Exclusive: Brand Strand reflects on last year and reveals his plans for 2021

Exclusive interview with top prospect Brad Strand

Unbeaten super-bantamweight Brad Strand (4-0, 1KO) won both his fights in 2020, which included his TV debut on the undercard of the Lyndon Arthur vs Dec Spelman Commonwealth light-heavyweight title clash, live on BT Sport.

The national amateur champion has not put a foot wrong since turning pro after his crowning glory at the 2018 ABA Elites final.

23-years-old from Liverpool, Strand is trained by Paul Stevenson at the Everton Red Triangle gym along with six other hot prospects, is unbeaten in four fights, and signed to Hall of Fame promoter Frank Warren.

Global Boxing News caught up with the unbeaten sensation in an exclusive interview where he discussed his career, future plans, and the fights he’s most looking forward to seeing in 2021.

 

You won both your fights in 2020, do you look back on the highly irregular year with optimism or disappointment?

“I would like to have had a couple more fights, but considering what’s been going on, the year weren’t too bad for me – two fights, two wins and a professional contract with Frank Warren.”

 

Have you been able to make any plans for 2021?

“You can’t really make any plans at the moment, just stay ticking over and hope that something will come up. At the moment, it’s just wake up, go to the gym, go home again. We’re still training at Everton Red Triangle, but down to three days a week and runs in-between.

Looking at the way the year is going, I’ll be happy with just another two fights again. I’d like to step up to six-rounders this year and get another couple of wins under my belt.”

 

What’s the mood like in your gym right now?

“The mood in the gym is always good. We’re all upbeat and just get on with things. Paul is always very positive, he gives good advice, and wouldn’t let us get down about anything.

We’re all healthy, so just got to keep going.”

 

We understand your trainer, Paul Stevenson, sets you and your teammates homework?

“Yeah, that’s right. We watch all the fighters from the 80s and even before that, right back to the 50s and a load of black and white fights. He gives us boxers to watch and study up on.

One of my recent favourites was Rafael ‘Bazooka’ Limon, a WBC World super-featherweight champion from the 80s. I watched a fight where he got beat, but there were things he did in his attacks really well, and you just take one or two parts of their game and learn from it. Paul breaks it down for us, so we’ll watch the fight through, and he’ll go back and pick little things out and explain them to us, then we’ll try them out that day in the gym ourselves.”

 

The first three fights of your paid career were all on Black Flash Promotions events in your home city of Liverpool before your fourth fight on BT Sport; what do you think the future holds for the small hall boxing scene?

“I can’t see it returning any time soon, to be honest, because the venues need to be packed out just to make a small profit. When boxing is allowed to return, they’ll be limited to numbers, so it just won’t work.

We’ve live streamed a few of our shows before, and with the way the world is going with YouTube and all their views, there could be a glimmer of hope there. Maybe a YouTube channel with lots of subscribers or a few sponsors could help the small hall events get back up and running again.”

 

What do you think of the newest trend of YouTubers in boxing?

“I know these YouTubers can hardly fight, but they can have a game of cricket and make millions from streaming it. But I take my hat off to the them, they’re successful and they’ve built these platforms and should be allowed to profit from it, they’re successful in what they’re doing, so it’s boxing’s fault for allowing them to fight, but boxing is a business and this is a business model.

The audiences they are bringing over are so big,  there’s no way you [promoters] can turn down that money. There is no negative to it, but I understand why some boxers are a bit sour, as they’re making a bit of a mockery of the sport.”

 

What advice would you give to boxers that haven’t been fortunate enough to fight since lockdown?

“I’d just say to anyone that we’re all in the same boat. I can’t say that it’s all going to blow over any time soon though. This lockdown feels different to others in the past. I can’t imagine what it’s like for people just stuck in the house with nothing to do.”

 

Are you looking forward to watching any of the fights coming up?

“To be honest, there isn’t any fights I’m really looking forward to. Except for Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury; that seems to getting closer.”

 

Who do you think wins that one?

“It’s a hard one to predict. The vibe I get from people around me are all saying Tyson wins, but I’m still sitting on the fence. He does look more natural when he’s in there, but I think it’ll be closer than what people think. Fury looks like he’s got more heart than Joshua.”

 

Any other fights piqued your interest?

“Oleksandr Usyk vs Joe Joyce should be good, if it comes off.

Joyce looked good against Daniel Dubois. The general public were quick to write Dubois off after that loss, but no one knows what the lad was going through in there.

It just shows what you can do with your jab. When a fighter puts it on you, it’s easy to get hot headed and want to land one back, but Joyce was patient and stuck to his game plan.

Usyk not a natural heavyweight but hes top tier world champion like your Canelo's, Lomachenko's and Pacquiao's; he's in their bracket, like with the amateur pedigree on top of that.

I'd go for Usyk in this one, but wouldn’t be an easy night for him. Definitely points, I couldn’t see him knocking Joyce out.”

Follow Brad Strand on Twitter: @bradstrand123 

To follow Everton Red Triangle on Facebook, click here Everton Red Triangle FB Page 

HÖRFA are proud sponsors of Global Boxing News