Chris Andre: “I think boxing is not just about the fight, it’s about the storyline.”

Chris Andre: “I think boxing is not just about the fight, it’s about the storyline.”

By Chris Akers

Chris Andre’s boxing YouTube channel has been established for a number of years. His in-depth analysis both of the technical and psychological aspects of major fights had seen his subscribers steadily increase. Unlike some in-depth tactical and technical jargon by other sports pundits that can descend into waffling and remove the joy and spontaneity that sport can offer, Andre’s analysis demonstrates an erudition and clarity that keeps his viewers enthralled and looking forward in anticipation to a major fight.

His interest, not just in boxing but in martial arts, has been present from a young age.

“When I was a small kid, my mom took me to karate,” says Chris via Zoom. “My mom was a gymnast and she won a silver medal. I can’t remember whether it was a London tournament, South East or regional tournament, but she got a silver medal and was pretty good. But she got married and had me when she was quite young. After a few years, she wanted to get fit again and there were some karate classes near my work. She took me along after school and I started kids’ lessons. When I was 10, 11, I switched over to kickboxing.”

Alongside this was what he describes as an ‘obsession’ with football. Playing the sport at all hours of the day developed him physically. This in turn had an impact on his kickboxing.

“When I went to a kickboxing class and kicked on the bag for the first time and I saw the amount of power I was producing compared to other kids, my age or even older than me, I was so enamoured by what I was able to do that I carried on doing it. I fell in love with kickboxing.”

Where he practiced was connected to a boxing gym, and he started training in that sport from the age of 12. Despite some similarities, Chris soon learned that what works in kickboxing does not necessarily work in a boxing ring.

“In kickboxing, you shouldn’t really slip side to side. One of the methods of getting close to a taller opponent when he throws a punch is to slip out of the way so it goes over your shoulder and then you step in. In kickboxing, you shouldn’t really do that, because if you do step to the side from a punch a kick can come over.

“When I began to box and spar with kids that were taller than me because even when I’ve been in really good shape, I’ve always been quite heavy for my height. So I was sparring against grown men by the time I was 14. They were taller and had longer reaches. When I’m unable to kick them or reach them with my legs and stay away, I have to get in close. Because I hadn’t learned how to slip, I found it very difficult with distance control and moving in and out, just to get closer to them.

“I’ve always been analytical, and I became interested in the different processes in how kickboxing works compared to boxing, and the things I have to do when boxing in order to get in close, which I wouldn’t have to do when kickboxing. That technical element of it got me interested.”

Continuing with the boxing and kickboxing lessons, Chris ultimately wanted to be a footballer, to the point that at age 17, he solely focused on football. Though he was not able to make it as a footballer at a high level, his interest in boxing remained.

From there, he later decided to create a YouTube channel, which was a little different to the content his channel currently has.

“Initially it was a betting tips channel revolving around boxing. It wasn’t doing technical analysis as I do now. It was more about finding value in the gambling market, to advise people that it’s not about the public narrative. The reason that bookies make a profit is because the vast majority of people don’t really understand the sport they bet on. They think they do but they don’t. So you have to know when to go against the grain. And that’s where the technical analysis part came into it. Eventually, the channel morphs into what I have now.”

One particular boxing channel gave Chris a mention, leading to an increase in his audience.

“There’s a channel called Hatman Strikes Back, an online boxing channel. He’s the most gracious guy you can come across. Superbly intelligent. He used to be an amateur boxer himself and he has a really successful channel and he shouted me out on his channel. I used to follow Hatman for years and I had no idea he even knew who I was. He said something along the lines of ‘You have to follow Chris Andre. He’s one of the best boxing analysts that you’ll come across. I thought ‘Wow, what a thing for Hatman to say,’ and that started bringing new followers over. At that point, I thought ‘Right I need to change this channel and make it look more professional.’

“Because he introduced me as Chris Andre, I had to keep the name Chris Andre, otherwise I would have come up with a smart name instead of Chris Andre Boxing. So now I’ve got the worst name of any boxing channel out there,” he laughs. “Although my channel was originally called Chris Andre, I just added boxing at the end. Very unoriginal of me!! But that’s the approach I went down and how it all started.”

