Ring News 24 talks to super featherweight prospect Andrew Colquhoun

Ringnews24.com: At what age did you get into boxing? 

Andrew Colquhoun: I used to just love watching boxing when I was a kid. My granddad took me down the local gym when I was about 8 or 9 years old. I used to play football as a kid but I think I’d always wanted to be a boxer more. I realised I wanted to be a boxer at about 16 or 17 though. That’s when I became serious.

Ringnews24.com: Can you tell us about your amateur career? 

Andrew Colquhoun: I had about 45 fights as an amateur. Last season I reached the semi-finals of the ABAs and then decided to turn professional after that.

Ringnews24.com: Why did you decide to turn professional just a year before the Olympics? 

Andrew Colquhoun: Well, I never had a chance of going to the Olympics. I hadn’t boxed for England before and there were quite a lot of people in front of me to qualify. I think my style also suits the professional ranks more so than the amateurs so I thought it would be best to turn pro now.

Ringnews24.com: This year is a big year for Team GB at the Olympics. Do you know any members of the team?

Andrew Colquhoun: Yeah, I know Tom Stalker quite well. We both trained in Salisbury and I know him from there.

Ringnews24.com: Do you think we will be celebrating a big medal haul come the end of the games? 

Andrew Colquhoun: Yeah, I think so. The team that’s been assembled looks like a big strong squad so I hope so.

Ringnews24.com: What are the main differences between the amateur and pro game in your opinion? 

Andrew Colquhoun: It’s like two completely different sports really. In the amateurs I’d say it’s more just about the scoring and throwing as many shots as you can to win the round. Whereas I’d say at professional level it’s about taking your time, throwing more powerful punches, working on your strength and a lot more one-on-one training. It’s harder work and your coach is always on your back whereas in the amateurs you train in big squads so there’s less one-on-one work.

Ringnews24.com: Do you have a boxing nickname? 

Andrew Colquhoun: No, not at the moment. People keep throwing names at me but nothing seems to have stuck yet.

Ringnews24.com: You're currently at super featherweight. Are you comfortable at the weight or do you think a move up in weight could be on the cards sooner rather than later? 

Andrew Colquhoun: At the moment I’m comfortable at the weight. I think I’m still growing though so eventually I will probably end up moving up in weight. At the moment I’m happy at the weight though. I was at featherweight last year so I’ve gone up a bit already since turning pro.

Ringnews24.com: You're trained by Dave Tonks. Does he think you need improving on many things or does he think you just need to gain some professional experience? 

Andrew Colquhoun: He’s always trying to make me improve on everything. Every day in the gym we do something new. So I think there’s always something new to be learned but I do need the experience because ring experience is important. Fighting every 7 or 8 weeks over the next year would be good.

Ringnews24.com: Who are your regular sparring partners? 

Andrew Colquhoun: Most of the time I spar Steve Williams. He’s fighting for the British title against Ashley Theophane in a few weeks. I also spar Dave’s son Joe Tonks regularly too.

Ringnews24.com: You've spoken before about feeling that you need to excite the fans. Do you think your style of boxing is more important than getting the win no matter what? 

Andrew Colquhoun: Well, it’s important when you need to sell tickets. You do need to perform well so that your fans want to come back to watch you. I think if you just try to get the win and not worry about your performance not many people will want to keep watching you. I think you need to throw more shots and maybe even take some so the crowd gets the excitement and hopefully more people come to watch you.

Ringnews24.com: Do you think that could have an adverse effect on your career or are you a naturally exciting fighter anyway?

Andrew Colquhoun: I think I’m probably naturally exciting anyway because I like to go forward, I like to throw punches and I don’t mind taking them either. I like going forward and pressuring my opponents although I can box on the back foot as well.

Ringnews24.com: You've already fought on cards featuring the likes of Derry Matthews, Emiliano Marsili, Tony Dodson, Tony Bellew, Danny McIntosh, John Watson and Jason Cook. How have you found the experience of fighting on cards with such high level professionals? 

Andrew Colquhoun: It’s been good, I enjoy it. I’ve fought in some good places so far and they’ve been busy because of the main fights which have been on the cards. It’s good fighting on the bigger cards and hopefully I can get bigger fights and appear on more.

Ringnews24.com: It must be a great feeling to feature on cards along side such high calibre fighters?

Andrew Colquhoun: Yeah, I’ve watched Tony Bellew fight in the Echo Arena and then next time he fought there I fought there myself on the undercard. I’ve also watched Derry Matthews over the years and now featured on his undercard and I’ve watched Tony Dodson and featured on his undercard too. It’s great experience.

Ringnews24.com: Have they offered you any advice? 

Andrew Colquhoun: Well, I speak to Derry Matthews anyway. I sparred with him for my last fight. I’m good friends with him and he’s always offering me advice. I spoke to Tony Dodson before my last fight and he wished me luck.

