By Shaun Brown
Adam Little was “just chilling” when he spoke to BoxingScene.com about his upcoming sixth professional fight on Saturday at the Oldham Sports Centre. The 22-year-old welterweight has had to adapt quickly to the limelight thanks to being trained as well as promoted by none other than Ricky Hatton. And the Blackpool banger remembered being thrown in at the deep end during his first taste of the media spotlight.
“My first ever interview was with Sky Sports!” said little when speaking to BoxingScene.com. “I remember being nervous and being surprised by the questions because I was still new to it. Now I know what to expect, know what to say and it’s a part of the sport I enjoy.”
A self-confessed boxing addict, Little faces Bolton’s Chris Jenkinson as part of the “Judgement Night” undercard – the main event sees Anthony Crolla defend his British lightweight title against Derry Mathews. The unbeaten prospect discussed his fight as well as the Crolla versus Mathews clash.
He said: “From what people have told me he’s [Jenkinson] a strong, come forward fighter. I’ve watched little clips of him and from what I’ve seen he’ll play right into my hands. He’ll make mistakes and create problems for himself against me.
“As for Crolla against Mathews it could be a straightforward defence for Anthony where he could take him out or Derry could use that good reach of his, plus his other attributes, that keeps Crolla at bay for the night. I think Anthony will have a bit too much though, a lot of people underestimate how clever minded he actually is.”
As those two square off for a domestic title and a path to greater opportunities, Little is ticking off the fights one by one under the guidance of “The Hitman.” And to this day he continues to remain grateful about landing a somewhat unexpected opportunity that came about thanks to a late night appearance at the Manchester Evening News Arena on the undercard of Amir Khan vs. Paul McCloskey this time last year.
“I didn’t get on till half past midnight,” Little recalled. “It was the last fight of the night, everyone had gone home but Ricky stayed and watched. He could have easily gone out but the fact that he stayed on really opened my eyes.”
Since that midnight showing against Danny Connor, Little’s stock has risen and he continues to learn about the ups and downs of boxing from a trainer who has experienced many aspects in this the most unforgiving of sports.
“He’s [Ricky] learned from his mistakes, he realises what went wrong for him and he’s passing all that on to me. Everything’s going really good between the both of us, I couldn’t have asked for more from him.”
With a true British boxing great guiding you every step of the way it would be easy to get complacent and take your eye off the ball a little. But Little studies a lot of fights and fighters on a daily basis and is already knocking on the door for his next contest.
“I watch boxing everyday,” he said. “I’m always on the likes of YouTube. Boxing is the one thing in my life I couldn’t be without. I will probably take a week or two off at some point but what I want to do is to be kept in mind for the big June show involving Scott Quigg and Rendall Munroe. That’s a big British fight and it’s a big show I’d love to be a part of.”
Twitter @shaun_brown
