AIR DATE:
EPISODE: Episode 56
Joining Mike and Cedric live in the studio is Wasserman heavyweight prospect Matty Harris.
Promo for his debut fight
Watch live on TalkinFight.com or YouTube.com/c/TalkinFight
Transcribed:
[, Music ] hello, boxing fans around the world thanks for joining us once again for another episode of talking fight featuring mike orr at four on knuckle up and on this episode, as promised, we have maddie harris that young undefeated boxer coming at you live in the Studio in a few moments, what do you got? Michael? Yes, man? We got matty harris in the building, uh he’s reached out to us after friday.
He wasn’t able to make it friday, but now we’re here.
We got him in in the studio on monday we’re going to talk to him about his wonderful victory on his pro debut and uh.
You know the the beginnings of his career and then what it’s taken to get to there this far and what he’s got planned for the future and uh.
I can’t wait to talk to him about it, so, graham we’re going to get you out of the studio here and uh yeah we’re going to get him in and we’re going to we’re going to ask him some questions right, awesome! So yemen, off to the green room, maddie thanks for joining us man, that’s always nice to join you right, yeah man! Thank you for taking the time out of your schedule.
I know you’re coming off that fantastic uh victory.
I know you’re, probably back right in the gym right back at it.
You’Ve probably got lots of things planned um, let’s uh, let’s, let’s start out with the beginning.
Now what age did you start boxing at um? I started quite late.
I suppose um i started at 15, but um up until then i was playing football at quite a good level.
Uh, i’m not sure if that’s soccer out in the states, yeah yeah yeah yeah.
Yes, yes, it would be soccer out here out in north america, uh yeah, your football is our soccer and our football is not anything like yours at all.
So you guys are, you were playing, you were playing football and then you just decided to uh to start boxing.
What was the reason for the uh the reason to start boxing? Do you know what it was uh one of my mates uh.
I ended up football, for me, was getting a little bit stale um it’s one of the sports.
I was good at, but i never really enjoyed it that much um there’s one of my mates took me down to a boxing gym um when i was about 15 yeah and just went from there, so you were with the local gym got bit by the bug.
Um, how long? How long were you training before you started like before you uh decided to get into the ring and start uh start fighting people? Oh, i didn’t know my first fight till i was about 18, but i was very inconsistent with it.
So when i started at 15 uh, i enjoyed it a lot, but i didn’t start fighting until yeah.
It was about two weeks after my 18th birthday, but even then i wasn’t really serious with it.
I only started taking it properly serious when i joined the gym.
I’M right now right now, i’m at um cleary’s boxing gym over in lemmington, spa, okay, um yeah! So it’s a good gym.
It’S a proper old school gym gyms and there’s no heat in there’s, literally the building’s falling apart, but it’s brilliant.
It smells like a lot of smells like an old glove yeah [, Music, ] um.
So what um uh? So after your first, your first amateur fight, do you remember the first amateur fight getting in? Do you remember the feelings that you went through when you uh when you, when you got in the ring the first time yeah, it was a bit of a weird one.
My first amateur fight was um.
I actually lost my first amateur fight, um yeah.
It was.
I was at a club that no disrespect to the coach, but he was a bit all over the place like one of my friends after i think one or two fights he put him straight into the elite championships like yeah and um.
So after like oh, like my warm-up, we didn’t really warm up.
I didn’t really know he’s been in box for a long time.
He was a a good boxer in his day and whatnot, but um didn’t give me any advice beforehand.
I just got out there and and uh got beat on on the day.
It was it wasn’t a uh, it wasn’t.
Maybe it’s crazy.
It’S done it’s done.
It was done years back but um after that i went on uh to win a few and uh not to get out and this that was when i was at the club about now right, um and then covered hit, um yeah.
It must have affected your training.
Pretty big eh yeah it did, you know it didn’t stop, but then um it got to what everyone locked down in march yeah i got through till about april may, but even then i was trained in the park.
I was um with one of my friends.
I was doing a bit uh quite a bit of training, then um, but then he gave me the keys to the gym um to kind of come up.
Whenever you want uh, i, let’s just make sure no one’s there kind of thing right, um.
Let’S take bits of kit home and all that kind of stuff, and we kept going stating contact and whatnot um.
Then it was when locked down season restrictions eased around june july time.
I think it was yeah.
I think it was uh when we got back in the gym, then we said i hadn’t even done much barring at all, and then i got my it was.
I think i had there was around august time.
We had um me and a few mates like uh.
Did this event, everyone chipped in a bit of money in the park.
Oh nice, yeah winner, takes all oh yeah, so you created your own little round robin tournament kind of thing exactly well.