 Ringnews24.com: What did you think of Derry Matthews’ great win over Anthony Crolla recently?

Andrew Colquhoun: To be honest I thought Derry might have been too strong for him. He’s a big, strong lightweight so I thought he’d have a great chance against him.

Ringnews24.com: You're coming off of a win over Dan Naylor on the undercard of Tony Bellew’s British title defence against Danny McIntosh. How did preparation for that fight go? 

Andrew Colquhoun: It went great. I didn’t suffer any injuries in the time I was training and had some good, hard sparring sessions. I didn’t miss a day’s training or a day’s running. Preparation was perfect really.

Ringnews24.com: You knocked him out with a peach of a left hook in the 4th and final round. Were you surprised at how perfect that punch was?

Andrew Colquhoun: I think I caught him just right. I wasn’t really surprised about the shot I threw because we’ve been working on those kinds of shots in the gym. I was surprised he was down for so long though.

Ringnews24.com: Naylor hadn't been stopped in 11 fights prior to that, so you must have some power?

Andrew Colquhoun: I’ve seen Dan Naylor fight before a good few times and he lost a few fights where he should have probably got the decision. I knew it was going to be a hard fight so we’d prepared to beat him on points so it was a bonus that I got the knockout against him.

Ringnews24.com: I suppose winning by knockout isn’t necessarily the most important thing at this stage of your career though because it’s good to get the rounds under your belt?

Andrew Colquhoun: Yeah, it doesn’t really matter as long as you keep winning, that’s the most important thing. It’s important to keep winning, especially early on, as you can’t afford to slip up.

Ringnews24.com: Ideally, how many more fights would you like to have this year? 

Andrew Colquhoun: I’ve got another fight on the 11^th May and then another in August hopefully and then maybe again in October. So hopefully I’ll have at least another 3 or 4 fights this year.

Ringnews24.com: You're 20 years old and are a highly rated prospect. Do you feel any pressure to succeed or do you just feel that you can take everything one step at a time? 

Andrew Colquhoun: I’ve got the right people around me like my manager and coach who always keep me on track and don’t let me get ahead of myself. I got my family around me too and they put me in my place so I don’t think I’ll get too big headed. I think early on some guys might feel a bit of pressure because it’s important to make sure you win but to be honest I don’t really feel the pressure.

Ringnews24.com: Have you set yourself any goals? 

Andrew Colquhoun: My first target from the beginning was to reach 10-0 and then see where I’m up to and what options are open to me.

Ringnews24.com: Do you watch boxing away from the ring?

Andrew Colquhoun: I stopped watching boxing for a few years but I’ve started getting into it again.

Ringnews24.com: Which fighters do you like? 

Andrew Colquhoun: I love watching the Mexican fighters like Julio Cesar Chavez on DVD. I liked watching Ricky Hatton too. I’ve been to see him live a few times. I love watching exciting fighters who come forward and throw great body shots. I like watching Mayweather Jr too.

Ringnews24.com: Which fights are you looking forward to?

Andrew Colquhoun: I’m looking forward to the big fight this weekend between Mayweather and Cotto. Also, Froch vs Bute will be a good fight too. Khan vs Peterson should be good too.

Ringnews24.com: What is the worst part of being a boxer in your opinion? 

Andrew Colquhoun: Probably when your mates phone you at the weekend to ask you to go for a drink or something to eat but you can’t. You just have to stay in and watch the TV. I don’t see it as a bad thing though really because I want boxing to be a big part of my life.

Ringnews24.com: If you had not become a boxer, do you know what you would have done? 

Andrew Colquhoun: To be honest, I wouldn’t have a clue. After school, I didn’t go to college and just did a few part time jobs.

Ringnews24.com: Are you a Liverpool or Everton fan?

Andrew Colquhoun: Everton.

Ringnews24.com: How well will they do next year? 

Andrew Colquhoun: I don’t know how much higher we can finish. Not sure we can finish above 7^th really because we don’t have the money and there’s too many clubs above us with more money than us.

Ringnews24.com: It must be frustrating as a fan considering how well Everton have done under manager David Moyes in the last decade with a small budget?

Andrew Colquhoun: Yeah, it is. We’ve finished in the top eight on seven occasions under Moyes. I think if we had more money he’d push us up the table a bit.

Ringnews24.com: Liverpool vs Chelsea, FA Cup final: Who wins and what will the score be?

Andrew Colquhoun: I think Chelsea will win 3-0. I just think they have a better team.

Ringnews24.com: Do you have a message for the fans?

Andrew Colquhoun: Just keep watching and let’s hope the knockouts keep coming. Hopefully the future will be a big success too.

Ringnews24.com: Thanks for talking to us Andrew.

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