Charlie Edwards: “It’s been tough, but it’s made me a different person. I’m hardened mentally now, and it’s time to put it all together.”

Charlie Edwards: “It’s been tough, but it’s made me a different person. I’m hardened mentally now, and it’s time to put it all together.”

By Lewie Laing

“If I can get it all right, I could be a 4-weight world champion. That’s how I’m thinking now, challenging myself” says former world flyweight champion Charlie Edwards, as he prepares for the next part of his boxing career.

Charlie Edwards makes his long-awaited return to the ring this Friday, 9th June, on the Vicious Promotions 7.0 show in Manchester, eighteen months since his last bought, a 2nd round win against Jacob Barreto at the end of 2021. 

Edwards’ time away from the ring has been far from rainbows and butterflies. It has been an up-and-down process of accepting and letting go of the past while finding himself again. Life is challenging enough. It throws constant battles our way in different shapes and forms, add boxing’s muddied waters to the mix, and it can just about swallow you whole. 

Edwards has learned a lot over the last four years and, in the end, is somewhat grateful to be starting a fresh both in life and in boxing. He told FightPost two weeks before his return (25/05/23):

“I’m looking forward to getting back in the ring, I’ve been out a while through no fault of my own, but I’m ready to get back at it.

“It’s been a deep dark rollercoaster. Im well and truly through it. It’s been like a bad grievance. It’s been very tough and mentally challenging. When I was a world champion, I probably lost my head a bit. I used boxing to mask the pain of what happened to my mum. The dream of becoming a world champ was my escape from reality. It numbed me. But then I got the title and was world champion, and since then, I lost my head, in between camps, I was drinking a lot because it all felt empty. This dream of being world champion, it all felt empty once I’d got it, but it also made me realise I had not dealt with losing my mum.”

Edwards’ world title fight against Julio Cesar Martinez in 2019 was very much the straw that broke the camel’s back. What was originally a 3rd KO in favour of Martinez was then changed to a no-contest due to Martinez landing a shot when Edwards was down on one knee. 

It’s a fight Edwards admits he should never have even considered looking back. Making the flyweight limit had long taken its toll on Edwards’ body without him even realising. Testosterone was non-existent, causing mental and physical problems, forcing his body to get down to a weight no longer safe to go to. 

Following that saga, Edwards used alcohol to silence the noise caused by giving up his belt, knowing the weight limit was too dangerous to make any longer. It was a shock to Edwards, the amount of negativity that came his way, and he struggled to deal with it. 

“Making the low weights really affected me mentally and physically. My hormone levels were zero because of what I was doing to make the flyweight limit. I had my testosterone levels all looked at scientifically, and they were zero, which causes men to be depressed. I felt flat all the time, and it was a spiralling effect. 

“The Martinez fight, I should never have been in there that night, my ego and pride took over, I’d rather have gone out on my shield than not get in the ring that night. The reality is that it was a stupid move. I could have moved to super-flyweight and had some mega-fights. I wasn’t really guided the best. Those around me didn’t really pick up on things.

“The Martinez saga happened, and for about a month, I was drinking. It was no good at all. Giving up the title, the amount of stick I got was unreal. The media gave me nothing but hell. I was reading it all, stupidly. I went from being praised to then having a lot of people turn against me. The more negative responses outweighed the positive ones, and I ended up turning to drinking alcohol.”

For Edwards, this was a period where what he thought and felt was being drowned out by those around him, those who should have had his best interests at heart. Pushed away is often how he felt while always coming through and delivering, fighting for a world title at 22, and winning a world title at 25. He achieved a lot at a young age. 

But with no world title, Edwards had gone from champion to ‘past his best’ in the space of one controversial fight. It was clear speaking to Edwards that his time with Matchroom personally had been a success, but time and experience changes perception, and he no longer felt things were the same. Edwards has seen enough in 19 years of boxing to realise his self-worth. It is his own career, no one else’s.

“My promoter at the time I feel didn’t really guide me well. I went from the Martinez fight and the decision being changed to no contest, which was the first time ever a result had been changed in a world title fight. Then they wanted me to move up and go straight in with Rungsivia, who’d just knocked out Chocolatito. I was sat thinking, what am I here, a piece of meat?

