Light-heavyweight Lewie Edmondson thanked his team for standing by him as he looked back on the “bumpy road” that has led him to winning the British and Commonwealth light-heavyweight titles.
The boxer from Southampton defeated Dan Azeez at the Copper Box Arena in London on Saturday, as part of a card headlined by super-lightweights Adam Azim and Ohara Davies.
At 28, this was Edmondson’s first time fighting for a title and completing 12 professional rounds.
It was also his 10th pro victory in a career that has been successful but full of injuries and serious health scares.
“It’s been a bumpy road, I’ve had big operations and septicaemia but my team always stood by me.” Edmondson told BBC Sport.
“I feel mentally tougher now because of what I’ve been through, I’ve had times in the hospital when I didn’t know If I’d pull through.
“We’ve also done multiple camps through injuries, we’ve just stayed in the gym working though and I’ve always pushed hard because we knew nights like this were destined for us.”
Septicaemia is another term used to describe blood poisoning. It is a potentially life-threatening infection caused by large amounts of bacteria entering the bloodstream.
Edmondson says that this all initially came from an ingrown hair that he had a number of operations on. He did not box and was in and out of hospital for 18 months and admits he was close to “not being here today”.
His bout on Saturday was a close contest as former European and British champion Azeez was familiar with having boxed him in the amateurs and sparred on many occasions.
After 12 rounds the fight went to the judges, Edmondson celebrating triumphantly in the ring as his majority decision victory was announced, one judge scoring it a draw and two in favour of the Southampton man.
Billy Joe Saunders ‘believed and pushed’ for Edmondson
After the decision was announced and Edmondson had celebrated with his jubilant supporters, he retreated back to his dressing room with his tight-knit corner team which included long-time trainer Jacob Macmillan.
After taking photos with the belts, the group paused for breath, taking in the moment and all beaming in realisation at what they had just achieved.
A big motivation and inspiration for the light-heavyweight achieving this was his relationship with former world champion Billy Joe Saunders.
“This was a massive learning fight for me,” added Edmondson, who is also known as ‘The Saint’.
“I’ve got to thank my team and also Billy Joe, he’s been there and believed in me, he pushed for me to be in these big fights.
“He’s been there through the ups and downs, everything. I’ve learned so much from just being around him and it’s brought me on so much to have someone who’s done what he has done in the sport.”
This fight for Edmondson was the latest on a number of Ben Shalom Boxxer shows that he had appeared on, having previously been in action in Bournemouth and Cardiff.
The fighter admitted he is now a free agent having come to the end of his previous agreement with the promotional company, a relationship that Shalom seemed keen to extend further.
“Lewie has worked really hard for this, what a story.” Shalom told BBC Sport.
“He really took his chance, he stepped up a lot of levels and showed his class, It was a close fight but for me the right man won.
“We do have options to take up with him going forward, I want to see him out again quite soon.”