There was no boxing.
I had to get it exactly exactly exactly um, so well um.
So you you boxed late late in your career.
Oh 15! You got you started um.
You know first fight about 18.
You said it was and then um what was.
That was the reason for going pro.
What were some of your um? Your influences to turn pro and become become a professional fighter.
You know what it was uh, not long after that um fight in the park thing that i’m gon na say i won by the way i had a phone call to um with nathan, gorman uh he’s a professional uh over here you probably might know he is Yeah yeah um, and that was my first perspiring and i remember my coach told me uh at the time, obviously, because he was a pro and whatnot.
He said he’s going to come out quite slow.
Uh take your time with it that kind of thing so um, because as it go, it felt like a fight.
It was well.
There was loads of people in the gym.
First off was fine and he’s gone out there.
My first day, i think we did six rounds and i’m not gon na i’ve gone out there and he lit me up.
You come out.
I was thinking all right.
He’S gon na come out slow, so i didn’t really warm up properly.
I was expecting you know kind of feel my way into it right and he’s come out popping his jab hit me.
I remember i left that sparring session with what um two black eyes bruised wow.
You ran me through the ring, so then we get to.
Let me get to last thursday.
Last thursday was your pro debut um, excellent, excellent pro debut man, the way you were popping and doubling up that jab man just searching for that big right hand, i’m i’m guessing your right hand is.
Is, is your money maker right? That’S that’s the one, that’s the one! You love to love to drill people with, because you definitely set it up real nice.
You set it up.
Real nice uh describe the feeling describe the feeling from the first fight like uh.
What was going through the mind and and how did you feel in the ring? Do you know what i i didn’t, but after that spot i did so much uh spying with prose, and it got to a point where i would not hold my own, but i’m better and some some decent ones yeah, so um yeah by the time it come Around to sparring in the park, i also spa not long out from a fight.
Actually, you know fraser clark, you were yes, olympic bronze uh the olympics just gone yeah, um yeah.
He helped me get ready as well um but yeah.
It was uh.
So i kind of knew i i’ve got it about me here.
So you know the people behind you, the right people behind you and uh crap.
Because are you look? You looked really comfortable in there.
You didn’t look nervous at all man, you look you controlled.
You definitely controlled the whole pace of the fight um.
There was that one time where, where he did, he did kind of like press you a little but uh yo.
You weathered that storm like you’re, like a veteran which uh you know you know, can only be uh held to uh your trainers and your training.
Men, like you, look really really good.
I’Ve told all the all our fans out there that have watched who have uh, who i’ve talked about to you and uh yo man.
I’Ve pushed that fight telling them to watch it man, because it does show that you have a lot of experience.
Man, you got good ring iq and uh you’re only going to get better from here, really right and uh yeah awesome.
It’S awesome.
You have a great debut uh.
What what are what are like the uh, the short-term goals.
What do you guys see yourself doing in the next six months to a year? What’S the plan six months um getting out boxing internationally um yeah, i said uh, it’s a suppose, so you can’t really get as many fights in as you can uh like the amateurs where you can fight every week.
It’S um, i said, get another get another two or three fights in in the next six months.
Maybe four! Well it’s up to my promoters.
To be honest, i’m a manager right um, but get out sparring as well um.
I want to build up my experience.
Get in there with the best guys i can um [ Music ].
How do you find it fighting shorter guys? Is it? Is it hard sometimes to fight the shorter guys? Because um, yes, and no do you know what? Because it was quite difficult because the guy that i thought the other day was a little bit shorter right um.
Traditionally i used to hate fighting smaller guys.
It was.
It was a lot more work and you know you kind of having to fight just to stay in the fight.
If that makes sense, i mean again, especially ones that are a little bit more slippery you can get inside and that kind of stuff, but um.
I i i kind of worked on it.
I knew i was going to be fighting someone a bit shorter than me so um i was able to i’ve been sparring.
You know, um derek chizora, yes, yeah, yeah, yeah um.
Obviously, he’s he’s one of the best shorter guys there is around yeah he’s experienced and whatnot.
So i took a lot away from from the rounds with him um, but it was able to to control the fight using my lead hand, keep him up yeah and keep my feet working.
So i know if, if my feet stay busy and if i stay, keep staying, alert and sharp, i should be able to to make it any nice work.
Oh hello, we’ll be back momentarily.
I think mike’s uh computer might have just died.
Sorry about that uh maddie continue telling us all about it.
