Martin Hillman: “It’s the best thing I have ever done in boxing.”

Martin Hillman: “It’s the best thing I have ever done in boxing.”

By Garry White

After struggling for opportunities closer to home, Orpington-based boxer Martin Hillman has just returned from a six-thousand-mile round trip to the sauna-type heat of Ghana. Fighting in Africa’s boxing capital Accra, against Baraka Mchongi, he successfully defended his Universal Boxing Organization [UBO] Inter-continental bantamweight title, won last April in the very different surrounds of Surrey’s Tolworth Leisure Centre. Additionally, the 33-year-old claimed the Tanzanian International title [a belt open to non-Tanzanian nationals] by way of an extra reward.

When Hillman last spoke to FightPost, just a few days before jetting off to Africa, he was confident but at the same time apprehensive about this step into the unknown. The boxer whose record now moves to seventeen wins and seven losses from over a decade in the pro ranks, was right to be wary as he was forced to navigate numerous unexpected obstacles on his African adventure. “Everything is chaos out there,” he says with a smile.

“When we drove to the weigh-in, the taxi broke down. The gearbox went in the middle of nowhere, and luckily, the driver’s mate was able to come and pick us up. But we were so late we thought we’d missed it [the weigh-in] only to arrive and find out it had been delayed by two hours anyway.” When it did finally commence, Hillman reveals that a ten-man brawl broke out between rival boxers and their camps. “It all kicked off,” he says amidst laughter.

The same level of surrealness was maintained on fight night. “The changing rooms were just so hot, even the local guys couldn’t stand it in there, so I followed them outside,” he explains. And so it was that the boxer rated number ten in the UK at 118lbs by BoxRec, found himself preparing for the biggest fight of his life on the pavement outside of the venue.

“I just picked a spot by the side of the road. But being this pasty-looking white bloke, people kept coming up trying to talk to me or asking me for money. It was a bit mad, really.” But things were about to get a whole lot madder!

Before Hillman flew out, the West Ham United season ticketholder sent an Instagram message to the Ghanaian branch of the West Ham supporters club. The most Hillman hoped for was that they might at least share his post or send a message of good luck. However, the group known as the Ghanaian Hammers insisted on coming to watch the fight. By doing so, they proved to be his unlikely saviours. “About 20 of them turned up,” he remembers, still sounding partially surprised. “When they arrived, they took charge and helped seal off an area for me so I could warm up properly without getting disturbed.

“They also looked after my bag and other stuff because they were worried it might get stolen. They just kept everything safe – they were brilliant and couldn’t have been better.” By way of reward, four of the Hammers resplendent in their claret and blue shirts and scarfs accompanied Hillman on his ring walk, to swell an entourage that previously did not extend beyond his dad, who also acts as his trainer.

Appearing on a quite remarkable 36-fight card that commenced in mid-afternoon and concluded at a scarcely believable 4:30 AM [maybe Frank Warren’s scheduling isn’t so bad after all!] the Orpington fighter finally entered the ring at the advanced time of 11:30 pm. Despite the stifling heat that had touched 35C earlier in the afternoon, Hillman progressed serenely. “I won the first five rounds [of the ten-rounder],” he recalls. “It was pretty comfortable, and I was sitting on a really good lead.” That is until the evening brought its final twist. “I was having a good round, really coming on strong, and I was thinking he [Mchongi] was looking for a way out. But then, with 20 seconds left in the round, the lights just went out. What were the chances of that?” he says through yet more laughter.

“There’d been a power cut, and the whole venue was plunged into darkness. We were told to stand in opposite neutral corners until the lights went back on. It took four minutes, and all the while, we had to stand there in boiling heat without a drink or anything.”

Not surprisingly, this impromptu delay stifled Hillman’s momentum. “It messed me up,” he reveals. “My rhythm and adrenalin just came right down.” A situation that wasn’t helped by Mchongi, who entered the ring on the back of four straight knockout victories, splitting his chin with a heavy uppercut at the beginning of the next round. “He definitely won [rounds] six and seven,” concedes Hillman. “But I wasn’t wobbling or in trouble or anything. The eighth and ninth were close, and in the last round, I got on my toes and did enough to get the get result.”

The judges gave the Englishman a unanimous verdict, no mean feat, considering he was the away fighter and faced the additional handicap of defending his belts on Ghanaian Independence Eve. The belts were then presented to him in the ring. This simple act meant a lot to Hillman, as due to the BBBofC not recognising the UBO belt, the typical presentation was not made to him when he won the belt in a British ring last year. “It was really nice to have it properly announced and be given the belts,” he agrees. “It all feels above board now. Whatever happens in the rest of my career, I have won two recognised titles. I’ve done it now and I am so happy with that. It’s the best thing I have ever done in boxing. I’ve got the taste for it now and would love to be back out in May or June to defend them or challenge for something else..”

The sport that Martin Hillman operates in is essentially a different one to the likes of Tyson Fury or Anthony Joshua. Or to any of the big guns chasing the shiny coin of the individual confusingly referred to as His Excellency, in his latest big tent sojourn in the arid sporting oasis of Saudi. Those oddly sterile nights in the cold dessert, populated by the kind of minted celebrities and gaudy two-bob social media personalities, who wear sunglasses to shield their eyes from the questioning moonlight.

Well, while they count their Riyals and their fingers, Hillman returns to his day job in a Dartford Garage. There is no glamour to his world, but there is a purity that remains beyond them. The kind of sporting tale of the underdog pursuing his dreams. The sort of honest that in better times, we used to love.