An Interview with Kieran Gething

An Interview with Kieran Gething 

By Oliver McManus

Kieran Gething must be the only Liverpool fan not watching their Champions League showdown with Tottenham on Saturday night but for good reason: the 25 year old defends his Welsh Area super lightweight title and his expectation is that he’ll be fighting slap-bang in the middle of football’s showpiece continental final. Trying his best to keep Gething from getting distracted by any murmurings of the score will be his opponent Craig Woodruff (7-4) but we started off by talking about the occasion: a triple header of title fights.

“That’s 100% down to MTK. The Sanigar’s have been doing putting shows on for a while and they really brought prestige back to the Welsh title but MTK are pushing it to another level – like they are all over the country. I remember when Lee Selby fought for the European about four, five years ago (against Rendall Munroe in February 2014) with Anthony Joshua on the undercard and that was the first pro fight I ever went to. That was the last time a European title, male version anyway, was fought for in Wales and there’s not many people that can say they fought on the undercard of a European title fight. When you look at it like that, getting motivated is a piece of piss!”

Motivation not only for that self-satisfaction and the ability to build a profile for himself but, actually, for a far more poignant cause. Kieran’s dad, Gary, was a former professional boxer himself but passed away in 2014, having taken his own life. Knowing he’s following in the footsteps of his father – much loved throughout the community – serves as a required reassurance for Gething.

“I’ve lived in Pontypool since I was five but a lot of my family are from Abergavenny and just hearing their stories about my father is just immense. It’s hard for me to say I miss him because I see him everytime I look in the mirror… the only guy who’s as handsome as I am. As you grow up you need someone to praise you and that’s what I miss the most, the “Christ son, I’m proud of you.”

The bout with Craig Woodruff emerged after Gething had to withdraw from a British title eliminator against Darren Surtees due to a slight niggle. Going into this contest there were no such concerns.

“I honestly feel brilliant about it”, he told me a week out from the fight, “this will be my fourth all-Welsh fight and there’s not many people at this stage in their career who can say that. Three of my last four, including this one, will have been for the Welsh title and Craig is a brilliant fighter, I’ll praise him a lot. He was actually my sparring partner before the Henry Janes fight and I believe he can go and do some serious things. Not at this weight and not through me.

“His team are foolish to think he can just slip in at super lightweight (having campaigned largely at lightweight) and do some damage. They were pushing to get him on the MTK show and the only way he could fit in was against me.”

Gething, himself, was far more used to fighting around the 69kg mark before he decided to dip down to super lightweight (63.5kg) earlier this year. The size difference, alone, between him and his challenger is something he believes will see Woodruff into deep waters.

“I aim to be a very big super lightweight and it’s mental to me that I can get that low. I know at the check weight he was 10st 2lbs two weeks before the contest so I don’t know how they expect him to be strong at the weight, especially given I’m going to be closer to 11st after rehydrating. I think he’s a super featherweight, if I’m honest, he could find a lot of success down there.”

The secret to suppressing his strength into the 140lb limit is a change in diet: for the fight with Henry Janes, Gething decided to go vegan and for this contest he’s utilising a pescetarian diet. Something he told me was about more than just making weight.

“You feel a lot healthier, to be honest, it feels as though you’ve got power coming out your hands to a completely new level. It helps keeps you fresh and obviously because the diet is a change to how you’d regularly eat, the strength feels different – it’s hard to explain. Even though I’m obviously going lighter than I’ve been used to, I don’t feel any weaker.”

The change in diet was prompted by his fight against Tony Dixon, a real humdinger, last October in which he ‘scraped to the weight’. That particular contest won the Welsh Area ‘fight of the year’ for 2018 and his bout against Janes, in February, kept that thriller momentum going. Could we make it a hat-trick of bruising title fights or would the the 25 year old prefer a smoother ride his time around?

“I think I might already have ‘fight of the year’ wrapped up already for this year, as well, with that fight against Henry Janes so I’m hoping I can get in there and get it done this time! I have aspirations of going onto a Commonwealth title or something like that later on in the year so if I can finish it off as quickly as possible then I’ll be able to relax afterwards. I’m never adverse to a war, though, because I don’t find it hard but I want to make it easy for myself.

I’ll tell you a little story because in the 10th round against Tony he whispered in my ear and said ‘you’re stronger than I thought’ and you can see me with a big grin on my face as I gave him a big whack across the cheek. To be honest with you I do love getting attention and people saying they like watching my fights so I don’t give a shit how the fights happens as long as I’m winning and the people keep enjoying it.”

Following on from this fight there’s a real desire to start establishing himself outside of the Welsh domestic scene and a fight with Philip Bowes, the Commonwealth champion, has tickled the fancy of Pontypool’s latest fighting pride.

“In an ideal world that would be the next fight – get it on in Liverpool, London or Cardiff. I’m trying to bring a bit of attention to myself (by calling out Bowes on social media) so that people know what I’m about and Leon McKenzie, Bowes’ manager, has told me to be quiet – all in jest – but I’m bored and I can’t keep my mouth shut! They know I’m looking and I think he’s probably get something lined up but I don’t really care who holds the belt, I just want the title.”

Looking more long term and Gething has his eyes set on loftier prizes, “the ambition everyone starts boxing with”, to win a world title. As his career has progressed and he’s learned more of the business, he says he’s even more confident he’s on the right track.

“As I’ve got into boxing I think I’ve realised that anyone can get a world title shot – tell me I can’t boxer than that Isufi who just fought Saunders. You just have to look at people who have fought for a world title, anyone can do it, but I’m going to win one. It’s a bit of a running joke that I’m the most ambitious fighter in Wales but it won’t be a joke for much longer.”

Lifeside out of boxing sees him living the family life with his partner and two children – a two year old and a nine month baby who delayed our interview by beckoning her father with tears – and there was a real feeling that everything was slowly falling into place. Boxing being the only piece of jigsaw yet to be finalised.

“I’ve got the ability to achieve something fantastic in my useless shell of a body but I absolutely love life outside of the sport. My sponsors have got me living like a millionaire! I get to spend so much time with my little girl and take them to their swimming classes and when my partner has time off we go out as a family to find the dragons and the princesses at the castle. The girls are growing up so quick and I’m the richest man in the world in everything but the bank account.

I’ve had my whole life planned out since I was 13 and outside of boxing I’ve got everything I’ve ever wanted and now I’ve just got to finish off what I’ve started in boxing and I can retire to my wonderful family and live the life I’ve always dreamed of.”