Please, oh yeah, uh wait! Is it so loud yeah we’re still on just oh he’s, coming back right now, yeah all right, um yeah, so boxing short guy, i kind of just learned to to be able to control it um watching a lot of you know like um, larry holmes and other Quite intelligent boxers who controlled a lot with their lead hand just by pouring and controlling their opponent, yeah, exactly i’m going back right now, i’m coming back right now the technical difficulties yeah yeah yeah.
I don’t think it’s uh.
His charger was fully plugged in there.
No, i kicked it out.
Man.
I actually accidentally kicked out my charger and i got everything running man.
Sorry, sorry, it didn’t disappear on you guys, yeah.
We we got it back.
We got it back sorry to all the fans out there who are watching live yeah man.
Sorry, i’m back.
I kicked out the charger.
My bad she’s gon na put my foot somewhere else, sir.
I don’t know where we left off we’re talking about uh fighting smaller guys, yeah smaller guys.
There we go um yeah, so um we’re uh.
If you could have a dream fight today, who would you want to face in in the heavyweight division? Honestly uh? What is it with the landscape today, yeah yeah, any of the top five any other top five.
I might say for if me, with a bit more experience and whatnot um.
I said i fancy myself against anyone to be honest, do you want to be loved, or do you want to be feared in your career? It doesn’t make a difference as long as i’m respected um.
That’S how i i want to have a respectable career um and, to be honest, either way i get paid.
So i don’t really care, but it’s not just that the the having the the respect – and so i know when i when i finish my career.
I know that i fought the best that there was to fight, and i did my best, but that’s what i’d be happy with so loved or feared, makes no difference to me right.
I heard i heard a story that you were.
You were living in a caravan on your trainer’s driveway at one point in your in your story here uh, oh yeah, that’s a true story yeah! I did it for about six months, six months, wow yeah from june all the way up until my pro debut um the week of my pro debut uh.
I stayed home on the monday, but then i went down to london on the tuesday, so uh i was in the caravan all the way up until then wow wow, it’s going to be hard you’re a tall dude.
They do they even make them like uh for tall men like yourself.
No i’d have to sleep diagonally, it wasn’t great.
I was gon na say the only reason i’m home today.
Yeah is because um it snowed and it was really cold.
Last night and my heat isn’t really that good um so yeah, as i said, that’s the only reason i’m home but um i’ll, be back in uh, probably tomorrow night.
So do you stay in there just to make it easier for getting to training and accessing your coach and everything like that? Yeah, because my my house is actually.
I live about 45 minutes away driving um from my boxing gym, i’m a coach so right yeah and it keeps me awake.
It keeps me away from distractions or anything like that, so i can i’m there i’m there to do a job and just focus on what i have to do right.
So it’s like so it’s like living at work, pretty much you’re like living off right.
You get mess around you can’t you can’t you can’t like uh, you can’t, you know disappear from your training and everything.
Your coach is right.
There he’s on your ass and he’s watching you because you’re living in the driveway right, like so exactly hey, yo.
That’S that’s a that’s a good way to discipline yourself, man to uh stay real, focused um.
I want to ask you about um, like uh training uh when you go into camp.
What’S that, what’s a dane, what’s a day in the life of maddie harris in camp like what is camp so um in the mornings we were normally it was.
It was really difficult for me this time because i didn’t have my car broke down like six weeks away from the fight day.
Uh and it did.
I didn’t get it back for six weeks, like literally the week of my fight, i wrote it back um, so it was much harder to get to the conditioning gym and all that kind of stuff um, but yeah normally i’ll go to the gym in the morning Or i’ll go to the boxing gym to shadow box and have a shake out then i’ll.
Go to the we’ll go i’ll! Go for a walk with my coach for about 40 minutes an hour just to put some miles on my legs, whether it’s a walk or a jog or whatever, and then on the in the evening.
It’S just in the boxing gym so pad sparring or whatever.
It is okay, okay, what’s what’s the worst part about training? What do you hate the worst? What what’s the thing you dread? The most you run in it’s always running, hey everybody hates that it’s because i guess i guess, because it running takes a lot of time right like like just because you’re, not you’re, not just running like a mile or two you’re running a few miles right, like You’Re running anything anything, that’s not fighting.
I hate i don’t like fighting is the only bit i like so so you you, you’ll you’ll, endure and push yourself through the stuff that you hate just so when you get in that ring, you get to do exactly what you love and that’s punch, people and Fight people exactly i love it.
No, that’s me.
That’S great man, that’s great um.
What uh? What are some of? What are some of the biggest challenges that you faced today, uh in your career, um? What do you mean the biggest challenges in terms of like biggest challenges, of either politics or like coaching training, like some some of the biggest challenges that have that of that that you faced where you’re like you know what this is getting hard and you’ve had to Push yourself through it just to be just to stay doing it.
