Fabio Wardley surely has enough on his mind as his promoters consider potential opponents for his first WBO world heavyweight title defence.
He has, though, other ring matters to concern him as fellow Ipswich fighter Issiah Hamilton-Allen prepares to make his professional debut.
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Wardley is co-manager of the 22-year-old welterweight who, like him, took part in white-collar boxing before turning professional – and who will face Connor Meanwell over four rounds at Ipswich’s Trinity Park on 21 February.
Hamilton-Allen told BBC Radio Suffolk: “He [Wardley] was in the same position I’m in, a boy from Chantry [estate].
“Everyone these days is like ‘you can’t do this, you can’t do that, stick to normal jobs’, but the sky’s the limit at the end of the day – you can do anything you put your mind to.
“If Fab hasn’t shown that, I don’t know what has.
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“He was a boy from a little estate and that gave me the motivation to think ‘if he’s done it, then why can’t I?'”
‘He gets straight to the point’
The pair have established a close relationship training at the same Suffolk Punch boxing club, but when it comes to assessing his progress Hamilton-Allen values honesty that is as brutal as the punches Wardley throws in the ring.
“He’s so real, he’s so straight to the point,” he said.
“You don’t want people in your ear saying ‘oh yeah, you’re great’, you want them to tell you ‘this is bad, that’s bad, this is what you need to correct’ and he does all of that for me.”
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As a boy, Hamilton-Allen took part in martial arts, before an injury forced him to stop, but in 2019 he decided he needed something else to “fuel” him and turned to boxing after attending an event hosted by Wardley.
With his mentor’s encouragement he entered the white-collar boxing world and soon had five victories to his credit.
“I always believed in my own ability but it was baby steps, don’t rush it, just take your time,” he explained.
His next move was into amateur boxing, but for all his natural ability, that was not plain sailing with a couple of defeats showing he still had things to learn.
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Hamilton-Allen, though, believes his approach is better suited to professional boxing.
He said: “There was always pros around the gym and mixing with them you learn to fight like that – you pick little bits from them and put it into my style.
“I kind of work in [going through] gears and that’s perfect for the pros.”
His other co-manager, Matt Brennan, agrees.
“He’s watched Fab, he’s watched [local middleweight] Ryan Copland, guys like that and thought ‘this is my style, this is the way I want to fight’ and that’s why we accelerated him as quick as we could to get that pro licence,” he said.
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‘A great sponge for information’
Fabio Wardley (left) stopped Joseph Parker in his most recent contest last October before being awarded the WBO heavyweight belt [Getty Images]
Hamilton-Allen wants to keep busy and another fight is already scheduled for Gloucester in March, and he hopes three or four more will follow in 2026.
So what does the world champion – who manages Hamilton-Allen with Matt Brennan – make of the young fighter, who could perhaps be labelled his protege?
Speaking last month, Wardley said: “He’s dedicated to it. He said to me from the start ‘I really want to make a go of this, I really want to do something’.
“He’s a great sponge for information as well – he’ll take it all on board. He’s got skills, some that I’m jealous of even now – he can do it all and it’s going to be fantastic to see his career kick on.”
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Hamilton-Allen also lists 15-time world champion Floyd Mayweather Jr as one of his favourite fighters.
“He’s great. People say he runs around the ring, but if you watch the earlier part of his career, he was one of the most aggressive fighters, he was stopping people, he was getting knockouts,” he said.
“In this game, we’ve seen loads of fighters that take a lot of punishment and they’re not able to enjoy their later years in life, so I want to be able to do that defensive side as well but still be exciting.”
Hamilton-Allen is just one of a number of hungry young boxers from Suffolk who are looking to make their mark.
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Wardley added: “When I started out in boxing in Ipswich the scene was quite quiet so it’s fantastic it’s picking up and there’s new fighters taking up the sport.
“Across the board, boxing in Ipswich is thriving, seeing all these young talents come through.
“With Issiah, I have a hand in watching him grow. I’m really excited to see how his career develops.”
Hear the full interview with Issiah Hamilton-Allen on BBC Radio Suffolk from 18:00 GMT
More boxing from the BBC
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