“BEEN digging holes all day,” Conor Baker, still remarkably chipper, said at the end of a 16-hour working schedule that would break most.
For the Tipton super-lightweight it began at 4.45am with pounding the streets, gaining the roadwork miles that are so important to a boxer.
Then came his day job with Severn Trent Water and the hours gouging out trenches. Then came a gruelling gym session.
“It’s tough,” the 29-year-old shrugged. “It’s especially tough on my missus – I’m always out, she’s stuck at home.”
Baker, unbeaten in seven fights, finally reaps the rewards of his hard labour on BCB’s July 25, Aldersley Stadium, Wolverhampton, show. He will step up from six to 10 rounds in a bid to take tough Telford veteran Kirk Stevens’ Midlands belt.
The opportunity has been some time coming. Twice Baker had been slated to face former champ Minaaz Gurung, twice the proposed contests fell through. He was unavailable for last year’s proposed date, the re-arranged February fixture fell through when Minaaz suffered a family bereavement.
“Everything happens for a reason,” Baker, a product of Wednesbury amateur boxing club, said. “I’ve learned a lot from the two camps, even if nothing came of them. My boxing is better than it’s ever been.”
Baker and Stevens represent the graft and grind of pro boxing that is the lot of over 80 per cent of its participants. It’s an existence lost on casual fans who believe all paid fighters solely box for a living, are richly rewarded and compete in arenas.
Conor, like the vast majority, has served his apprenticeship in small halls, has to hold down a day job and has to sell tickets for his bouts. He’s a boxer, labourer and salesman. “I’ll probably be digging holes until two days before the fight,” he said.
He faces by far his toughest test to date. Stevens is a hard man whose career is studded with upsets. Last April, the “Wrekin Rocky” outpointed Dylan Cheema to gain the super-lightweight belt for a second time.
The 36-year-old champ summed-up his philosophy to me: “I am willing to put my heart and soul into a fight, I’m willing to put my life on the line. It’s the dog in me, it’s the way I’ve been brought up.”
Kirk will probably enter the Aldersley Stadium ring as favourite. “I haven’t sparred with him, but we’ve trained together,” Baker said. “It was my grandad’s wake when I got the message about the fight.
“I’m not going to slag him off, that’s not me. I know he’s as confident as I am, the better man will get over the line and I believe that will be me.”
Impressively built, Baker is a gifted boxer with an immaculate jab who is still searching for a first stoppage win. There is more to his game than textbook skills, the challenger stressed – and Stevens will bring out the other side of his game – the power and grit.
“I think this is what I’ve been waiting for,” he added. “I aim to put on a performance and show people what I can do against someone who comes to fight.”
The man from Severn Trent Water is out to make a splash.
