Exclusive: Josh Padley Takes Lessons from Snooker’s Ronnie O’Sullivan to Take Boxing by Storm

Josh Padley, the reigning WBA international lightweight champion, studied this year’s World Snooker Championships in Sheffield in attempt to take boxing by storm.

From Doncaster, Padley burst onto the scene three months ago when he took WBC king Shakur Stevenson nine rounds despite accepting the fight at extremely short notice. 

That performance not only persuaded Eddie Hearn, the chairman of Matchroom Sport, to sign him to a promotional agreement but also provided the 29-year-old with the financial backing required to quit his day job as an electrician and turn fully professional.

Although Padley has described his bout against Stevenson as a “tremendous learning experience”, he also believes he can “benefit a lot” from analysing the methods other competitors use to reach the top of their chosen disciplines.

Highlighting “mental strength” as one of the most powerful weapons in his considerable armoury, Padley exclusively told SportsBoom that watching the likes of Mark Williams, Judd Trump and Ronnie O’Sullivan has also provided him with food for thought.

“I admire the snooker lads so much,” he told SportsBoom.com. 

“Not only for their skill but also because of the concentration levels they have to possess. It’s amazing really, when you think about it."

“We have to stay switched on for 12 rounds. If we switch off in boxing then someone is going to inflict damage on you. That could be it - fight over."

“The snooker lads, when you think about the length of their sessions, they have to stay switched on for basically a full day sometimes. I can relate to that and I’ve got so much respect for them.”

Eddie Hearn’s father, Barry, is the most influential figure within snooker - which has just staged its blue riband event at the Crucible Theatre - a short drive away from Padley’s home in South Yorkshire.

“We switch off and we get knocked out,” continued Padley. 

“Those guys switch off and they can lose a game, possibly a world final, which is what they’ve also worked for all their careers.”

Padley had won all of his first 15 bouts, including a notable victory over Mark Chamberlain at Wembley Stadium, before being summoned to Riyadh to face the unbeaten Stevenson. 

Earlier that week he had been fitting solar panels but, after completing a last minute dash to Saudi Arabia, he captured the imagination of boxing fans across the globe by producing a spirited performance against the American whose victims include Jamel Herring, Oscar Valdez and Robson Conceicao.

MENTAL STRENGTH

Padley returned to the ring for his first outing as a member of Hearn’s stable last month, recording a fifth round stoppage over Marko Cventanovic of Serbia. 

That success means he is now ranked highly by the WBO, IBF and of course the WBC.

“People don’t understand the mental side of boxing,” Padley said. “The see the violence but they don’t understand how important the mind is."

“That’s why some guys don’t reach the top. Because they can’t stay switched on for 12 rounds or whatever. They can fight, they can be skilled but they don’t have that side to them."

“That’s why the leading snooker players win titles too, because they can stay switched on all the time."

“How do you prepare? It’s how much do you want something. They want it and we want it. If we lapse, then it can cost you.”