Do you know what i’ve had some days before um when i was firing? I was in camp with hugh fury, i think, um some days where the first day i got there uh it was.
It was hard and then uh after that, no yeah after that uh i pushed myself through and and excelled as a fighter because of it.
But i remember one time i had to spa uh up in the morning at 8 30 for sparring, but i was i didn’t sleep that night i was up until four o’clock in the morning throwing up over the toilet because i had food poisoning.
So i had to call it my mom um, like just to tell her look of uh, i’m a bit ill at the minute, blah blah and she told me you better, not miss aspiring in the morning [ Laughter ], your mom’s, pretty supportive for your career.
Then your mom, your mum, really watching you i did see.
I did see her uh po after the post fight interview that you know she was very she.
She was worried for when you were in there, but she looked happy that you were in there doing your business so she’s, really behind you, eh yeah.
My mom supports me all the way uh.
So my dad my dad’s uh a massive supporter as well right um.
I was gon na say i get a lot of my my dream chasing aspects from my mom right, because that that’s what she’s about that’s what she’s encouraged me to do she encouraged me.
She knew this is what i wanted to do.
She believed in me and uh kind of pushed me down that route, but i’d say i get a consistency to stick it through for my dad, but that’s a really hard worker and he knows that photographed away right right.
So you got you got the best qualities of both and that another you got this wonderful boxing career.
You just turned professional men.
It’S it’s amazing um.
What does do you have like? Do you have like eating habits like uh, like you have to do? You have to diet properly and all this kind of stuff like do you do, do you eat junk food and all that kind of crap, or are you like on a strict diet? Do you know what for this fight my diet, i’m not gon na lie to you, my dad wasn’t the best, my um, the guy, that normally prepares my food right he’s been doing it for six months up until the fight um, he then got covered and then His wife got covered as well, so it for the again.
From around the time my car broke down, yeah i had i was having to partially cook my own food, but i was that busy in the days of rest, then that sometimes i didn’t so i just buy rubbish and my doubt wasn’t the best, but i didn’t Keep it in the best [ Laughter ].
That’S awesome! That’S awesome! Man um! Where do you where? What do you see when 10 years from now? Where do you want to be world? Champ underscored have more, at least at least undisputed, or no, not at least understood at least unified, or have a belt on the way to unified right right, um yeah – i wouldn’t be in this game to come to to get second place.
You know that’s words even champion right.
There champion right there, this sport’s too tough to to come.
Second man, no exactly it’s a lot, a lot of work, it’s tough on the body um, you know, and and definitely man it’s.
It is hard work.
Uh words of wisdom for any any kid that’s coming up in in the game right now, uh anything that you can.
You can suggest that they do or some advice for any little kid.
That’S wanting to get into boxing um! Stick it out! It’S hard you’re gon na have hard days.
I didn’t believe it until i experienced it for myself, but um.
I was gon na say: stick it out, even when things don’t seem to be going your way.
Stick it out grind it out and eventually good things will happen.
Even if it’s hard, when you don’t see a because i i was training through cover and whatnot, with no set goal in life, there was no light at the end of the tunnel.
Well, it didn’t seem like the nickname.
What’S your nickname, what’s everybody calling you these days magic magic? How did we get the nickname? You know what it was one of the things like before the night before i signed uh pro yeah.
My coach should call me up on the back.
You need to quote the name or something, and then my managers did exactly the same, and one of my friends at breakdances, his nickname, was magic, okay, um, so i kind of called him.
I was like do well.
If i use your name et cetera and we just kind of run with it, i like it, it works, it works man, you popping up those hands like your magic.
I love right.
I love it.
I love it.
Maddie we’re not going to keep you too much longer um just stick around after uh and then we’ll talk just off screen uh to all the fans watching around the world.
Thank you for tuning in maddie.
Thank you again for uh, taking out time out of your busy schedule to come and talk to us here at talk and fight.
Uh we’re behind you we’re gon na be definitely following your career from here on out uh.
You know so please, next time, you’re fighting.
Let us know uh, anytime anytime, you can we’re definitely gon na be watching man we’ll definitely be behind you.
Cheering you on you’re, now part of our talk and fight family uh.
Yes, so thanks again to all the fans, you know what it is: man, it’s mike orr at four on knuckle up coming to you live with maddie harris.
I promise you the interview.
We got it.
I hope you guys enjoy it in the meantime.
We’Ll see you tomorrow same time same channel 4 o’clock with your man, michael and i’ll, have a new prospect for you that we’re profiling.
You know what it is knuckle up.
Everybody we’ll see you tomorrow, four o’clock,
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