A 21-year-old Salford fighter has become a national champion of boxing, despite only being in the sport for three years.
Samuel Akinsete, 21, recently became the North West Champion after going undefeated in his last six fights.
The Salford fighter was able to beat some of the best in the country, making him the National Development Champion in the 80kg category.
Boxing out of Halliwell ABC and nicknamed “The Sniper”, he was named fighter of the tournament at the England Boxing/Amateur Boxing Association (ABA) National Development Championship.
However, despite his recent success his journey to becoming a champion has been a difficult one.
Finding boxing in an afterschool club in year nine, Samuel fell in love with the sport, as he said: “I was in year 9, in a little after-school club, I didn’t want to go at first.
“I thought it was weird, hitting someone in the face, but I did it and got a thrill out of it. I was quite good, naturally gifted I’d say.
“I went back home and I remember my mum screaming at me ‘Why are you boxing?’ She called my dad, they were not happy I was fighting people, so I wasn’t allowed to do it until I was 17.
“Even when I wasn’t allowed to box, I still watched it and loved it.”
However, Akinsete believes boxing carries a stigma of being solely about violence but is, in fact, about much more.
He added: “What I love about boxing is the kind of person it shapes you to be, it’s viewed as a violent and dangerous sport but there’s so much more to it than that.
“Your whole lifestyle changes around the sport.
“You learn to be respectful and what you’re capable of, any good boxer doesn’t fight on the streets, it teaches you to use your brain.”
Throughout his boxing journey, Akinsete struggled with anxiety but was able to work through it because of his passion for the sport.
He said: “I had bad, really bad anxiety with boxing. I overthought every situation.”
However, reflecting on his fight he said: “It was amazing, I remember I hit the guy with a body shot and he went down. It was an amazing feeling but I was really nervous.
“It was amazing because of the emotions that built up for months leading to the flight, hard work, and training then you have something to show for it.”
He continued: “I was more afraid of performing in front of people than getting hit in fact, getting hit was the easy part for me.”
Before fights Akinsete shared what gets him in the right headspace, he said: “I’m a Christian, the biggest thing for me was praying; it helped me, my parents pray for me.
Although staying healthy physically is important, he put a lot of emphasis on his mental training, as he said: “I used to do mental training too, solving puzzles, holding breath underwater, trying different exercises to push my mind to the limit.2
“Boxing is mental. The more you push your mind the more you can push your body.”
Becoming a National Champion after three years of training is a huge achievement, as Samuel described: “I want everyone to experience that, even if it’s not boxing,” he said.
“I hope everyone gets to feel like their hard work is going somewhere.”
In terms of what’s next for him, Akinsete has dreams of becoming an Olympian and will continue working hard in boxing alongside his studies at Manchester Metropolitan University.
“I would love to do the Olympics, if I could get into the GB squad in two or three years, that’s the dream.
“I want to be an Olympian.”
As his career progresses it seems that with his ambition the sky is the limit, and as he continues in this magnificent form there is no stopping Samuel from reaching the top.
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