Joe burning to prove the naysayers wrong

Joe Guest-Bourne…”I know British title level is achievable.”

HULKING Coventry heavyweight Joe Guest-Bourne doesn’t pull any punches when discussing his drawn pro debut.

“God it was awful,” the former fine rugby player said matter-of-factly. That forgettable stalemate with Crisitian Uwaka has only stoked a burning desire to prove the naysayers wrong and Joe looked much better in his second fight, a points decision over Phil Williams last month.

The Big Man refuses to accept that. He didn’t improve for the second fight, he stressed – he just performed so poorly in the first.

The 28-year-old was down to box at Scott Murray’s Excelsior Club on November 27 but pulled out for purely logistical reasons. Joe didn’t feel sufficient fans would travel to watch him box on a Thursday night in Cannock at dinner show prices.

In any case, the 6ft 4ins fighter perforated his eardrum sparring on Friday – an injury that sidelines him for six weeks.

That damn debut, at times it almost appears to haunt Joe, trained by Edwin Cleary in Leamington. Admittedly, it was a fight taken at short notice, but there was real belief Uwaka would provide a sparkling start to the boxer’s promotional deal with Frank Warren’s Queensberry.

Even Joe – highly articulate – is at a loss to explain it.

“I was not there, it was not me,” he said. “I don’t know how else to explain it. I don’t remember anything after the first round. I didn’t have time for those fight nerves to build-up – it was my debut, I should’ve been excited and nervous.”

And he admits self-doubts surfaced after the performance. “It didn’t dent my ego, but it did dent my confidence,” Joe said. “Those thoughts creep in, ‘will I, won’t I’. I’m putting pressure on myself for the next fight – I need to show people I can punch. It (the debut) has added fuel to the fire and more substance to the story.”

Bourne-Guest didn’t start boxing until his early 20s, had relatively few amateur bouts and yet hit the road with a major pro promotional contract.

He has the gifts to go all the way, Clearly insists.

“British title level, I know that’s achievable,” Joe said. “I spar the good guys and that shows the level you are at. The difference is experience – they have done the rounds, they know when to take rounds off, when to apply pressure.

“I can achieve British title level, but being at British title is one thing, winning it another.”

Joe is in no rush to gatecrash the big-time, he knows there are still things to learn.

“Do I want a journeyman-padded record? Absolutely not,” he said. “Do I want two or three fights against experienced opponents before that step-up? Absolutely.”

“I think I’ve gone farther (in the game) than I should be now. I am proud of what I’ve done, but I’m not happy.”

He added: “I’m used to being underestimated, it just gives me more to prove.”