Promising 22-year-old Newark boxer, Tom Cowling, is back in the ring after serious back injury left him unable to work
Tom Cowling is back in the ring in less than a fortnight’s time, looking to build on what manager Carl Greaves described as one of the best debuts he had ever seen.
Greaves was beaming after watching Cowling, of Newark, launch his professional career in Nottingham in March.
The tough journeyman Bryn Wain usually takes prospects the distance, but Cowling coolly took him apart within two rounds.
That led Greaves to predict he had another future British champion in the gym, but Cowling hasn’t boxed since, having suffered from a serious back injury that left him out of the gym and unable to work.
But, in August, the 22-year-old was given the all clear to resume his boxing career and is back in action at Leicester City FC’s King Power Stadium on Saturday, November 2.
Cowling said: “The injury was a setback, it was frustrating.
“About two weeks after my debut, I got some pain in my lower back. It was a trapped nerve and I had a lot of treatment and physio on it.”
Cowling revealed he spent a fortune on treatment in a bid to return to the ring.
“There were times when it was hard to keep going, but I never thought my career was over,” he said.
“I thought to myself, ‘I’m still young’ so there was no rush. I had time to get myself fit and healthy again and get my injury sorted.
“There was never any doubt in my mind that I wouldn’t box again. The injury has sorted itself out.
“I haven’t had any pain for three months, and now I’m itching to get in the ring again.”
Looking back on his debut, Cowling said: “Every boxer gets nerves, but I just got on with it.
“I knew what I had to do and what I’m capable of, so I went out there and did it.
“The support I got in Nottingham was fantastic, it gave me a real lift, and I’m hoping to take a good following with me to Leicester next month as well.”
Middleweight Cowling, who stands at 6ft, has sold 100 tickets for his bout with Walsall’s Kearon Thomas.
“He’s got a great following, and that’s important because they will help him go a long way,” said Greaves.
“He will get to have that feeling of looking out the ring and seeing people cheering again. It is a feeling like no other.”
Greaves said he has prepared Cowling as if it was his debut fight in some senses, in an attempt to shake the ring rust having not fought for seven months.
“Because of what he has gone through with his injury, we are focussed solely on getting the win,” he said.
“It has been hard and frustrating for the lad, so in some ways it is about getting through the night.
“His mind is telling him what to do, but sometimes his body isn’t letting him.
“But he has been determined. He has his good and bad days still and I would be lying if I said he was going into the fight 100%.
“But we are confident and when he lets his hands go you can see his class.
“You can see how strong and how fast he is, and once we get a 100% Tom Cowling, he will go as far as he wants to.”
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