Tommy Frank: “In my mind, I’m ready to spoil the party. A win against Galal would be life-changing in so many ways.”

Tommy Frank: “In my mind, I’m ready to spoil the party. A win against Galal would be life-changing in so many ways.”

By Lewie Laing

“In my mind, I’m ready to spoil the party. A win against Galal would be life-changing in so many ways,” says ‘Super’ Tommy Frank ahead of his headlining fight against the highly rated Galal Yafai, whose WBC International title will be on the line.

Tommy Frank (15-3-1) is looking to get back to winnings ways this coming Saturday night when he headlines Matchroom’s ‘NXTGEN’ show in Birmingham against the home town favourite, former Olympic gold medalist and current WBC International title holder, Galal Yafai (4-0).

Frank has had one eye on the highly touted Yafai since he turned pro at flyweight. Frank lost last time out to Jay Harris in a thrilling encounter in which he lost his British title, and with it, he presumed the chance at a fight with the youngest of the Yafai boxing brothers.

“I wasn’t expecting this opportunity. I got just under 10 weeks’ notice for this fight, which came as a surprise. I know my last fight with Jay Harris, although it didn’t go my way, was a good fight, but I honestly thought it would be back to the drawing board after that defeat.

“Because we are the same weight, once he turned pro, I was keeping an eye on him as I knew it could be a good fight down the line, and here it is. Galal is a brilliant fighter, with an amateur pedigree, and an Olympic Gold medalist, he’s turned pro, and they want to fast-track him. There’s a big buzz around him. He won the WBC International title on his debut, and he will be defending it against me. You don’t win Olympic Gold if you aren’t a good fighter. I have massive respect for Galal, for all my opponents.”

Respectful he may be, but Frank is far from overawed but the occasion ahead of him. While he acknowledges the task at hand, Frank draws confidence from the fact that he goes into Saturday night’s main event with no pressure on his shoulders whatsoever.

Three losses and a draw in his last six fights do not tell the full story and are certainly misleading to a degree. If Eddie Hearn and Matchroom are looking at those recent bouts and expecting an easy night’s work for their man, Yafai, Frank has other ideas. Saturday night will be the 20th time Frank steps through the ropes as a professional and he is looking forward to not only fight night and the chance to spring a surprise on the Birmingham crowd, but also to fight week, on the biggest stage of his career.

“I know I’m up against it, I’m the underdog, but I have no pressure on me. That last fight with Jay Harris was pretty fifty-fifty. It was a great fight, although it didn’t go my way. I think Matchroom are underestimating me. In my mind, I’m ready to spoil the party. A win against Galal would be life-changing in so many ways. It will make headlines in the boxing world. I’m delighted to be going into his backyard, headlining on DAZN. The whole occasion has the fire burning in me.

“This fight will be my 20th fight as a professional. I’ve been in plenty of 8 and 10-round fights, so this isn’t something new. I haven’t been in many life-and-death wars in my career. I’ve had to dig deep at times, I know what that feels like in the championship rounds, I’ve got the experience, and as the fight goes on, I’ll be in there all night. I’m not going to have to go looking for Galal. He will be right there in front of me. For all I only have three stoppages on my record, I do punch a bit, and it will be interesting to see how he reacts to that. I can’t wait for it, I’m planning on soaking it all up and enjoying every moment. Even leading up to Saturday, the open workout, the press conference, I’m looking forward to it all.”

Boxing is a sport that has no set rules or regulations, although many like to pretend they are in a position to impose them. It is a sport that can chew you up and spit you out as quickly as it welcomed you in with open arms. For Frank, hardships and setbacks are a part of boxing and a part of life. He knows just as well as anybody if you keep showing up, in the face of whatever adversity may come your way, that things will swing in your favour at some point. It is also important to be able to look outside of the ropes and realise one loss will never define a person or their career and that in life as a whole, your chosen profession and the results it yields aren’t always the be-all and end-all.

“There’s no other sport like boxing. The highest highs and the lowest lows. When you win, you are on top of the world. At the same time, when you’ve put the work in and fall short, it’s devastating, but that’s what we sign up for. Obviously, losing the Lonsdale belt was devastating, but life goes on. Boxing is my life, but there is more to life than boxing in the grand scheme of things. I have all my friends and family around me, my fiancee, I’m blessed and have a lot in life to be thankful for anyway, which eases the pain. It’s hard to take when you lose, but after a few days, the fire is there again, and I’m back in the gym with my team and back to business.

“Boxing works in strange ways, I’ve gone from losing my British title to in the next fight, about to fight for the WBC International title and a win would put me in the rankings with the WBC. Overall, I’m not really setting big goals. All I want to do is be the best version of myself. I take it all one step at a time and take each opportunity as it comes.”

For all boxing gets a bad press at times with judges score cards, failed tests and big fights not happening seeming to take the limelight, it offers so much to so many and Frank is a great example of what boxing brings to people at its core. Forget the politics and all the high-end drama, boxing for anyone who wants to get involved, brings a lot more than just a workout.

As a kid and even throughout his professional career, Frank, at his own admission, has at times lacked that extra level of confidence and has let self-doubt creep in but it is boxing’s highs and lows that have now got Frank in a position mentally where he fully believes he has so much more to offer boxing and himself. He draws on the defeats and bouncing back and the fact that after a couple of days out of the gym following such defeats, the fire is soon burning again and the confidence is back up, waiting for the next opportunity.

“Boxing is something that intrigued me, at first I didn’t have the confidence or that much ability but I stuck at it, kept going and I made up for the lack of natural ability by training hard and dedicating myself, and that’s what has got me to where I am today. I love what boxing gives me, routine and discipline, training, eating healthy, the lifestyle, it’s one of the best ways to live although, we are going in the ring to get punched in the head which isn’t good for any boxer. I’m always setting little goals, beating my next run time, staying in an ice bath longer, and boxing has given me something to always look forward to.

“When I won my British title, I was coming off a second defeat in the rematch to Guarneros. I was absolutely devastated after that. I lost that on a split, I was gutted and thinking where do I go now, back to square one. But I kept busy in the gym, and about three weeks later, I got offered the fight for the British title. That’s how quickly boxing can change, and it shows no matter what, to keep showing up. If I wasn’t back in the gym and my mind wasn’t in it, those chances would have passed me by.”

It was an honest and open chat with Frank, who acknowledged that even though boxing is brutal, it’s what he loves to do and while he still feels that motivation and has the hunger to keep fighting, he will do so. Frank also shows how important it is to not give up or let one occasion, good or bad, play on your mind for too long.

Come Saturday night, Frank will take his confidence into the ring with arguably his most challenging opponent to date. He feels the level at which Yafai operates will only bring out the best in himself and create an entertaining fight, a fight he sees himself winning, without any doubt.

“I think the better opposition will bring another level out of me. When I’ve fought the better fighters in my career, those fights have brought out the best Tommy Frank. This is what I’ve trained for since I started boxing at twelve years old. Once I get in that ring, I’ll be relying on my training, my experience, no pressure on me, just do what I do to the best of my ability.

“Make no mistake, Im winning this fight Saturday night. People can say I haven’t got a chance, but I fully believe in myself. I know in the past, I’ve doubted myself at times and lacked the self-belief, but now, even coming off the back of the defeat to Harris, I believe in myself more than ever now.”

Photo Credit: Josh Smith/One Click Photography