Owen Gidman is a plasterer by day, but his ambitions go far beyond the building trades.
The 23-year-old completed his medicals and boxing certification earlier this year and is ready to embark on a career as a professional fighter. Like many young boxers, he fits training – at the Far Cotton Boxing Club in Northampton – into his work schedule.
A light welterweight, Gidman’s debut has been set for October 29 at York Hall in East London.
As a small room fighter, he was under pressure to sell as many tickets as he could, as well as manage his nerves.
“I worked so hard with my training and to sell tickets of course,” he told us before the fight. “I did more than a hundred. The promoter is happy, that’s the main thing.
“But listen, I’m not going to lie, I’m nervous. I want it to go well, and I don’t want to let myself down or let other people down.
“My opponent, Lee Hallett, is very experienced and left-handed, but from my perspective there’s no point in worrying too much about him.
“I just have to make sure I don’t freeze. If I show what I can do, I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
Like most newbies, Gidman’s first pro contest wasn’t the start of his boxing journey.
Sport played a constant role throughout his life, and he is happy to admit he was particularly drawn to it because he was “an angry kid”.
“Boxing is the only thing that has worked for me,” he said.
“I found school difficult and I was never the best at reading and writing. I was always struggling, always struggling, so my family pushed me into football, to give me an outlet.
“But it didn’t work out. We then watched the Ricky Hatton vs. Floyd Mayweather fight on TV together, and after watching that, I said I wanted to try boxing.
“It’s funny how something like that can influence your life, but that’s where it all started.”
Gidman – from Bletchley in Buckinghamshire – started training at his local club aged eight. Over the next three years his commitment grew and he began to compete as a junior amateur. After going far in various schoolboy championships, he won the ABA Juniors – the UK National Amateur Championship – in 2014.
It would be easy to assume that from there Gidman’s career path followed the stereotype of the successful amateur: teams of British teams, senior honours, major championship medals. But things didn’t turn out that way.
“At the age of 16 I started to walk away from boxing,” Gidman said.
“My priorities were the wrong ones. I got involved in street life a lot, hung out with the wrong people and got into trouble.”
To try to recover, he signed up for a brief stint in the military, where he resumed boxing. He reached the senior ABA semi-finals in 2018, and his return to the sport ultimately led to his decision to enter the paid ranks earlier this year.
He said: “I’m a front-foot fighter and I’m at my best when I step forward. I’ve always felt that the professional game would suit me better than the amateurs.”
No nervous onset was apparent overnight. Outside the venue, Gidman met former British and Commonwealth super featherweight champion Kevin Mitchell.
They walked in together, with Mitchell – now a coach – giving him lots of advice. Before the ringwalk, Mitchell reappeared and told Gidman to “chill and have fun with it”.
“Giddy” put on a calm and assured performance against an enduring mate, earning a comfortable points decision in front of a boisterous crowd.
“Winning was awesome,” Gidman said.
“There are things I could have done better. I know that. I should have let go of my hands more, but it’s all about winning.
“My opponent was tricky and clumsy, but he congratulated me at the end and told me I hurt him in the fourth round. He’s a guy who doesn’t get hurt often, so that meant a lot to me. .”
Such is the speed of the small venue boxing scene, Gidman plans to fight again before Christmas. And he has big ambitions.
“Now that I’ve tasted it, I can’t wait to go back,” he said.
“I aim to go all the way in boxing. I really mean it. All the way to the top.”
