Fan favourite Dave Allen recently announced Emmanuel Appiah as the latest boxer he will be working with in the professional ranks.
Allen now has an impressive roster of 22 boxers whom he manages alongside his ongoing professional career.
The 25-year-old spoke to Pro Boxing Fans ahead of his upcoming professional debut.
“I’ve been raised all over. I was raised in Italy and moved to Nottingham when I was about 14, so I’ve been here ever since.
“Both of my parents are from Ghana, so I’m Ghanaian originally as well.”
He opened up on growing up in Italy and how his limited exposure to boxing contributed to his late start in the sport.
“I grew up in the north of Italy, near Venice. That’s where I grew up.
“In Italy, football is very big, so as you do, you just grow up playing football. I didn’t do anything like boxing while I was there.”
Since moving to the UK, Appiah quickly found himself inspired by Anthony Joshua, who was beginning his dominant rise around that time.
The Nottingham-based fighter discussed how having an active British fighter winning world titles inspired him to walk through the doors of a boxing gym for the first time.
“When I moved to the UK, I became a big fan of boxing. Watching Anthony Joshua fight Klitschko was when I became a big fan, and I’ve been watching boxing ever since.
“Everybody was talking about Anthony Joshua. I had never heard of him before, but they said he was having a big fight, so I decided to watch it.
“Seeing someone in the current era doing what he did that night, getting off the canvas and winning by stoppage, I thought, ‘This is a great sport.’
“That was a great fight to be introduced to boxing through.”
‘AJ’ was a rare example of a fighter turning to the sport late and enjoying as much success as he has. He was encouraged to enter a boxing gym to help keep him away from distractions outside the sport.
Joshua walked through the doors of Finchley ABC at the age of 18 back in 2007 at the encouragement of his cousin, and the rest is history.
He won Olympic gold in front of the British faithful at London 2012 before turning professional in 2013.
‘AJ’ would go on to become a two-time heavyweight world champion and one of the leading role models in not only boxing but the sporting world as a whole.
“I found out that he started the sport late as well, so I thought there might still be time for me to do this.
“I came from a football background, where by the age of seven, if you’re not in a team, you’re probably not going to make it to the top level.
“With boxing, I heard Anthony Joshua started at around 18, so it opened the door. I was in education, but there was still a window where something like this was possible.”
Appiah did not initially start boxing with ambitions of becoming a champion, although that mindset soon shifted. He first entered the gym with the simple aim of losing weight.
View this post on Instagram
“When Covid happened, I put on a lot of size. I was really big and everyone was making fun of me. My friends were always laughing, and I thought, ‘I need to make a change.’
“The gym was an option, but I thought boxing made sense. I felt like I could lose a lot of weight straight away by doing boxing.
“I joined the local boxing gym and never looked back.
“You know how they say you get the bug? That was it. I fell in love with the sport and took it seriously ever since.”
He gave a powerful outlook on how the sport helped him turn a corner and why he believes more children should be exposed to boxing through the academic curriculum.
“If I had been introduced to boxing at an earlier age, I definitely would have stuck to it.
“Not everyone is going to become a world champion or take it seriously, but boxing teaches you a lot in terms of respect.
“It brings a lot of people together. The networking is incredible. Sometimes I’ll be training next to a dentist or a doctor, and you wouldn’t meet those people in your day-to-day life.
“It isn’t just blood and guts. You learn discipline, how to respect your opponents, how to speak to people and how to carry yourself in a better manner.
“Boxing is definitely something that could help in schools.”
Attending the University of Nottingham was when his attention really started to shift towards how far he could go in the sport. He enjoyed his first major amateur success at the annual British Universities and Colleges Sport Championships.
View this post on Instagram
“It includes universities from across Britain, so you see people from England, Wales and elsewhere. You want to make your name stick and make sure everybody remembers you after the tournament.
“When I won BUCS, I was captain of the university team, so there was additional pressure as well.
“It was three days and three wins, and I finally got over the line to become British university champion.”
BUCS proved to be only the beginning of his amateur success, with his most impressive triumph coming at the Haringey Box Cup.
“DAZN was there and there was a lot of media present, so it felt like it was now or never.
“In my first fight, I won by knockout in the first round. I think it was around a 30-second fight.
“Because of the stoppage the previous day, there was even more pressure going into the final, but I got over the line and became Haringey Box Cup champion.
View this post on Instagram
“That was one of my biggest achievements.”
His success at the tournament also proved pivotal away from the ring, as it was where he first met Allen.
“I feel like that put me on the map. It was also the first time I met Dave Allen, who is now my manager.”
Appiah will continue training in Nottingham and offered an insight into how ‘The White Rhino’ will support him throughout his professional journey.
“I met Dave Allen at the Haringey Box Cup, and after that, I kept bumping into him at every boxing event I attended.
View this post on Instagram
“You know how Dave Allen is—he’s a funny and outgoing guy.
“He’ll help me through the journey by finding the right opponents at the right time.
“He also helps me secure the right sparring.
“He coaches some fighters, but I’m strictly managed by him. I train in Nottingham, but in terms of the business side, he is my manager.”
With a date for his professional debut set to be announced soon, Appiah closed the interview by revealing why people should tune into his journey.
“Amateur boxing is more of a point-scoring system. You only have three rounds, so it’s fought at a very high pace.
“Damage isn’t rewarded as much. You’re mainly looking to outscore your opponent.
“As a shorter, aggressive fighter, that can sometimes go against you because it’s more difficult to score points, even when you’re landing damaging shots.
“There were plenty of times when I forced standing counts, but you don’t get rewarded for that. It is effectively scored as another punch.
“In the professional game, hurting your opponent is rewarded. If you put someone down, that’s a 10-8 round, and that changes everything.
“It gives me an opportunity to shine and use my attributes, so I feel like the professional game is going to suit me.”
