the form of his younger brother, Connor.
The 26-year-old from Pontypool revealed, “There’s still no concrete fight date in the diary for me, but one advancement is that my brother, Connor, is handling my training camp for my next fight, and we sat down together just this week to draw up a two-month full camp to be ready for mid-July.”
Aged just 24, Connor Gething is one of the youngest AIBA coaches in the world. He won two Welsh national titles as an amateur but stopped boxing at 16.
“My brother has been involved in my career since I was about 20, he’s the perfect guy to have around in lockdown because he’s got all the know-how and experience. Where every other boxer is not allowed contact with their coach, I hope this gives me an advantage.”
Normally, Gething trains with Lyndon James at his local Pontypool ABC. Restrictions in place due to the current COVID-19 crisis means that the pair cannot work together presently.
However, the industry wheels continue to turn with increasing talks of sporting events taking place behind closed doors from July, which has fetched a mixed reaction from the boxing fraternity.
Amir Khan was very vocal in his view that it simply won’t work. He told BBC Sport: “I wouldn’t be able to do it as I need the fan base there. I just feel that for a boxer to walk into a fight having no fans in an empty stadium, it’s going to be like walking into a sparring session, so I can’t really see that working. You need the audience there to lift your spirits.”
Gething, who was last in action live on Sky Sports last November in the MTK Golden Contract quarter-finals, was not in agreement with Khan, stating, “For me, boxing is two people competing against each other; it’s not a beauty pageant or popularity contest, so why do you need the fans there? I’m here to fight and to win.
“If everyone is making money and it’s safe to compete – which is always paramount in boxing anyway – and everyone feels secure, then why not? The boxers on these ‘closed doors’ shows, it’s their bread and butter, their income, and they rely on boxing to provide.”
Not only does the busy boxer plan to fight as soon as possible, he believes that taking advantage of fighting on these early shows will allow him to get ahead in the queue for opportunities.
“Personally, I see it as a chance to get ahead. If I knock someone out in my next fight, while everyone is staying away, then I’ll get the next big title shot. If I’m fighting and many others aren’t, then I’m the one getting closer to my dream title fights.”
He added, “Although it doesn’t feel like I have a fight date now, I know when it gets closer and we start talking about dates and opponents, it will feel more real. But for now, I’m enjoying the start of my training camp and getting fit again!”
Get to know… Kieran Gething
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