FEATURE: Single-minded Northampton boxer Conway determined to be the very best

The 23-year-old super-welterweight has made some serious waves in British professional boxing during the past couple of years.

Conway, nicknamed 'Too Class', has had 16 pro fights to date, winning 14, drawing one, with just the one defeat.

That loss came over three rounds to Derrick Osaze in the semi-final of the Ultimate Boxxer competition at the O2 in London last May.

And although a frustration, that loss proved to be the jolt to the system that the former Kings Heath ABC amateur needed, and his career has certainly gone from strength to strength since.

Just a few weeks after the loss he fought for the British title, drawing his bout with champion Ted Cheeseman, and Conway, who is managed by MTK Global, then found himself being signed up by Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom promotion stable.

His past two fights, against Konrad Stempkowski and Craig O’Brien, were both won convincingly in front of the Sky Sports cameras, and things are on the up.

Along with everybody else involved in sport, Conway’s career has temporarily been put on hold due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis, with his next fight being moved from April until June at the earliest.

But whenever he eventually gets to take on former English champion Navid Mansouri, Conway will be ready as he is fiercely determined to be the very best.

And he admits that drive has ultimately come from the defeat at the hands of Osaze.

Combat has always been part of Conway’s life, but it wasn’t always as a boxer.

He was a black belt at karate as a youngster, before trying his luck with boxing when he went along with his dad to Kings Heath ABC.

His father, James, had been tempted into coaching, and Conway Jnr thought he would give it a go - although he is the first to admit he wasn’t a natural!

Asked when he realised he had that little something extra as a boxer, Conway said: “Not until recent times, as even when I turned pro I wasn’t that great.

“I was rubbish when I first started as an amateur, I lost my first fight and I used to then win one, lose one, win one, lose one.

"I think after about my first 20 fights I had more losses than wins.

“When was about 15 or 16 I then started to turn it round a bit, and I got on good winning streaks.

“I had good runs in championships and stuff like that, but even when I was a senior I was training hard, but I had other things going on.

“They were throwing me off, and I was missing sessions here and there, and then even when I turned pro, I still didn’t have what I have now.”

So what is it that Conway now has?

“I have built this mentality that this is it. This is everything, this is all I have got, and this is all I will be,” he said.

“I have made the decision, and now I have a vicious mentality that nothing else matters, except for succeeding.

“This has all happened at the right time for me, at a good time for me, I have been signed by Matchroom and I think it is all going to help me in the long run.”

When asked what sparked the change in mentality, Conway admits the short, sharp shock of that surprise defeat did the trick.

“Before the Ultimate Boxxer competition I did get a bit ahead of myself,” admitted Conway, who went into that competition having won all 10 of his professional bouts.

“I thought I was going to go in there and just walk it, and I didn’t really get myself up for it too much.

“I suffered my loss in there obviously, and I think it was that moment that changed me actually.

“Two days after that loss, I messaged my manager and I said to him ‘get me straight back out there’.

“There was a show in Northampton the next week, and I wanted to be on that card. I said to him ‘I don’t want paying, I just want to be on that card’, and that’s how it went.

“I was on the bill, I had a quick four-rounder (against Harry Matthews at The Deco), and the next thing I know I am fighting for a British title three or four weeks later!”

Even so, that ‘L’ on his record must be a source of irritation for Conway?

“Some organisations don’t even put that on the records, but it doesn’t frustrate me,” he insisted

“The thing is, I think that is the moment that things clicked for me, so I almost thank the fact that it happened.

“I think Ultimate Boxxer, and losing that fight in it, did the world of good for me.

“It does annoy me when I say ‘have I lost one’, but did it really matter? No, it just is what it is.”

Conway, who is sponsored by Northampton firm S&D Paving, is talking to me after undergoing a light session at the new Shoe-Box gym that has opened in Northampton.

His enthusiasm and drive for the sport are obvious, so does he have any idols that he looks up to?

Conway says the first fight he watched that gave him the boxing bug was Ricky Hatton taking on Kostya Tszyu, but it was another boxer who caught his eye.

“I used to watch a lot of Miguel Cotto, and I used to love how he threw that left hook to the body,” said Conway.

