Ringnews24.com: What age did you start boxing and What inspired you to become a fighter?
Danny Hughes: I started boxing when I was 11 after watching Rocky. I put some cushions in my hands and tried to punch my brother about, so my dad asked his friend who was coaching at my local amateur club to train me.
Ringnews24.com: Where did the boxing nickname “Boy” come from and is there a meaning behind it?
Danny Hughes: My Dad has always sang that ‘Ohh Danny boy’ song, so it’s stuck with me from being a very young age.
Ringnews24.com: Who is your current trainer and were do you train?
Danny Hughes: Tommy Conroy is my trainer and has been since a year before I turned pro, 5 years ago, and all though we have a lot of arguments he is a great trainer for me and I have a lot of respect for him. I also done a 10 month training camp with Scott Welch down Brighton last year to get away from all my home comforts and it is one of the best things I ever done, as I learned a lot from him and trimmed down from 21 stone to 17 and a half stone and for all that I am very grateful to him.
Ringnews24.com: Are you a big fan of boxing? There are quite a lot of fighters now who don’t have much knowledge on boxers today?
Danny Hughes: Yeah I’m a very big fan of boxing and I have been from a very young age. I always check up on what’s coming up and I watch boxing every week. I also love watching the older fighters like Ali, Louis, Dempsey and Marciano etc, I have a collection of over 100 DVD’s’ of different fighters and I’m always watching them.
Ringnews24.com: What is going on with your boxing career as of now? Can you tell everyone when, where and who against that you will be fighting next?
Danny Hughes: I’m just training hard at the minute doing a lot of sparring with most of the top ranked heavyweights and waiting for something to come up.
Ringnews24.com: You’ve come through a couple of tough moments in fights… Who has been your toughest opponent to date?
Danny Hughes: My toughest fight to date will probably be Sprott, as I didn’t really train hard for it and came in nearly 20 stone. I made it tough for myself by underestimating him, I thought he was old and lost his hunger but I was completely wrong and learned a lot from it and I will never underestimate anyone ever again and will never be any less than 100 percent fit in any fight I have.
Ringnews24.com: Who has been the biggest influence in your career so far ?
Danny Hughes: My biggest influence in my career would have to be my Fiancée. I’ve been with her since I was 15 and she is my most harsh critic and doesn’t hold back.
Ringnews24.com: What do you hope to achieve in the rest of your career and do you have a time scale to reach your goals?
Danny Hughes: I want to go all the way to World level! I’ve always believed you have to aim as high as you can – in what ever you do.
Ringnews24.com: If you could pick 3 fights to happen in boxing what would they be ?
Danny Hughes: Well the main fight would have to be Pacquiao v Mayweather and then I would like to see the Klitschko brothers get it on to see who is truly the best heavyweight, I would also like to see Price v Fury.
Ringnews24.com: Do you think you took on Harrison and Sprott to early in your career?
Danny Hughes: I don’t think I took them on too early as I learned a lot more from them defeats than I have from any victory and I think in all though I was inexperienced and young . I think I didn’t look out of depth with them and still only being 25 I’m still young enough to right all the wrongs, I’ve did in my training and in my fights.
Ringnews24.com: Your two defeats came at the hands of Audley Harrison and Michael Sprott, would you like to avenge your two loses?
Danny Hughes: I would love nothing more than a rematch with them and I’d be 100 percent confident I’d win.
Ringnews24.com: You have come back with 3 wins has that restored your confidence to move on to more demanding fights?
Danny Hughes: Yeah, it’s not really the fights that has giving me confidence it is the training I did for my last 3 fights that have, and this is truly the only time I’ve ever been fit in my career, boxing is not a game and I’ve just released that, I was a boy on a mans mission but now I feel like a man and know the more you put in the more you get out.
Ringnews24.com: What is your main ambition to win some titles, or just settle for earning well in the game?
Danny Hughes: My main ambition is to win the British title and then the European then hopefully get a World title fight to some people this might seem unbelievable, but not to me, boxing is full of surprises.
Ringnews24.com: Like so many of the current breed of Heavyweights, your rather tall at 6 ft 5, have most of the guys you’ve fought thus far been shorter or close to your height?
Danny Hughes: Normally they are shorter but I have had a few fights with opponents my height.
Ringnews24.com: Despite picking up two losses, what was the overall Prizefighter experience like, and would you do it again if the opportunity presented itself?
Danny Hughes: It was a great experience and like I said I learned more from my 2 defeats which were both in the Prizefighter than I have from any victory. I still also have the fastest KO in all the prizefighters when I KO’d Neil Perkins. If the opportunity to do another Prizefighter arose I would take it with both hands as I feel I’m a completely different fighter now and have a lot more to offer.
Ringnews24.com: You had some trouble in the Bogdanovic fight dealing with him being a southpaw, have you worked any on that since, or are you just going to try to avoid getting in the Ring with other lefties?
I didn’t really have any trouble with him, I got told he was a right handed fighter and just before I got to the ring my trainer said he was a southpaw and after preparing for a right handed fighter it knocked my confidence a bit, but as soon as I got in the ring, I dealt with it and I was never in any trouble and stopped him in the 4th round.
Ringnews24.com: What was it like working with Dereck Chisora as he prepared for his challenge to Vitali Klitschko?
It’s not the first time I’ve helped Chisora get prepared but when he boxed Vitali that was the best I’ve ever seen him.
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