LEWIS VAN POETSCH is hanging up his battle-worn gloves as British boxing’s best loser after the cost of winning became too much.
The brave 32-year-old Bristol journeyman has served the hardest sport for a decade, after boxing as a boy and as a proud member of the Rifles regiment that fought for us in Afghanistan.
The fearless showman has always been the away fighter, never had any fans, juggled a full-time job and taken fights without a moment’s notice – sometimes with a hangover!
But bout 170 on March 25 in his hometown – with his current record standing at 13-152-4 – will be his last after the racking up of too many injuries and victories finally counted him out.
Thanks to promoter Frank Warren generously providing Poochi with a press pass for Anthony Yarde’s heroic defeat against Artur Beterbiev, he sat down with SunSport to explain why now is the time to bow out.
“I’ve done my 10 years and this was always going to be my last year,” he said while expertly running the rule over the undercard.
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“I’ve got all my faculties intact and I am ready. I am starting to feel my aches and pains more. It’s a young man’s sport and I was always able to hold my own and I don’t want to lose that.
“I have been doing this at the top level for a long time and I make things hard for these lads – most of the time – and as soon as I stop doing that, what’s the point?
“When I decided this would be my last year I decided I wanted to show people what I could really do in a few fights. I had played the game for so long and I wanted some rewards.
“So I won three fights, two inside the distance, got robbed for a draw and a very dodgy decision loss. In my eyes I have won five of my last seven fights.
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“It wasn’t a ‘f*** you’ to the industry but I wanted to leave a little mark on the sport.
“After winning my last fight the phone was silent for about six weeks and then I had to fight a brilliant prospect who absolutely peppered me!
“When you start winning, that phone goes quiet, it must be the only job in the world where improvement and success get punished! So that element I will not miss.”
To a non-boxing fan the role of the journeyman is a tough one to explain.
They are some of the most talented defensive fighters in the game but are perpetual losers.
They have some of the highest integrity in the bleeding business but are not supposed to triumph.
From the outside they look like cannon fodder. But inside the industry and the ropes, they are some of the sharpest minds, bravest hearts and most decent fellas.
The former soldier, barber, lift engineer and now trainee referee said: “I think the job of a journeyman will always be a mystery. If you’re in the industry you understand it fully but from the outside, to the layman, it’s so hard.
“When I tell a casual fan what my record is they think I’m a liar, or a nutter, or an idiot, or all three!
“People think you’re a human punchbag or you’re taking dives for money. But you have to be extremely good, whack very hard, or have one of the best nights of your career to stop me.
“I see it, when these hot young prospects can’t hurt or stop me, that it p***es them off and I love that, I take it as a sign of respect.
“I have always taken great pride in taking these young knockout kings the distance and showing them a bit of boxing.
“I have never been knocked out and I will proudly take that accolade to the grave. I have been stopped on my feet but never waved off or counted out on the ground.”
The risks courageous men of Poetsch’s dying ilk are willing to take – to keep struggling shows on and help nurture young prospects – is staggering.
They get paid, thank God, but it’s clear from one overdue evening in Poochi’s brilliant company that the money means almost nothing.
“I took a dangerous fight on 10 hours notice against John Docherty in Newcastle,” he remembers of the 2019 bout with the 2018 Commonwealth Games bronze winner.
“I was on my way to Liverpool for a different fight when that got cancelled, so I had a Burger King and was heading for the pub.
“The call came just before I could get a round in and off I went, lasted all six rounds too.
“I went to the Ally Pally as a fan for a show before Christmas, I even did a bit of commentary for Sky.
“But Lerrone Richards had to pull out of his fight with Zak Chelli and the idea of me stepping in was floated.
“It didn’t happen in the end but I was ready and willing and that’s an example of the sort of notice you get, as a journeyman.
“Every journeyman has one or more stories like that. I know it sounds mad but that’s what we do.
“I have probably only lived a proper dedicated boxer’s life for 10 per cent of my career.
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“I’ve always loved the pub, I might have had the odd fight hungover, I maybe could have won a few more than I did. But I’ve always known my role and I hope I’ve done it pretty well. I have held up my side of the bargain. I feel like I earned my stripes in this sport.”
SunSport salutes you Poochi. Tickets for Poochi’s last dance at The Galleries in Bristol on March 25 can be bought from the hero himself @poochi_17.
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
