Future is bright for Batley gym's 41-year-old unbeaten boxing champ Jimmy First
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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.
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Hide AdThe 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.
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Hide Ad"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.
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Hide AdHe 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.
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Hide Ad"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.
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Hide Ad"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.”