VIDEO: New weight division brings new hope for Sheffield boxing veteran

Boxer Carl Wild steps up to cruiserweight for a title clash on Wednesday hoping that he will be able to demonstrate a new-found punching power.
Carl Wild, right, with gym-mate Sam SheedyCarl Wild, right, with gym-mate Sam Sheedy
Carl Wild, right, with gym-mate Sam Sheedy

The Wisewood fighter has found light heavyweight more difficult to make over recent times and gratefully accepted a Central Area fight against cruiser Joss Paul on Wednesday, at the Double Tree by Hilton.Wild is not known for his KO punches - he has only had one in 47 fights, and that was TEN years ago.But he feels more comfortable at the 14 stone four pounds level and thinks that might make a difference in the severity of his shots.“For some reason I have hit people and they have gone down - but it breaks me, they seem to always get back up” said Wild.“All I seem to have done is make them mad!“All being well I might have developed a bit of power this time round - you might seem something different. A new weight a new me, maybe.”Wild’s record is not the greatest: 27 losses, 15 wins and five draws.But he wouldn’t describe himself as a journeyman.“Journeymen are happy to turn up, get by, dodge, duck and weave and pinch a round here and there - but they are happy to lose” he said. I am never happy to lose. I always turn up to win. “He admits his recent form - two wins and 10 losses- isn’t an acceptable statistic, but he quarrelled with some of the losses awarded against him.Many people just see it as a win or loss, he said, but added that behind every fight “there is a story.”Sometimes he had been “very unfortunate” not to get the points win.Asked what he would say about those that didn’t think his form merited a title shot, he replied: “Everybody is entitled to their opinion, but I have been mixing it at title level, especially Area level, for a long time now. So I do think I deserve it.”

FACT SPOT: Clinton Woods-trained Joss Paul started his professional career in November 2014 - eight years after Carl Wild took to the paid ranks. At 27, Paul is four years younger than the boxing bin man Wild.READ MORE: Click here for all the latest news from the fight scene