Future is bright for Batley gym's 41-year-old unbeaten boxing champ Jimmy First

Less than a month ago, the Brighouse lightweight who trains at Batley’s Dicky’s Gym was set for a quiet end to 2022 after moving his professional record to 14-0 with three wins and a Central Area title triumph in the last 12 months, writes Ben McKenna.

But then out of nowhere a fourth bout of the year emerged when he was approached by promotional company Boxxer and offered the chance to fight live on Sky Sports against 17-0 Cori Gibbs in a lightweight contest in Bournemouth.

The catch? His manager was only informed of the opportunity 10 days out from the first bell.

However, First – who only turned pro aged 36 – is not one to shirk a challenge. And after eight hard-fought rounds, First's arm was raised as the victor.

"It was great to get a big win on the big stage,” said First.

"It was a week and three days - basically I walked into the gym and saw my trainer and he said there was a fight on December 17 if I wanted it.

"We didn't make a decision straight away, we had a look at him and we thought could we beat him? He had a bit of recent inactivity but I have fought three to four times every year.

"You have to take these opportunities, because if you don't try you don't know. Who dares wins – you have got to go for it.

"We dragged him into deep waters and I swam better than him. It was not just about technical boxing, we dragged him into a bit of a war. That grit pushed me through."

It has been somewhat of a bizarre year for First.

In March, he knocked out Justin Newell, who was 13-0 ahead of the fight, to win the Central Area title before following that up with two more wins.

He was due to fight in July but on the day of the contest, a freak accident ruled him out of action for a number of weeks.

He continued: "I had a bizarre accident when I had a car run over my hand on the day of a fight.

"I was meant to be fighting in July and went into Halifax to get some chicken and rice. As I got parked up I went to put a pound in the parking metre but it slipped out of my hand and landed in front of the back wheel of a parked car.

"But as I went to pick it up the car moved and rolled over my hand – on the day of a fight.

"It was my friend as well who was in the car as I went to the window and told him he'd just driven over my hand!

"I came home and my hand was swollen. I went to the hospital and had an x-ray and it was three fractured fingers.

"I have had a mad year with some good wins, a few months recovery and coming back to win on Sky Sports."

Although aged 41 the future is still bright for Jimmy, who added: "I am still learning and I am still fresh.

"I was not at my best for that fight with Cori Gibbs as I only took it on a week's notice, I had not got the correct sparring in.

"It is a rough sport and a tough sport and taking knocks to the head – you do think about injuries later on in life. But I want to keep going, I want a few more big fights and a few more paydays.

"Hopefully there are some big plans – there could be a big title coming and some big fights. The future is looking good for 2023.

“My manager has already been talking about potential offers. Maybe I can go and fight for an English or British title and then me and Gibbs could have a rematch.”