Some channels base their videos around what may get them the most likes and views. What comes across in Chris’ videos is the integrity with which he operates. He will say what he thinks with an honesty that is not clouded by admiration for a fighter but is based on analysis and objectivity.

Taking the easy road and saying what is popular to gain more subscribers and social brownie points is not an option for him. This principle has been instilled in him from an early age.

“Even since I was a child, I was always taught that you have to be true to who you are. Don’t take shortcuts in terms of undercutting other people to get to a certain spot. There has to be a level of integrity.

“When I was a little kid, we lived in East London and my mom worked in North London and I went to school in North West London. My mom would pick me up from play centre, she used to work with my grandmother, and I’d sit in the back seat on my grandmother’s lap and my grandmother would just tell me stories. She was a very religious woman, Orthodox Christian, and through those stories, she would teach me about morality. A lot of those stories, when you’re taught them as a child, the meaning and moral of the story stays with you. And I don’t really find it true to me to undercut someone because it is the popular thing to do.

“I’m also by nature a passionate guy. Everything I do is with a passion. If I laugh, I will crack up, if I love someone, I love them with everything I’ve got. Part of it is a stubbornness too, in the sense that I am not afraid to stand against the world if I have to. I’m not afraid of conflict. So in a way, if you just go with the public narrative and are afraid to go against the grain, there’s a cowardice to that. There’s a submission to that. You know it’s wrong but you’re doing it why? Because other people have put you under pressure? Or because you want to seek success and that’s the easiest way to get there? That’s cowardly. You’re afraid to stand alone. I’ll never be like that. I can’t be like that. It’s not in my nature. I’d disappoint everyone in my family if I was like that.

“Part of it is integrity. Part of it I guess you could say is stubbornness and a refusal to accept a cowardly approach.”

Integrity also extends to boxers. There is a realness and honesty that comes from boxers that, bar a few exceptions, is not seen in athletes from other sports, who are more likely to be media trained. Chris has some thoughts as to why this is.

“Maybe it goes back to what I said before about this idea of submission. If you know something is wrong but you go along with it anyway, you are ultimately submitting. And what is boxing? Boxing is ultimately a sport where you are taught never to submit.

“You look at certain other sports for instance, and you may feign injury to order to win a free kick or a foul. In boxing, if you feign injury, you lose the fight. And so, you are almost told that you have to stand up in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Maybe it’s a similar sort of thing. It’s that sort of mental process where people are seeing that something doesn’t add up, they see something that is an injustice and they say ‘Listen, I’m not willing to abided by this. I’m not willing to help push your narrative just so you can give me a pat on the back or to avoid being put down and ostracised in society and made to miss out.’ Maybe boxers are just cut from that same sort of cloth.”

One feature of some of his videos is to amalgamate the buildup and drama of a fight with Greek fables and mythology. Fights are seen as fables and boxers are compared to well-known figures from Greek mythology. This is based on stories he was told as a child.

“I did a mythological series and initially it wasn’t just going to be Greek mythology, it was going to be mythology in general. I used to sit on my grandmother’s lap, and my dad used to tell me bedtime stories. I used to love it as a child, and I think that’s stayed with me. To this day I love a good story.

“I think boxing is not just about the fight, it’s about the storyline. There’s a drama to it, there’s a romance to it. It’s a conflict but these men have stories behind them. There is a path that they’ve taken. And when you embellish that for a bit of drama, you create something in my opinion is beautiful. Something which is climatic. And I always wanted to apply that in the videos because it’s something that when I watch it is dramatic.“

Chris describes this in more detail, using a fight that was due to take place the night after this interview.

“Just consider what a boxing event is. You have Canelo versus GGG tonight. You have a stadium that is packed out to the rafters of people. One of them will enter the ring feeling as though he has been on the end of an injustice. Two unfair results that he felt he won the first two fights. He’s going to be booed in a very pro-Canelo crowd. A very hostile crowd. He’s going to have to control his emotions, almost as though a gladiator walking into the colosseum, and you have the Romans baying for his blood. Then you have the hero that will enter, that will want to solidify his historic position. He’ll want to etch his name in the annals of time in boxing. What is more dramatic than that? It’s a story.