“That has subconsciously come to me as well, because everybody knows I can throw really good left hooks to the body, always have through the amateurs, sparring and pros.

“People don’t like that left hook to the body, and it must be from watching those Miguel Cotto fights, as I don’t see where else it came from.

“As for now, I don’t really have an idol, I just like watching everybody and taking little things from everybody.

“That even includes low, low down, even young lads. I will watch them fight and I still take stuff from what they are doing, because you can never stop learning.”

Conway knows all too well that he is still learning his trade.

He is still a young man, so when does he think he will hit his peak?

“I am nowhere near my prime,” said the 23-year-old. “There is the 10,000-hour rule isn’t there?

“That says you put 10,000 quality hours into something, and you are effectively pushing towards your peak.

“So I think I have a lot of time on my hands, but I put the work in.

“I am in the gym at least twice a day, six days a week, and I do everything properly. Everything."

And that is in and out of the gym.

“As I said, I am nowhere near my prime, but by the time I am 28 or 29 I will have developed a lot of strength and power, and everything will have come together by then.

“And by that time I want to be going on to world honours, not just British.

He will certainly be helped match his ambitions by the fact he is part of the Matchroom team, one of the major players in the world in terms of promotion.

Conway believes signing with them, which he did in the summer of 2019, takes away unnecessary worries, and allows him to concentrate on being a full-time athlete.

“I know I have got fights coming up, I know the fights are set for certain dates, and it leaves your mind a lot more clear,” said Conway.

“It is a massive organisation, they are so powerful and offer up so many opportunities.

“If you play it right then it is good to be with Matchroom, and the thing is if they look after me, then I will eventually look after them.

“I put my trust into them and also (management) MTK as well, because if it benefits me, it benefits them.”

Having already had one tilt at winning the British title, and falling agonisingly short in that drawn bout with Cheeseman, Conway is keen for a second opportunity.

But he says he is prepared to bide his time.

“I am in no rush, it will come when it comes, and I do believe it will come,” he said.

“If it’s this year then that’s good, if it’s next year, then it’s next year.

“When the time is right the time is right, and I am sure Matchroom will put me forward for it as soon as I am ready.”

Conway has made it clear on more than one occasion that he is desperate to put Northampton on the map, and winning the British title would certainly do that.

He is clearly proud of his home town, and the boxing scene in the area.

“I think Northampton boxing is really under-rated to be fair,” said Conway.

“There are loads of really good amateurs, there are a few good pros, and they just need to manoeuvre their careers properly.

“If they do that then I am sure Northampton will be known for being a good boxing town.

“In a few years I am sure that will be the case, and hopefully I can be a real marker of that.

“It’s one of my motivations to succeed, because now I say to people ‘I am from Northampton’, and they go ‘where’s that?’.

“So you have to say it’s kind of near London.

“I want people to know exactly where it is.”

HOME TOWN GYM A BOOST FOR CONWAY - AND NORTHAMPTON BOXING

KIERON CONWAY is delighted with his new training surroundings in Northampton.

The boxer’s dad, James, has set up the Shoe-Box gym for the town’s professional fighters, which was featured in last week’s Chron.

With the gym based just off the Harlestone Road in Duston, it means Conway and the other Northampton boxers don’t have far to go, and Conway says that is a Godsend.

Asked about the new gym, Conway said: “A lot of people don’t have this privilege, they have to travel a long way.

“I have done that over the years as well, and travelled ridiculous distances for sparring and stuff, but it is really good that we can have a nice base here.

“It means people will come here for sparring, and it is going to be a well-known place within a couple of years.”

And he added: “This place gives me a lot of freedom, as I can be here for 24 hours a day if I need to be, and I’m sure sometimes I will be!

“The travelling thing takes a lot out of you, takes away a lot of energy and focus.

“It means you have to focus on other little things, you have to focus on how you are getting there, and I want to put all of my energy and focus all into my boxing.

“I want it so you don’t need or have to think about other things, and worry about other things, and this place is right on my doorstep.

“It’s probably a five-minute drive from home, and it is the perfect place for me.

“I will also have a lot of privacy, and I will be able to get a lot of work done that you can’t in other places, if you are waiting for people to move around and stuff.”