Former England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff recovered from hitting the canvas to win his maiden boxing match in Manchester on Friday, beating American Richard Dawson on points at the end of the eight-minute bout.
Flintoff, who revealed a struggle with bulimia in the build-up to his first pro bout, didn’t win by a large margin, taking the match by 39 points to 38, but it was better than many expected from the former Three Lions captain.
The Lancashire man said afterwards: “This was a personal battle. The battles with my mind and breaking down barriers every day and improving has been as good as anything. I don’t want the open top buses but I can go to bed tonight and close my eyes knowing I’ve overcome a few things.
“I’ve had a few personal issues. Every time walking between the ropes has been an effort. The physical aspect is one thing but the mental aspect is another thing completely.
“I take my hat off to boxers and I give every credit to the hard work they put in.”
He continued: “I put myself out to a degree but if I’d have been knocked out in the first round, everyone would have said: “Oh, he’s just a big cricketer”.
“On a global scale, this comes nowhere near to my cricket career. I’ve had a novice heavyweight fight but I’ve had the chance to play for England in Ashes series’ and been successful.”
Flintoff hit the deck in the second round and had to recover from that humiliation via a standing count, but showed the fighting spirit that made him one of England’s fiercest competitors and soon got back into the swing of the bout.
Freddie said: “I got caught and went down, I was a bit off balance. The ref said “What’s your name?” and I was like “it’s Freddie!”. That made me more determined, I didn’t want it to end then.
“It was everything and more. It wasn’t one for the purists but all the work over the last four-and-a-half months with these two guys [Shane and Barry McGuigan) was about those eight minutes. I think I got the full experience; I got the canvas, the black eye and the win! It was like an out of body experience.”
Flintoff also addressed the many pundits who laughed off his boxing career before it had even begun, saying he did it for himself and had huge respect for the sport. He also thanked Dawson for putting up with the media circus surrounding the match.
Flintoff said: “I didn’t do this to prove people wrong. I appreciate people want to protect the sport. This whole process was never about degrading boxing. We wanted to do it properly and showed boxing for what a fantastic sport it is. I think at times boxers don’t get the credit they deserve.
“We should give credit to Richard Dawson who came over. It was never going to be easy but he’s conducted himself very well.”