“When you apply that thought process to what is happening, you can portray it and contrast it to some of the stories of old. We just spoke about the gladiatorial arena and the Colosseum. The ancient Greeks had the Olympic Games, and there are various other mythological stories from around the world. Africa, the Nordic stories, and I wanted to bring a whole bunch of these stories to the channel.”

Sadly the reaction to the mythology and boxing videos was mixed.

“After doing four or five videos, they weren’t too popular. Those that liked them really loved them and left great comments about it. But I think the average boxing fan wasn’t as enamoured by the storytelling niche boxing approach. Because I’m trying to grow the channel I haven’t done more, simply because I’m trying to give subscribers what they want, rather than what a few people that are really hardcore really enjoyed. The videos tended to get between eight, none hundred to 1500 views. The other videos I’ve done of late have tended to get between 2,000 views and I had one that had 9,000. That sort of difference shows you why I haven’t continued. But I’m not ruling it out. I might do a few more moving forward.”

As for the future of the channel, Chris has a number of ideas he has in mind and is inspired by another YouTube boxing presenter who has gone on to bigger things.

“Of late, I’ve tried to up the content a lot more. I’ve brought a lot of technical analysis. I also try to marry the intellectual of the sport when it comes to my channel. So, we do consider aspects of human psychology, human behaviour, philosophy, and history. Ideally, I’d like to keep the channel as unique as possible, but I also want to provide a one-stop shop for a lot of boxing fans who are interested in the sport along with the news and the themes of the day.

“I’m just trying to be as versatile as I can. Hopefully, it grows. Another inspirational guy when it comes to these sorts of things is Ade Oladipo, who has grown his channel. He started off as a YouTube channel, not too dissimilar to mine in some regards, and he is now presenting a fantastic job on DAZN. Sometimes these things can open doors for you as well. All you can do is keep working away, doing what you feel is the right thing and providing good quality content, which I think I do. If I didn’t enjoy the content in my own channel, there’d be no point in me doing it. I’m going to continue to work hard and hopefully, the channel grows with subscribers. That may be a key to opening doors. And if it doesn’t, I’m doing something that I enjoy. I’m socialising with people who have a similar interest to me. I don’t think there’s a bias on my channel. I handle it with fairness. Worst case scenario, I have a really good time engaging with people.”

It is not just through YouTube channels that Chris has expressed his opinions on sport.

“I used to write for an American sports site called Fantis. That was on football rather than boxing, though I did do a few boxing interviews. It was a Greek American site. I used to interview a few Greek American boxers or boxers of Greek origin. So the Evangelou brothers Chris and Andreas, Donovan George. There were a few fighters like that that I would try and introduce to the audience over there as boxing isn’t massive in Greece, so I was trying to usher in some interest in that regard. I used to do creative writing in my teens and entered a couple of competitions. I enjoy writing. But I just don’t see the same thirst anymore for it. I don’t think the market’s as big as the social media world at the moment, and so trying to break into that as well as having a YouTube channel, it wouldn’t be as easy for me. But I would love to start writing again.”

Finally, I throw back a question at Chris that he once asked on his channel – namely to state three fights he would like to see that no one else is talking about.

“One of the fights that I used to really like to see was Chris Eubank Jr versus David Lemieux. Eubank had that iron chin which was very difficult to break through and then you had David Lemieux, who was this big puncher, and you just wonder who comes out on top in that regard. In some ways, we’re getting a version of that, because Conor Benn’s a big punching welterweight, smaller than Lemieux. But I’m getting that ingredient I guess you can say.

“In terms of fights I want to see that no one is talking about, it does go down that route of styles and the clash of styles. So, perhaps one I would like to see would be Michael Hunter against Joe Joyce. That’s a fight I find very interesting. I think Hunter would build up a lead. Would Joe Joyce do what he normally does and claw it back, get at him and stop him late?

“Another one would be [Filip] Hrgovic vs Arslanbek Makhmudov because I think Makhmudov has some fantastic physical attributes but he’s kind of robotic and Hrgovic is a lot more fluid. But he does get hit quite a bit. So I wonder how this big punching beast in Makhmudov would match up against Hrgovic.”

And a third fight?

“I’ll get back to you on that one!!”

Analysis, honesty and integrity are at the core of what Chris Andre is as a man, why his boxing YouTube channel is as unique as any other boxing channel there is, and why, for any fans of the sport, it comes highly recommended.