Sam Gilley puts a nightmare year behind him when he steps up to middleweight to fight Aston Brown in Glasgow on Friday.
Gilley, a former Commonwealth champion, drew with Gideon Onyenani last July and then came close to winning the British super-welterweight title only to suffer a unanimous decision defeat to Ishmael Davis.
To compound his misery that loss came on an undercard at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the home of the football club he supports.
“I still think I won both fights. I just had a [rubbish] year. It taught me a lot of lessons,” Gilley told Sky Sports. “It teaches you a lot about yourself and a lot about your character.
“It was a tight fight and Ish [Davis] got the nod. At the end of the day that’s boxing and that’s sport and that’s competition.”
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Speaking on Toe2Toe, Olly Murs says he would walk out friend and Commonwealth super-welterweight champion Sam Gilley out in a world title fight, but Sam had other ideas
He still longs to win the Lonsdale belt. “That British title I watched Ricky Hatton beat Jon Thaxton for, [I thought] I could win that, this is mad… It does wind me up a little bit,” Gilley said.
“If I get the opportunity to fight for it again I’d be grateful. The fact that I got to fight for it at Tottenham is still a massive achievement.”
In 2023 Gilley beat Louis Greene in a York Hall classic. But Gilley won’t box him a second time.
The rivals conducted themselves with great sportsmanship before, during and immediately after that first fight. But that bond has now soured. Gilley remains furious at how their rematch, which would have been for the British title, fell through twice.
“I want to be in good fights and Louis was the perfect dance partner,” Gilley said. “I will fight anyone, but I will never give Louis Greene the time of day again. He wasted two years of my career. He pulled out of one fight [on] fight week.
“Bear in mind we waited so long for this fight, then we went into another camp, then the week before fight week he [pulled out].
“You’ve wasted all this time and I still haven’t boxed for the British title. And then he’s back fighting again.
“That one gets right under my skin. That is one person I would not entertain ever again. I wouldn’t give him another camp. So that one is a no go. But anyone else in the world I would fight.”
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Sam Gilley landed a left hook to the body that Ricky Hatton would have been proud of as he stopped Ellis Corrie in the final round
Gilley is moving up in weight to take a fight in Scotland with Aston Brown, formerly an international amateur who has shown punching power in the pros.
But Gilley is adamant that he will give Brown a harsh examination in the professional sport.
“I was built for the hard stuff in the pros. Let’s see if he is,” he said. “I’m very confident in my ability and my engine and just my toughness.
“There was a little voice in my head when I was a kid that said keep going, keep going because this is what you’re going to do when you’re older. And I followed that voice, I followed that dream and somehow I ended up sat here.
“I’ve still got that passion and that desire. But I’ve got to make this pay off now.”
