One of the UK’s top boxers proved a knock-out with students of a Derby school when he dropped in for a visit.
Ekow Essuman, current holder of the British, Commonwealth and IBF (International Boxing Federation) Welterweight titles, ranked fourth in Britain and 47th in the world, spent an afternoon at Alvaston Moor Academy on Bracken’s Lane.
His visit was part of ‘KO Interventions’, an eight-week programme designed to motivate and inspire both male and female pupils by teaching them all about the mental and physical resilience required for life in the ring, as well as having a go at throwing a few hooks and uppercuts themselves.
Ekow Essuman, current holder of the British, Commonwealth and IBF (International Boxing Federation) Welterweight titles.
Students got the chance to quiz Ekow on his 14-year boxing career, which has so far seen him undefeated as a professional.
They then took part in a valuable session about mental toughness and what it takes to achieve personal goals, before getting their gloves on to find out what it feels like to ‘pad’ with a champion.
Ekow told students: “Every single boxer, when he steps out into the ring, is going through fear, is going through excitement, and feelings of being scared of his opponent.
“All boxers are just really good at dealing with anxiety and fear. You just get used to it.
“You know the fear is there, but you remember that you’ve done the training, all the hard work, and you’re just going out there to do what you do.”
Ekow Essuman with students from Derby Moor Academy.
Born in Botswana, Ekow told how he moved to the UK aged 11 and was initially interested in other sports such as football and basketball. He discovered boxing when he decided to lose some weight and was told by a friend that there was no better exercise than a few bouts in the ring.
Ekow soon showed promise and his career initially saw him in the Team GB squad where he was rubbing shoulders with the likes of Anthony Fowler and Joshua Buatsi, before he decided to turn pro. Since becoming professional, Ekow remains undefeated, his most recent fight being a win over Darren Tetley as an undercard in the Tyson Fury and Dillian Whyte match at Wembley Stadium in London in April – where he was defending all three of his championship belts.
So what is the best place in the world he has ever fought? Who would he choose to fight from history? And does he always go straight for the knock-out?
These were some of the fascinating questions students at Alvaston Moor put to the champion boxer.
Ekow ‘padding’ with year 7 pupil Kye Martin.
Ekow said the top place he has fought is Mexico – where the heat posed a real challenge for English boxers – and given the chance he would choose to fight American Thomas Hearns, who was the first boxer to win world titles in all five weight divisions. As for going for the knock-out, he prefers to bide his time, until, as he put it: “As soon as you smell blood you have got to do what you’ve got to do.”
One of Ekow’s central messages to Alvaston Moor students was about working hard to chase your dreams. And despite the fighting nature of the sport, at its heart he said boxing was about respect.
He said: “Even people who don’t normally like each other will have a new-found respect for each other after having a boxing match. At the end of the day, it’s a job for us boxers.
“People say hard work breeds talent. You can be talented at something but be a little bit lazy, and not go on the runs you need to do and not train. There will be that one boxer who is not on your level but will spend days, weeks and months working on it and end up beating you. At the end of the day, you can’t cry about the results you don’t get from work you didn’t do.”
Ekow said he thought his visit to Alvaston Moor as part of KO Interventions was very valuable for students.
He said: “I feel that it’s important because it’s giving back to the younger generations. One of the most important things is just showing them that, if they channel their energy, they can do literally whatever they want to do.”
One of the school’s year seven students, Carl Price, said: “Boxing really builds up your mental strength and it’s actually very calming. It teaches you about being respectful, and how to focus and calm down. I have loved it.”
Alvaston Moor head teacher Michelle Strong said: “We were so pleased to welcome Ekow into our school to tell students all about life as a professional boxer. The KO Interventions programme has been brilliant for our pupils. It’s really brought them together and shown them how mental resilience is just as important as physical strength in achieving what you want in life. Thanks to Ekow for taking the time out to come and see us in Alvaston Moor. We loved having him and hearing about his professional boxing career.”
At the end of the eight-week KO Interventions programme, students from Alvaston Moor will get the opportunity to travel to Nottingham to visit Ekow’s gym.
