Richard Holmes returns to the ring
Published:Thursday | April 14, 2022 | 12:12 AMLivingston Scott/Gleaner Writer
RICHARD ‘FROG’ Holmes will return to the boxing ring on May 28 when he takes on Josh Wagner in a welterweight contest in Brampton, Canada. The 34-year-old Holmes said he will be fighting with the hope the opportunity will lead to even bigger things.
Holmes last fight was against Sukhdeep Singh Bhatti in February of 2020 at the CAA Centre in Brompton.
The Jamaican lost that 10-round affair by unanimous decision with judges Martin Dalida scoring it 98-92, Alan Davis scoring it the same, and Jeremy Hayes calling it 97-93 in favour of Singh.
Holmes had come off a win in the previous year against Winston Pompey of Guyana in a Wray and Nephew Rum Punch boxing card at Skateland.
He knocked the Guyanese out in the second round of that fight, and although he does not think he will be at his pre-pandemic level for this match, he believes he will have enough to get the job done.
“This fight is a blessing. It has been a long time since I have tasted some blood in my mouth, so every punch that I throw in this fight will be meaningful. Meaning to cause damage,” he stated.
“My last fight [win] in 2019 I was about 80 per cent. I don’t think I will reach back at that level as yet, but based on my training and preparation, right now I think it can pull me through.
“I will have to rely a lot on the experience that I have gathered over the years to pull me through, but I am definitely going there for the win because this win can put me in line for even a bigger fight.
WINNING STREAK
“So I have been putting in the work to get the win. I want this one. It is very, very serious. He (Wagner) is 10 and 0, but I am going there to break that winning streak,” he continued.
Singh had six wins without a loss when he defeated Holmes.
With no fights for more than two years, Holmes admitted that there is some amount of ring rust, and with the sport just recovering locally from the pandemic, there have been limited opportunities to spar.
However, he leaves the island with more than two weeks to spare before the fight, and he hopes to use that period to get sharp ahead of the bout.
“Boxing is just coming back on stream, so in Jamaica I do not get a lot of ring work, but I will be leaving about two weeks before the fight.
“I will go there and get some extra work before the fight and fine-tune with some extra preparation and get some more ring work.
“Two years without boxing was like two years without hope. Everything was down and out, but now there is life again.
“It feels good to know that you can be at home and look forward to going in to the gym in the evenings to punch the bags and work out. So it feels good to be back in the gym,” he noted.
He revealed also that he had to do odd jobs to survive the past two years and is just pleased to be able live off the sport he loves again.
“I did many things to keep me going in the pandemic, and like Tsetsi [Davis] said, sometimes we linked up and went fishing. I also did other work on the side like construction work, especially when you have nothing doing.
“So I want to fight and start getting myself back into shape, and I want to make the most of this opportunity,” he added.
Holmes’ record stands at 19 wins (nine by KO), 12 defeats, and no draws. He has been knocked out on five occasions.