The stage was set for Sam Cox’s first outing of 2020. The 25-year-old professional boxer from Islington was hoping to improve his record to six wins and no losses in front of a packed-out crowd at the O2 arena in March. But, as is often the case at the moment, coronavirus came calling.
“It’s cost me £2000 to get myself through the camp,” Sam explained, “and I’m not going to earn anything now. You’re not insured in boxing and you don’t get paid for not fighting.” Such is the struggle for many up and coming fighters in the sport at the moment, with shows all over the country being cancelled or postponed.
“It’s frustrating,” Sam admitted, “because it’s probably set me back at least a year. Boxing at the O2 was a massive platform for me and it would’ve really boosted my career and helped me on the way to a title fight next. Now I need to have another warm-up fight before I can fight for a title.”
It would have been Sam’s second appearance at the O2. He hoped that the nerves in his debut outing would have disappeared, and this time he could really put on a show.
“When I first fought at the O2, it was a whole new experience, you get butterflies and it takes time to get used to. This time, I thought this is now my opportunity to go and put on my best performance, I’m used to the venue and I wouldn’t have to get the nerves out of the way, I would’ve felt more at home.”
To add to Sam’s frustration, this situation was almost avoided. “I was meant to fight on 7 March at York Hall, which actually took place,” he said. “It was perfect, because I had my sister’s wedding on the 14th, so then I could enjoy my sister’s wedding and not have to be on a diet. We got the phone call for the Matchroom show on the 28th, and it was a massive opportunity. So, I spoke to my sister and she said I was crazy to be worrying about eating and enjoying myself at her wedding and that this was too big an opportunity for me to pass up so I took it. I didn’t eat or drink at her wedding last weekend and now it’s all for nothing.”
The lack of opportunities in boxing has forced Sam to return to his day job: “I work for a company called Powerday. The good thing is we actually have a foundation here, that’s managed by my dad, Bill Cox. We fund a lot of boxing and we just sponsored the GB Olympic team all the way to Tokyo. My side of the business is going into schools and I coach boxing free of charge and I help out with Mencap groups, which is for disabled adults. I also work with Grenfell United where I do a lot of coaching sessions. So, for me work is great but at the moment it’s all stopped because I can’t go into schools so I’m just in the office trying to make myself busy.”
