When he first asked I didn't have a gum shield with me, so I was off the hook. He said to tell him when I had one so I could have a go, so the ball was effectively in my court when I wanted to spar. I hesitated for a few weeks, I wasn't scared, but I didn't want to sound cocky asking to spar.

My first sparring session was against a smaller guy, but who was more experienced. Just jabbing for the first round and he was going easy on me. The feeling I most remember from that experience was being caught in the eye early on, and then realising I was on my own in there. I'd been used to competing in team sports like rugby, where it is easy to 'hide' for a while after getting a knock so you can recover. All in all I enjoyed and have been back for more since.