Mikie Tallon: “I want to be as active as possible, build a reputation and hopefully, at some point, get on the bigger shows and in the arenas.” 

Mikie Tallon: “I want to be as active as possible, build a reputation and hopefully, at some point, get on the bigger shows and in the arenas.” 

By Matt Elliott

The latest protégé of Joe Gallagher’s Champs Camp gym, Mikie Tallon, makes his professional bow this weekend, as he takes on Sean Jackson at The Fuse in Manchester.

Tallon, an eighteen-year-old from Liverpool, has been working with Gallagher for several months, and as well as teaming up with the Hall of Fame trainer, it was formally announced this week that he has become the first boxer to sign with Natasha Jonas after she received her managerial license from the British Boxing Board of Control. 

With Gallagher in his corner and Jonas providing advice, direction, and vision, Tallon could not have asked for a better support function as he takes his first step onto the professional ladder. I caught up with both him and Jonas via Zoom this past week, with Tallon admitting he can’t wait to get started.

“The hard work of camp is done now; it’s gone well, and I’ve had some good sparring. This week will be about working on technical stuff and fine-tuning things. I just can’t wait for the fight to come, so I can put all of that hard work to use and feel like I’ve done something. I’ve watched a few videos of my opponent, but at the end of the day I don’t concern myself too much with that, it’s about what I do that matters.”

It is expected that Tallon, an orthodox fighter who admits he can vary his style depending on his opponent, will debut at bantamweight, although he admits that he is likely to settle at one or two weight classes below, at least in the immediate term, as he continues to develop physically.

“I think I’ll be debuting at bantamweight, but that’s a bit heavier than usual for me, as I’ve spent the last couple of years competing in the amateurs at junior-flyweight. I walk around at bantamweight, so I can easily make flyweight or junior-flyweight.” 

Saturday will be the culmination of a journey that started at a tender age when Tallon first entered a boxing gym in his hometown of Liverpool. A successful amateur spell followed, during which he dedicated all of his time to the sport. Working hard in the gym and studying footage of Roberto Duran and Manny Pacquiao in his spare time, Tallon always had the aim of turning professional at the earliest possible opportunity.  

“I was seven or eight when I first stepped foot inside a gym. I wasn’t doing anything else and a few of my cousins were boxing so I followed them. I started at Transport ABC, and I’ve spent the last few years at Lee Jones ABC. I had thirty-plus fights as an amateur, won four national titles, went to the European championships, the three nations, and GB championships, and fought in several countries. I never wanted to go down the Olympic route though, it was always my plan to turn professional as soon as I could.”   

Achieving his dream and securing his professional license is one thing, but to have agreed on a management deal with Jonas and then to have the chance to work with Gallagher must have been beyond all expectations. I was keen to understand how that opportunity came about.

“In my amateur gym, the person who runs the club sort of knew Tasha and they spoke with each other and then I got the chance to meet with her face-to-face. She said to come down to Joe’s and see how I find it and it went well, so I ended up with Joe as my trainer as well. When you are in the gym you don’t think too much about their status, but then you speak with friends about it, and it dawns on you the calibre of the people you are working with.”

Turning to Jonas, I questioned how much she knew about Tallon when the opportunity to work with him first presented itself, and whether turning her hands to management was always something that had appealed to her. 

“I didn’t know him personally, but I knew of him. I am lucky enough to be able to have access to coaches on the amateur circuit, so I spoke with some of his England coaches and people who had worked with him. I spoke with Chris who had initially put us in contact, and then I watched some of his fights because everyone kept telling me we’ve got a special talent on our hands here; everyone gave him a glowing reference, to be honest. Initially, the whole point of getting the license was to manage myself, but then when opportunities like that come up, I just don’t think you can pass them by. It wasn’t something, at the time, I was actively looking to do, but with all of that great feedback, that made my mind up. I also think this might be a good thing for me, to open my eyes up to the other side of the business, which I don’t know a lot about. I’ve been dead honest with Mikie as well, that we will be learning together and I might make mistakes along the way.”

Unlike Tallon, Jonas turned professional at a later age, having set records as an amateur, becoming the first British female boxer to qualify for an Olympic Games and going on to represent Team GB in 2012. What were her thoughts then, on Tallon’s route into the professional world?

“I said to him, for me personally, it is better to have a good amateur pedigree behind you, just because of the invaluable experience you get from travelling the world, and the different styles you come up against. But then from the other side, you see some of the lads that crossed over just before the last set of Olympians and where they’ve got to, and what they’ve achieved. So, I think if you can be guided, and learn on the job then it’s just as good an experience, as having a load of amateur accolades behind you, and you learn to be patient. Amateurs sometimes look at professionals and think they have the high life, but in that GB squad you are protected and sheltered and it’s not like that on the pro scene. You have to go out and do the hard yards and sell tickets and put the work in and there’s no one telling you that you have to do it, you’ve got to do it off your own back and that teaches you that discipline.” 

Having previously worked on a building site, Tallon has been able to secure sponsorship deals which means he can now concentrate fully on his boxing. On the ticket-selling front, he has certainly succeeded in that regard, and on Saturday night he will be cheered on by a two-hundred-strong contingent from Liverpool. He hopes that this will be the first of many fights over the next twelve months, as he looks to remain active.

“I would fight every week if I could. Hopefully, I can try and get out three times between now and the New Year, and then just see what 2024 brings. I want to be as active as possible, build a reputation and hopefully, at some point, get on the bigger shows and in the arenas.” 

Jonas confirms that regular appearances over the months ahead are very much the aim, pointing to Tallon’s age and the need to remain active whilst he is in the learning stage and has the hunger and the energy to compete regularly. She also admits that she has been very impressed by what she has seen so far.

“It’s great that he trains in our gym because I see all of the hard work that he puts in. When he first came into the gym, he didn’t give anyone any respect, and he’s obviously trying to impress like we all do, but he’s learning and he’s picking things up and that’s what you want to see. He’s also been in and around some of the other guys changing rooms on fight night as well, and he walked my belts out when I fought Kandi Wyatt at Manchester Arena, so he’s had the experience of what that feels like, which I think helps as it means when he gets that experience he’ll be more in tune with it because it’s not going to be completely new to him. Overall, he’s got big aspirations, as have I, so the key is planning how we get there and how we achieve them.”

And finally, with the manager’s license now sorted and Tallon set to make his debut, I asked Jonas whether she was actively looking to add more names to the group.

“I’m not being big-headed in saying this, but I help so many people out already. I often get messages asking for advice and I tell people what I think and I try and be as honest as I can. So, without actually signing anyone, I was probably helping people in their decision-making anyway. So now people might just think, instead of asking Tasha’s advice, why don’t I just go with her? That would be nice, but I don’t want people to choose me just because of my profile, and thinking they could get on one of my cards. I want people I believe in and where I think we can grow together. Ultimately though, Mikie’s my first and I want to do right by him, and anyone coming on board in the future, we all have to get on. Ultimately it’s about the individual, but we have to be able to work collectively together.”