TALENTED young boxer Jay Munn has vowed to come back stronger than ever after rededicating himself to the sport following a difficult eight months.
The 23-year-old super welterweight, known as the Rhoose Rhino, was below his best as he maintained his unbeaten record with a narrow points victory over the experienced Richard Helm at the Vale Sports Arena in late June, but Munn has now admitted he took a reckless risk by fighting despite having a swelling on the back of his head.
In the week before the fight, Munn pulled his back while training and collapsed outside the gym, hitting his head when he fell. A doctor diagnosed the back issue as mild sciatica.
His manager, the former middleweight world title challenger Gary Lockett, read him the riot act after finding out he had taken a dangerous risk by fighting with the swelling, but Munn says he has learnt a valuable lesson from the experience: “The only person to blame is myself because I told everyone I was OK.
“It was very wrong of me to fight under those conditions, and Gary, who has been around a long time, is well aware of the dangers of boxing, so he made his thoughts known in no uncertain terms.
“Looking back, I can see it was really stupid. I didn’t want to let my supporters down by pulling out of the fight, but the truth is that I was well below my best and didn’t really do myself justice that night. I’ll never do anything like that again, it’s a hard lesson learnt,” he said.
In the aftermath, Munn suffered from impetigo and shingles, and in the months that followed, he sunk into a depression that led him to lose the discipline required of boxers.
After months of drinking and partying that saw him gain three-and-a-half stone in weight, Munn rededicated himself to boxing one day in November: “I woke up one morning and decided there and then that I had to change my attitude.
“I couldn’t go on living like that – I was letting myself down and if it had gone on for too much longer I was going to self-destruct in a big way.
“I started to become much more sensible with what I ate and I’d attempt to go for a run. If I was struggling to run, I’d walk, but no matter what, I kept going – there was no going back to my old ways,” he said.
Munn, who works for a scaffolding company by day, admits that recent months have been a humbling time, and he has learnt who his real friends are: “I’ve had to tell the people I was hanging around with that I won’t be going out drinking at the weekend and that I’ve changed my lifestyle.
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“My true friends have respected my wishes and understand, but inevitably, people who don’t accept that I’ve changed will have to drift out of my life, which is sad.
“I read a good saying recently – ‘show me your friends and I’ll show you your future’. That saying has stuck with me and it’s 100% right.
“The good people in my life have been very supportive of my decision to drink and party a lot less, so nowadays I have a cup of tea in bed and watch EastEnders,” he said.
Munn hopes to return to the ring in April, possibly on the undercard of Joe Cordina’s next fight, and he is hoping for a title shot towards the end of the year.
Reflecting on the difficulties of the last eight months, Munn said: “It has been a really valuable life lesson. I have let people down and my bark was bigger than my bite.
“Things are going to be very different in the future. I’m going to say a lot less and I’ll let my actions in the ring speak for themselves.
“I want to be the people’s champion and I feel the need to repay the loyalty and support others have shown in me.”
| — Rhoose Rhino keeps unbeaten record – from 06/07/22
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