Osbourne-Edwards rolls the dice again
Jimmy Osbourne-Edwards…fights on Saturday. Pic: Manjit Narotra/BCB
AGE has not dimmed Jermaine Osbourne-Edwards’ appetite for big fights on big bills.
That’s the goal as the Wolverhampton southpaw returns after close to a year away on BCB’s show at Bescot Stadium, Walsall, on Saturday night.
The veteran welter will face Dan Belcher in what looks a mark time four rounder: the Chippenham boxer is still searching for a win after four outings.
Richard Carter, boss of “Jimmy’s” Wolverhampton gym, said: “We’ve sat down, talked and Jim wants to carry on. He’s still fit, he keeps himself in excellent condition. He wants a couple of good fights, get back on the big stage and roll the dice. H needs a couple of wins to do that.”
Barring a catastrophe, Belcher should provide one of them.
When Osbourne-Edwards does decide to hang up his gloves, we’re unlikely to see a fighter as colourful as the Kundalini King.
Jimmy got sucked into Wolverhampton’s gang culture, pursuing a lifestyle that he says would’ve eventually claimed his life, before finding a deeply spiritual path. In one interview, he informed me: “When I meditate my energy can go to a higher level. I’m a very spiritual person, spirituality is all religions. I fast for 18 hours each day, I don’t eat from 7pm until one-two o’clock the next day. I run seven miles with no food in my stomach. I have nutritional substitutes from the Himalayas.”
His ring entrances are something to behold, with drummers, banners and individuals in native Indian dress – the boxer among them.
In the ring, Osbourne-Edwards has made remarkable strides for a man who turned pro at the age of 32 with only a handful of amateur pro bouts behind him. He’s lost only two of 14, won a Midlands title, fought for an English – Sean Noakes registered the only stoppage on his record that night – and appeared on televised arena shows.
Don’t discount the possibility of more milestones, Carter stressed.
He said: “You never know with Jim. He punches very hard, when he spars he does hurt sparring partners, but it hasn’t happened out there in the ring. That’s frustrating.
“To be a pro boxer you have to be an athlete and he is an athlete, he leaves no stone unturned. He keeps himself in good condition. If we’d had him earlier, who knows what he could’ve achieved. He’s been Midlands champ, fought for the English, since he’s been with us he’s done very well. He only had 12 amateur fights.”
Osbourne-Edwards has achieved more than most – and he still hungers to achieve more.