After a string of consecutive defeats, fans are often quick to write a fighter off, but back in July, Jake Pollard proved that you can never dismiss a hardworking, resilient opponent who has an indomitable mentality.
A farrier by trade – a blacksmith who fits horses with shoes – Pollard stepped through the ropes of the legendary York Hall almost two months ago for his fiftieth professional contest without a win to his name.
There, he faced debutant Louis Smithson in the opening bout of the card and provided the ultimate upset, with the referee raising his hand and, in doing so, putting an end to the Yorkshireman’s 0-49 record.
Speaking to Boxing Social after his victory, the humble 31-year-old shared his relief but admitted that the win was just ‘another day at the office’ as far as he was concerned.
“It wasn’t much different for me, it was another day at the office. Don’t get me wrong, it was nice to tell my son that I had won for a change, but there has been plenty of other fights that people have thought I’d won, or at least drawn, and I haven’t even been given a round. Still, I enjoyed the fight and we both left the ring without any serious injuries, that’s the main thing for me.”
“There is a saying for us journeyman, you have to knock them out to get a draw! Everybody who saw the result has asked me why I had a delayed reaction to the win and it’s because I’ve had fights go very similar ways in the past and it hasn’t even been close on the scorecards. Thankfully, we had a very fair referee on Saturday, who gave a fair decision.”
Like many in the sport claim to be, it is clear that Pollard is a true ‘fighting man’, shown by his unmatched spirit to continue to pursue a career as a professional boxer despite having a less than fair shake in many contests and balancing his life as a farrier with his life as a fighter.
“I enjoy fighting, no matter what the result. There’s a certain feeling that’s better than winning for us journeyman and that’s when you’re in the ring with a top prospect, who’d done a camp, has sponsors, nutritionists and everything you can wish for, and they really try their best to get you out of there, yet at the final bell you are still stood, having taken the very best that they can offer. That feeling is amazing, better than a win. To us journeymen, the decision from the referee or the judges doesn’t matter. If we enjoy the fight and do well then we are happy, we don’t expect to get the decision.”
“We can’t get our hopes up for the win, if we did we would become very disheartened and probably wouldn’t continue. Although, I always go out to try and put on a good account of myself. Sometimes, if in the first round I feel the opponent has a lot of power, I have to try and survive rather than be competitive, but that’s usually decided in the opening round, before the fight I’m always looking to try and be competitive.”
As with plenty of other ‘journeymen’ in the sport, there is a part of Jake Pollard that believes his record does not merit his skill. He doesn’t rule out the possibility of accumulating a few more wins in the near future after getting the first under his belt.
However, having boxed from bantamweight to lightweight and everywhere in between, Pollard recognised that he would have more chance if he fought at his optimal weight class as a flyweight.
“My genuine weight class, with a camp, would be flyweight, which I could make quite easily. I can’t say that I have been hard done by really, if I’ve accepted the fights then it’s my problem. I have definitely fought lads who were too big, but now that I am managing myself I’ve become quite strict on weights and won’t fight anyone above featherweight anymore. I’m also very careful with who I fight between super-bantam and feather.”
“I’ve still got plenty of time in the future and you never know what might happen. Training is a part of my life, even if I wasn’t boxing I’d be training. I’ve ran the London Marathon and completed plenty of other physical and mental challenges throughout this year. So it’s not necessarily having to find the time to train, it’s just a part of my day, whether it’s 5am or 10pm, I’ll make sure I do a session every day”.
“We definitely have plans [to win more fights in the future], it’s just picking the right time to execute them. Waiting for the right time and staying active seems to be the best way to go about it though, building valuable experience and getting paid to do so”.
With fifty professional bouts to his name in a career that spans over just five years, Pollard is aiming to stay as active as ever and stick around in the sport for a long time, with the thrill of the audience and the gut-wrenching nerves of fight night proving to have struck a chord with one of England’s most prevalent journeymen.
For now, Pollard will continue to test out some of the UK’s up-and-coming prospects, and they’d be wise not to look past the instantly recognisable, ponytailed pugilist. He’s not just here to get rolled over – not every time.
‘To get to one hundred [fights] would be brilliant, but I don’t have a target, I’ll just keep fighting as long as I am able to really. If I notice my health deteriorate or I start to take a lot of punishment in the ring, then I’d call it a day. But, as long as I’m still enjoying it and still giving the crowd entertaining fights, I’ll keep going”.
Jake Pollard unfortunately lost his next fight, a points defeat to Jack Hughes last weekend. However, he faces Louis Smithson once again on September 16 on the undercard of the Prince Patel card at Harrow Leisure Centre, as he looks to do the double over the now 0-1 super-bantamweight.