Jack Massey had a rollercoaster year in 2022, with the former IBO Cruiserweight champion losing his title before ending the year working in freezing temperatures as a scaffolder alongside his brother.
The 29-year-old has revealed the sadness he endured last year, with he and his partner having suffered two pregnancy losses. The combination of factors led to the fighter, who has an impressive 20-1-0 record, describing 2022 as 'rough' with his boxing career stalling due to issues with his promotion.
However, he is now signed up to fight on the Boxxer card this weekend in Manchester, with promoter Ben Shalom handing Massey a chance to fight against former WBO Heavyweight Champion of the World Joseph Parker. The promotion which will be shown on Sky Sports Box Office has Chris Eubank Jr vs Liam Smith as the main event and is expected to be a huge night.
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New Zealander Parker has an affinity with the North West, having trained with Tyson Fury in Morecambe and now hands Massey the chance to fulfil a dream of stepping out at the Manchester Arena in his home city. He has revealed his excitement at following in the footsteps of fellow Mancunians Anthony Crolla and Ricky Hatton ahead of the fight.
Speaking in the build-up, Massey explained how the fight is a dream come true and that he can't wait to step out to what is expected to be a fervent atmosphere. He explained: "I’ll be absolutely buzzing. It's one of my dreams to walk out in Manchester in front of all those fans from my home city. I used to go there and watch Ricky Hatton, Anthony Crolla walk out in front of all those roaring people and that's what dreams are made of. Can't wait."
Parker will comfortably be the biggest name he has fought in his career so far, with previous fights at the Manchester Arena coming against much smaller names. It will be a long way from recent work for his brother's scaffolding firm in freezing temperatures as a labourer, during which time he received the call to fight against Parker.
Describing how he found out about the fight, he relived the moment he was contacted about facing Parker. Massey said: "I was doing some work with my brother at the time, he's got a scaffolding company. It was a few weeks before Christmas, I was out labouring, getting some cash in for Christmas because it's been a tough year financially. It was early morning, my manager Kevin Marree called me with the fight and I said yes literally straight away - 'yes, let's have it!"
He added: "It was a bit bizarre. You know, getting the work in. I've been a full time pro for six years now so having to scrimp and scrape and get some manual work in before Christmas was a bit strange. I'm supposed to be a world champion.
"But I didn't mind it, you have a laugh with the lads on the scaffold and I like doing a bit of graft now and again, it keeps you in check. But it was slightly surreal getting that call on a Friday morning when it was -6 [celsius] and I was chucking frozen scaffolding tubes around on site."
Massey had gone from cruiserweight champion of the world to losing his title in 2022, with his win in Bolton against Bilal Laggoune a distant memory. However, with a baby girl expected in June, he will return to the ring with a renewed sense of optimism about the possibilities in 2023.
He said: "Yeah, definitely. [2022 was] a rough one inside and outside the ring. We've had troubles with promotion, lost the IBO world title and the IBF European titles through no fault of my own. A lot of stuff has gone on which I won't touch on at the moment but it will all come out soon.
"Outside of the ring, me and my partner unfortunately had two pregnancy losses. But it goes show life is a rollercoaster: last year was the worst year of my life and this year could be the best year of my life - we’ve got a little girl due June 12 and I've got this massive fight with Joseph Parker.
"So never give up, you never know what's round the corner!"
Jack Massey fights Joseph Parker at BOXXER: Unleashed ahead of Chris Eubank Jr vs Liam Smith, live on Sky Sports Box Office at Manchester’s AO Arena on January 21.
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