“WHAT AN HONOUR TO BE PART OF THE VERY FIRST SPORTIN WALES MAGAZINE”

Mikey Rowe, host of the Catflap Chats Podcast, has been fortunate enough to meet some interesting people along his way in the world of sport. There’s not much that gets past Mikey and he has plenty of interesting stories that he will divulge over the coming months.

What really happens when the glitz and glamour of game day dies down and athletes head back to their own lives away from the spotlight of the public eye? We have delved back into the Catflap Chats Podcast archives with Mikey, to hear what others had to say about their early years in professional sport.

The early years of becoming a professional athlete can be a difficult time for many young stars. As they see their friends enjoying nights out on the town, while they remain professional, staying away from any sort of temptation, working hard to reach the pinnacle of their sports.

This particular boxer certainly had an eye-opening beginning to his professional career, after taking a two-year break from the sport he loved after finding fights difficult to come by, before making his name over the next few years.

This Welsh boxer has always been a colourful character in the Welsh scene, but his formative years proved to be a reminder that he couldn’t take his sport lightly in the wake of disappointment.

There are those who are disciplined and completely dedicated to their craft and those who have trouble adjusting to a new kind of life. Some young stars struggle to find a balance between the two worlds and enjoy the freedom away from such a demanding environment at a young age.

Like any other adolescent, this individual found their way into the partying scene from a young age and soon found out in his two years away from the sport, things begin to catch up on you when you are living fast and dangerously.

While admitting that he was lucky that friends were just into drinking and a bit of smoking, he still found himself enjoying a night or two in the town even at the age of fifteen.

When his career picked up again at 17, the fun continued. After making his debut in professional sport and earning £1,500 for his first performance, he enjoyed a week-long bender with two mates before taking off to Benidorm where he took on confident doormen on the boxing machines.

Having eased through his first few fights, picking up a few knockouts, all the while still enjoying the occasional night out on the town with his mates. He was soon taught a few important lessons during his fourth bout.

Having gone out a week before the fight, the youngster learned pretty quickly that he needed to knuckle down and find a better balance going into his future fights.

The excitement was all about him going into the fight but having smashed his opponent in the first three rounds, he sat back on the stool shattered. He knew the rest of the fight was going to be a tough ask. He was then caught with a good shot in the fourth round, falling to his first loss in seven years.

After reassessing things over the week following the fight with friends, he decided that he would never come into a fight in that condition again, knowing he could not mess around anymore and get away with it.

Luckily, he saw the error of his own ways, going on to have a successful career, becoming the WBO Champion in 2006. Before holding the European and British Cruiserweight titles between 2010 and 2012, as well as the Commonwealth light-heavyweight title in 2013.

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