In his own words, Dominic Negus is “infamous” rather than famous as he aims to polish his legacy with a bare-knuckle boxing bout at the age of 53.
The former heavyweight, who fought Audley Harrison more than 20 years ago, is preparing to make his official bare-knuckle debut this weekend. That Harrison fight, a points defeat, proved to be the last of his pro boxing career. It is best remembered for his headbutt on the Olympian, with Negus furious after being punched while down on one knee in the fourth round.
His fight against Norweigen Andre Lovli at the BKB 35 show this Saturday will be one of the highlights of a packed card at a sold-out Indigo Arena in London's O2. It will technically be his bare-knuckle fighting debut, although he has had plenty of unofficial and unlawful scraps down the years.
READ MORE: 'I fled the war in Ukraine – now I'm a British bare-knuckle boxing champion'
READ MORE: 'Blood, gore, marriage proposals and Big Narstie – my night at bare-knuckle boxing'
Negus, he readily admits, has been his own worst enemy at times, but has turned over a new leaf. He says his daughter, now 19, has been his biggest influencer in leading a calmer lifestyle.
“It’s a great opportunity for me to exercise some demons,” he tells Daily Star Sport. “When I go, I won’t be able to leave my daughter what I’d like to leave her, but I can leave my legacy and this is part of the legacy for me.
What do you think of Dominic Negus bare-knuckle fighting at 53? Tell us in the comments section below
“Before she came along, I was involved in a lot of not-so-good things. I don’t want to go too much into it because it was 20 years ago, but she changed the whole playing field for me. She made me realise I didn’t have to be a horrible person.
“Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t take a liberty with anyone who didn’t deserve it, but if I sold a ticket to everyone I’ve knocked out, I’d probably sell Wembley Arena out!
“I’m 53 and I know my time [in the ring] is nearly up, but I know I can hold my own with most people out there. I need to redeem myself. I need to prove something to myself. Sometimes you have to do things you don’t want to do and this is kind of the case with this fight.
“The amount of people who don’t want me doing it… I’ve had phone calls from good friends of mine asking me ‘why are you doing this? You shouldn’t be doing this at your age’.
“I totally get that but I say ‘listen, you come and live my life, you try and live a couple of days in my head’. Some people have nice houses, nice cars, I haven’t got that, so I have to make my legacy in different ways.
“It’s not that I just want people to think Dominic Negus is just a hard b******, there’s a little bit more to me. I need to prove to myself what I’m about."
Negus, who recently triumphed on an unlicensed boxing show, says his upcoming fight has given him a “kick up the a***”.
“This is the hardest I’ve trained since I fought Audley Harrison. I’m taking it really seriously,” he declares. “I’ve only ever trained to fight. I don’t drink anymore – I haven’t for years – but when people used to ask me to go down the gym, I’d say ‘why, is there a bar there?’
“I’m well known in the boxing world, I was more infamous than famous. But I can fight and I can punch. Bare-knuckle is a bit different and I’m not expecting to come out of there unscathed, but I’m expecting to come out a winner. I’m not training to come second.
“I’m ready for six minutes of mayhem [the fight will be over three two-minute rounds]. I’m not worrying about what he’s got, he needs to be worrying about what I’ve got.”
Negus has written a new book – 'Dominic Negus: What about me?' – which is available to buy HERE priced £19.99.
Source: Read Full Article