Joining the fight club to punch away hard times
Going from cricket to boxing is a daunting change, a switch from non-contact game to blood sport. Former England star Andrew Flintoff tried his hand, but gave up after one professional bout. The modest former England all-rounder, Adam Hollioake, though doesn’t have the luxury of choice. He is head on into professional boxing and cage fighting in Mixed Martial Arts.
Hollioake’s choices were exhausted when he filed for bankruptcy in 2012 afteraccumulating over £14million (R1445.8 crore) in debt from a disastrous property venture.
Boxing professionally means decent money to support his family and repay his lenders, who include former England skipper Alec Stewart.
Things went from bad to worse for the Hollioake family at the start of the new Millennium. First, younger brother Ben, a talented England cricketer, was killed in a car accident in 2002. Then, the family business crashed.
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FEW OPTIONS “It was tough. I sat thinking, ‘what will I do now?’ I have no experience of any other field. That time, the offer for professional boxing came and I took it. I had trained as a boxer since I was 12 as part of my fitness training for cricket,” Hollioake tells HT. “Stewart and I are absolutely thick. He knows it was not my fault, just bad luck in business. When I have the money, I will repay him.”
Hollioake captained Surrey between 1997 and 2003, winning three county championships, and led England in ODIs. Rather than worry about his plight, Hollioake, now settled in Australia, is roughing it out. That he is still accepted in cricket circles was evident from his presence as a guest speaker at an event in Lord’s on Friday.
Surviving blows to the face and body is key to surviving in boxing. Flintoff quickly realised it was not easy to adjust. “I speak to him regularly, he said he didn’t like sparring every day. “It was brave of Flintoff. He was a poor boxer, yet he tried his hand. I went into professional boxing after 10 exhibition fights and regular sparring sessions. He had no background.” PAINFUL SWITCH It was a spectacular fall from grace for Hollioake, who in December 1997 led England to victory in a tri-series in Sharjah also featuring India. To his credit, he has not fretted too much.
How is it compared to cricket? “Maybe more pain is involved,” says Hollioake, 42. He had a fight scheduled this month, but a cut below his mouth while sparring required 26 stitches. He has fought three professional boxing bouts, with a 2-1 record, and three more as a cage fighter in Mixed Martial Arts, where he is unbeaten.
He has competed in Dubai but the other fights were in Australia. “I will be fighting in England in September and December; looking forward to it as I am assured of crowd support. In Australia, I am introduced as an England cricketer and it has made me quite unpopular with the crowds. We have healthy sledging matches going on,” he says. “I am also scheduled to have a fight series in Asia, so I might be fighting in India as well.” OLD LESSONS The reflex honed while tackling bouncers is a big help. “Facing punches is a similar technique; the key to both is to keep watching when it’s coming at you. If you turn your head, you will get hit. Batting makes you very good with eye movement and watching the ball,” he says.
“It is also about dealing with nerves and the big occasion. In cricket, you play 30 to 40 innings in a year. In boxing, you have 25-30 bouts in your career. So, cricket prepares you to handle the big occasions better.”
Repeatedly stumbling hasn’t dulled the adventure spirit. “If you play with fire, there is a risk of getting burnt, so I can’t complain. It was hard when I lost all my money, but risk-taking is in my nature, to do things where you don’t know the outcome. If I tried a nine-tofive job, I wouldn’t last two weeks.”