Coventry’s very own Bradley Goldsmith (23) and Jack Burroughs (21) are both battling it out to make it professionally in their respected sports.
Goldsmith recently decided to take the big leap from amateur Boxing to professional. He’s currently had two professional fights being victorious in both, winning his last one by knockout.
Bradley believes that this was the correct time for him to of made this jump and that he accomplished everything that he wanted to in his amateur career.
He said: “The decision to turn professional was always an easy choice but choosing the correct time to do so was the difficult bit.”
He added: “I had accomplished more than enough in my amateur career, and it was time to move on.”
One thing Bradley has done since turning pro is he made the decision to change gyms and move from Coventry to Sheffield.
When I asked how he’s found moving away from Coventry Goldsmith said: “Being away from home is hard but I know this will all be worth it in the long run.”
He added: “It has been the best decision I’ve made in my career by far, I needed this to progress to the next step.”
Bradley first two fights has already shown that he has amazing support and following from his sponsors, family, and friends.
I asked him how important this has been for him making the transition, he said: “The support I get from my sponsors allowed me to be able to live in Sheffield and be a full-time athlete, without them this dream wouldn’t be possible and as for my support back home its incredible, they give me another reason to push myself even harder.”
He now trains at Ingle Gym in Sheffield where names like Prince Naseem Hamed and Kell Brook have trained.
The 23-year-old said: “The names you’ve mentioned are enough motivation in itself, I’m surrounded by world class fighters in a world class gym along with a world class coach.”
When talking to Bradley you can see how confident and determined he is. I asked how he keeps himself motivated to which he replied: “By knowing I have so many people believing in me.”
He also said: “I also know within myself I can succeed in this sport, and I can’t wait for the future.”
When asked about how much belief his first two fights have given him, Goldsmith stated that: “They’ve given me more than enough confidence, but both feet remain on the ground as I know that it’s just the start of my career and there are bigger nights ahead.”
Bradley’s just announced fight number three in Birmingham on the 2nd of April. I asked him how he was feeling about the up-and-coming fight.
He said: “Preparation has been great so far; I’ve got a few last hard weeks of training and then I’m good to go and I’m feeling more than confident. I’m ready to do the business.”
Another Coventry lad also hoping to have a successful professional career is footballer Jack Burroughs. Jack is currently on a season long loan to Scottish side Ross County from his boyhood club the Coventry City.
Jack has been at the Sky Blues since being a schoolboy and made his first team appearance at age just 17. I asked him how it felt.
He said: “It was an absolute honour to make my debut for the club I’ve supported for as long as I remember.” Adding: “It is 100% one of the proudest moments of my career to date. To top it off with a win made it even more sweet!”
Jack had a short loan spell at Gloucester which saw him score his first senior goal. When speaking about his time on loan and the goal he scored Jack said: “I really enjoyed my time at Gloucester, even though it was a short spell I learnt a lot and gained vital experience which helped me when I came back to Coventry.”
He added: “It felt good to get my first senior goal and it showed people what I’m about and what I’m capable of.”
Burroughs made his first championship appearance after returning from Gloucester in the 2020/21 season. When asked how he coped with the standard of football, the 21-year-old replied: “I always grew up watching the championship, so I know what the league is about. It’s extremely physically but there are also incredibly talented players at every club you come up against.”
He added: “My last competitive game I played was in the national league north, so coming on in a game of this standard was definitely a massive step up.”
The end of the 2020/21 season saw the Coventry born player get his first international call-up for the Scotland u21’s squad. Jack said: “If I’m being completely honest, I wasn’t expecting it at all, I know how good that team is, so I was so happy when I got the call up.”
He followed up by saying: “To play at any level for your country is a huge honour but to do it at this level is a huge milestone for myself.”
Jack is currently on loan at Ross County and has made 18 appearances so far for the club this season. When asked about his current season in Scotland, Ross County’s number 18 said: “To come to a league that is an extremely high standard and play Infront of massive crowds has been amazing.”
He added: “so far it has given me a lot of tests and opportunities that I’ve really relished.”
I asked Burroughs what his aims are when returning to the Sky Blues, Jack said: “I’m hoping to come back flying in pre-season and put a question in the managers head whether he think I’m ready to take that step forward for him.”
Jack has acknowledged that it will be hard: “The squad is extremely good now, so it’ll be tough, but it is a challenge and opportunity I am definitely looking forward to!”
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