“I had moved up two weight divisions to bantamweight and had the fight with Kyle Williams just before Covid. But my confidence was shot, I had people telling me I was getting old at 28! I won a world title at 25, fought for a world title at 22! Instead of giving me belief, I was getting the opposite.”

The above-mentioned Kyle Williams fight was Edwards’ first with new promoter, Frank Warren. His contract with Matchroom had expired which was a shame in some ways for a fighter who had turned pro and achieved so much with the promotional stable but boxing as Edwards has learned, is a business and it is very rarely personal. A change was needed.

Edwards’ life was changing at rapid speed right during the time when the world seemed to have shut down because of covid. 

A change in promoter, getting married, a new baby girl, a change of lifestyle with moving to Portugal, everything came almost at once and was hard to deal with for Edwards who openly admits he had spread himself too thin. He is very much all or nothing and was all in on being the best the could be in every avenue of his life, very much to his detriment.

Edwards had been through enough and didn’t want any of the hustle and bustle any longer. A life dedicated to his craft that, in the end, left him feeling fed up, sick, and tired. Retirement looked a dead cert. Edwards was focusing on his family and life outside of boxing. He had had enough of being asked about boxing. His wife saw through the frustration and whirlwind time in their lives. If it wasn’t for her wise words, this article and interview probably would never have happened.

“That contract ended, and I thought, I’m not doing this. I signed with Frank Warren, but then Covid hit. On the back of all the shit I’d gone through, I just had enough. I achieved everything I ever set out to achieve. Plus at the time, I’d got married, we had a newborn baby, and I was putting my all into every avenue of my life, husband, father, and boxer, I just burnt myself out and ended up depressed.

“During Covid, I sat with my wife, and we decided to move to Portugal. Me and my wife love the warmer climate, and we wanted somewhere better for our daughter to grow up. We bought a house out there, and I was close to retiring. I love boxing, but on the business side, I hate the politics, it’s a circus, and it’s only getting worse. There are so many snakes. I was sick of It all. It’s all about who can get what out of who, it’s just a business.

“I’ve been boxing 19 years and never took a break. From amateur to winning my world title. Fighting on Sky Sports, wins, defeats, all the stuff with my mum, I’ve never taken a break. Once I took that step back, I started to find myself again. Moving to Portugal, settled in over there, and once it all slowed down, it clicked. I had been adamant that I was retiring and wanted to post it and be done with it, close the door. It was my wife who kept telling me to just wait. We sat on the balcony, I’d been doing a few beach runs and moving around, and I laughed. I said to my wife, I’ve got too much potential, I can achieve so much more. My wife laughed. She knew I’d come round.”

It was refreshing in a sport where front is often everything when fighters are gearing up to fight, to watch Edwards go through a time in his life with the pain and scars laid bare. Open and honest, Edwards relived some of the lows as he explained those past tough times and that was evident. 

From the moment Edwards laughed as he told me about his wife almost seeing the future relating to his u-turn on retirement, his mood and tone changed entirely. 

When you’ve reached the summit, and been through so much, what more is there to be done? Edwards went from thinking this way to changing his views thanks to that chat with his wife. His love for boxing was never the issue, his drive to succeed and push himself as far as possible is still there, it had just been overshadowed by tough times in life and in boxing. 

Edwards is more than ready to return at bantamweight and has been working away from the cameras and flashing lights with manager and trainer, Joe Gallagher. The pair may only have had one fight together but have now been working together for two years, in the background, developing Edwards’ skills. Edwards has no doubt all of that work will pay dividends on what he sees as his fresh start in boxing. This time his full focus is doing this for himself, to leave no questions to be answered when the gloves are finally hung up.

“My fire was always burning. I thought I had to be a world champion to be worth something. It helped me with what was happening to my mum and it was the promise I’d made to her. It helped me numb that pain but now life is different. I want to be a role model to my daughter and achieve all I can so that my daughter can see no matter what you face, you keep sticking it out and get through it. I want to do this for me, I don’t want to look back and think, what could I have achieved? It’s hard going from the bottom to the top once, it’s even harder doing it twice. For me to get through all I have, get back to where I belong, more titles, I’m doing this for me. I know I have given everything. 

“Joe has been a big part of the turnaround, training and managing me. I’ve only had one fight with Joe but we have been together two years, working away behind the scenes. I look at the past and to now and my boxing, I’ve come a long way.”

