Last updated 12:54, Friday, 15 August 2008

Boxer Darren Askew, of Workington

John Connell meets Darren Askew, Workington's boxing showman.

A WORKINGTON boxer who was mocked at school for being small and skinny has had the last laugh.

Welterweight Darren Askew, 23, now boxing out of Northside in Manchester, has won four professional fights and bounced back from his single defeat with a six-round victory over his last opponent.

Darren, who started boxing at Workington Boys’ Club when he was just 13, said: “If someone doubts me, it spurs me on.

“I always believed in my head that I would do this, especially when they told me I couldn’t. I would like to say ‘thanks for doubting me’ because without that I wouldn’t have done it. It just drove me on. I wanted to prove them all wrong.”

But southpaw Darren’s skills are not entirely due to hard work and determination.

He also has an excellent pugilistic pedigree.

Boxing, it seems, is in his blood. His father was an amateur boxer and his grandfather was a professional fighter in the late 40s and early 50s who won 23 of his 26 fights.

Wearing a t-shirt and tracksuit bottoms and sporting a swollen knuckle from his last fight against Graham Fearn, Darren bounds into the Yankees bar for our meeting as if into a boxing ring.

He politely declines when I offer to buy him a pint because he is heading straight to training after our interview.

He appears relaxed and cheerful and takes off a military-style camouflage cap to reveal a military-style haircut, which says a lot about his attitude to boxing.

He says: “Boxing gives you discipline.

“A lot of boxers have skinheads because it makes you look like a fighter, like you’re ready for war.”

Boxing is close to his heart - he is wearing a gold chain with a boxing glove pendant studded with diamonds, the hardest mineral known to man.

This is an appropriate emblem for a man who has only lost one professional fight and could have a glittering career ahead of him.

This is not the only boxing-related adornment on his person: he also has a tattoo of his sporting idol on his shoulder, the middleweight fighter Marvin Hagler.

He says: “I don’t think he’s the greatest boxer - it’s just the way he is. It’s his attitude I admire.”

Darren’s eyes light up when he talks about his fights and his gestures become more animated.

He adds: “The ring is where I feel happiest - I find a kind of peace there. It’s about the feel-good factor, that alpha male feeling.

“It just blows you away. It feels so good that you can’t describe it. I used to have panic attacks and I couldn’t handle it when I first started. But now I love it.

“I never wanted to lose again and it gives you that drive. I need challenges to step up my game.”

But it’s not just the boxing itself Darren loves - he gets a buzz out of entertaining the fans too.

He says: “I’m not a fighter - I’m a pro boxer and I like to be flash. I like to make people miss and then punish them.

“I consider myself a showman and I like to get the chance to show off a bit. If I can do it and get away with it, then why not? I take a calculated risk.”

He says he cannot understand fighters who get angry to psyche themselves up before a fight.

“I want to enjoy my sport and I’m so pleased I don’t feel that way about it.”

Darren, who has returned to Workington for 12 months to nurse his injured hand, is also not afraid to admit that he has a sensitive side as well.

“I am staying here partly because of my hand but partly to look after my grandad who has Alzheimer's disease. I’m really family-orientated.”

Darren, who made his professional debut in October 2007, also plans to visit one of his old boxing clubs at Whitehaven in a bid to encourage youngsters to develop their talents.

When he offers to buy me a drink at the end of the interview, I accept immediately.

He is not just a promising boxer. He’s also the kind of bloke you would go be happy to go out for a pint with.