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Boxing Life Stories

Season 3: #8 Paul Smith

Boxing Life Stories

Tris Dixon

Sports

4.91.6K Ratings

🗓️ 21 October 2020

⏱️ 142 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Liverpool's former world title challenger Paul Smith has had one of the most-interesting careers in modern British boxing. A former ABA champion and Commonwealth Games silver medallist, Smith also featured in the US TV series show The Contender. He was in Liverpool derbies with Tony Quigley and Tony Dodson, boxed Arthur Abraham twice for the WBO world title and fought Andre Ward in the USA, as well as facing off with James DeGale and George Groves.  He also battled with depression in retirement and talks here of the identity shift from fighter to ex-fighter, the affect of autism on his family and his sparring rivalry with Ricky Hatton. Boxing Life Stories is now on Patreon. You can get access to research, unseen photographs from Boxing Life Stories, go behind the scenes of the podcast with Tris Dixon and even get some episodes early. You can help support us through another 100 episodes and help us to grow by visiting www.patreon.com/trisdixon Boxing Life Stories is bought to you by HANSON LEE RESOURCING who were voted “The UK's Best Specialist Insurance-Sector Recruitment Firm for 2020” in the Corporate Excellence Awards. ‘Not only do we find the best people, we’ll help you retain them.' Discover more at HansonLee.com’ AND DELCO SAFETY COMPLIANCE, who are a leading provider of professional fire, asbestos, and safety services to businesses nationwide. They offer one expert point of contact for all of your fire, health and safety compliance needs. Find out more at www.delcosafety.co.uk Follow Tris on twitter @trisdixon and instagram @trisdixon @boxing_life_stories Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

We had that relationship where I remember he done me with a body shot and he nailed me with a perfect left tooth to the body and I've stood back and nodded it and I went good shot and as I went to say shot it and I just felt like someone just stuck a knife in the side of me as it does.

0:15.0

I knew on the night I knew as soon as the bell went I'd done enough.

0:19.0

I'm watching a bar, I think, you silly bastard, because I had my hands up and I was genuinely thinking

0:24.4

they're gonna score it correctly and they're gonna give me it and I'm gonna I think I've done enough.

0:28.3

I know I've done enough and no looking at him, he looks a beaten man. I got the better of him. I gave it me all and I've done it and I've won it and I'm World Champion.

0:36.3

I remember just I was visualizing the belt for months and months and months before for years that as I've done, as I say,

0:41.8

where things were I was a kid I'm thinking I've got this I've got this and they led the

0:45.2

scores out I just remember thinking you bastards and I went there to win I went there thinking

0:51.1

I could win but I knew for the fact that the only way I'm going to win is if I nail them and I felt like a good nail them I've seen them go down before and that was enough for me listen. I've seen the boomb fight I've seen them get knocked down I've seen them get ate. I know I can ate them I've just got a nail them. I'm just going to land. Remember landing a belt a shot,

1:04.8

good right arm, right on the chain.

1:06.4

I think just come back and it were about three or four.

1:08.3

You sort of lose everything, even though you haven't really lost anything.

1:14.0

You lose your identity, you're not a boxer no more.

1:16.5

And you've been a boxer since you were nine years of age.

1:18.3

And then people are like, what are you doing now?

1:20.5

What are you up to now?

1:21.5

You know what, it's like, well, I'm doing the same thing I was doing five years ago. I'm just being myself going to do the school one going to sit with my brothers and have a coffee and going to see me my dad I'm going to just go to gym and have a son or a steam or the jacuzzi or a half an hour on the bike or something.

1:37.3

But you sort of lose the identity of who you are and then like depression. I didn't know what

1:41.9

depression was so I retired and when it

1:44.2

happened to sort of realize that may have I did a little bit when I was fighting when I

1:48.0

broke my hands after the girls fight but you just sort of don't admit it to

1:51.5

yourself because at the time everything's got to be fine

...

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