Joe Gallagher is well known for managing his fighters and putting his fighters first. It is a way of working that is suiting Edwards down to the ground. The team have a plan, a plan that excites Edwards as he sees a chance to follow in the footsteps of his hero, Manny Pacquiao. 

Pacquiao started at flyweight, winning a world title before jumping up to bantamweight and winning a world title on the way to being an 8-division world champion, an unmatched feat. Edwards takes inspiration from his currently retired hero, knowing if he can achieve half of such a feat, he will have achieved more than he ever dreamed of.

The bantamweight division is open right now with all four belts heading for separate owners once all fights are concluded. Should fights, rankings, and timing fall in Edwards’ favour, a world title at a second weight may present itself sooner rather than later. Edwards doesn’t want to hang around or tread water. He wants big fights and more world titles. 

“I’m 30 now, I’m coming into the peak years of my career. I overachieved at a young age, at a weight I should never have been at. I’m at bantamweight now where I’m so much stronger, and I’ve filled out. I’m a solid, strong bantamweight. 

“Manny Pacquiao has always been my role model because of what he achieved in boxing. Won his first title at flyweight, skipped super-fly and went to bantamweight. I’m hoping I can do the same. Myself and Joe Gallagher have a plan, get back at it on 9th June, be active, and hopefully towards the end of the year, a world title shot or somewhere close. The bantamweight division is wide open right now with Inoue moving up. My chance will come whether that be mandatory or voluntary. Once I get a world title at this weight, who knows, super-bantamweight, could I possibly look at super-fly, if the chance was there, healthily for one fight? If I can get it all right, I could be a 4-weight world champion. That’s how I’m thinking now, challenging myself. A lot can happen in a short space of time in boxing. I’ve come through the dark times and was on the verge of walking away to now be starting afresh. The last two years I’ve been out of the limelight, chipping away, working hard, and once I’m back in there, everyone will see it. I’ve spent the majority of the last 12 months away from my wife and daughter here in England, I’ve dedicated myself more than I ever have. It’s been tough, but it’s made me a different person, I’m hardened mentally now, and it’s time to put it all together.”

While Charlie Edwards looks towards his return, his brother Sunny Edwards is defending his IBF flyweight title against undefeated challenger Andres Campos on Saturday night, the day after Charlie Makes his return. The brothers, often close and friendly, have been somewhat at loggerheads since Charlie announced his return to the ring and teased a possible fight together down the line. What started as a joke may have been blown out of proportion because of social media but Charlie Edwards knows he and his brother have been through enough together, along with knowing how boxing works but states no matter what, it has the Edwards name out there in the spotlight whether its Charlie or Sunny. 

“Me and Sunny started as a bit of a joke. Suddenly, it all turned serious, Sunny is saying all kinds about me. He’s the master at playing the villain, and he gets people talking. We aren’t talking much at the minute, but the whole back and forth has got my name out there and his name even more out there so either way, people are talking about the Edwards brothers, it’s a good thing for the two of us. A fight would never happen, I love my little brother, and I always will.”

Edwards may well be fully focused on his return to the ring and conquering more weight classes and world titles but having gone through tough times on the boxing business side of the ropes, was keen to stress the importance of fighters looking after themselves while active, and looking after the money they earn in the hardest fashion possible. 

Edwards has one eye on helping and coming fighters down the line as too many end up worse than when they started in a professional game that offers so much but gives so little. 

“I know boxing doesn’t last forever. I have invested wisely and have been clever in this game. I’ve always watched those above me growing up. You see boxers earning a fortune and they come to the end of their career, they are skint and on hard times, it’s so sad. Boxers get quick cash, big lumps of fast cash. Don’t go out wasting it on your mates and buying stuff to live a life for social media, invest it and do something with it. I plan financially, but there are so many fighters who are throwing it all away because they are well off in the moment, but they need to wake up. Professional boxing isn’t just turning up and fighting, it’s a business, fighters need more help with that side of things. It’s all smoke and mirrors. It’s hard and mentally taxing this sport, make sure come the end, you have built a life to retire to.”

Charlie Edwards seems that although he has had a lot more than 19 fights, but is still only 30 and has a lot more to offer this sport along with some of the people in it. Come June 9th, the wheels are firmly back on for the beginning of the next chapter of Edwards’ career. The chapter he feels will be better than anything we have seen from him so far. 

Photo Credit: Matchroom Boxing