"Don't let anyone tell you that you can't do something" - A convo with Issiah Hamilton-Allen
Issiah started with karate, and is now a professional boxer with an unbeaten pro record. What sits in between is pure dedication and a passion that never switched off.
When I asked Issiah what his 'thing' is β his gimmick, his angle β he doesn't really have an answer. What he has is a professional boxing licence, an unbeaten pro record, a nutritionist based in Sheffield, and a 5 a.m. alarm. Oh β and a full-time job as a labourer for bricklayers, Monday to Friday. As you do.
He grew up in Chantry. Started at Blackwell Academy doing karate because of Jaden Smith in the Karate Kid. Played rugby. Did athletics at Northgate against kids from every school in Ipswich. And somewhere along the way, he found boxing.
We sat down with him to talk about the journey from white collar to pro, what it actually feels like to be in a fight, and how a passion for what you love can take you places.
Where it started
Issiah was always the kind of kid who needed somewhere to put his energy, and his mum knew it early. She found him a home at Blackwell Academy β a family-run karate club that he still talks about with real warmth β and for a while, that was enough. Then came the injuries, a change of coach, the usual drift that happens when you're young and school starts pulling you in different directions. He fell out of love with it. It happens to the best of us.
By the time he was in the later years of high school though, something shifted. The itch came back, maybe not for karate specifically, but for something with purpose. "I was like, I just need to do something for my life," he says. For Issiah, that something turned out to be boxing.
People say a lot of bad things about Chantry. How did you find it growing up?
I feel like people just think it's a very rough sort of end. But then you look at all of it and it's like half of these areas are rough. I feel like you can pick all the sort of negatives about each area, you know what I mean? But like when you grew up there, it doesn't feel any different. It feels like home and that's how it always has been.
Did you have good people around you?
Yeah. Like I've always β my friendship group. It's literally been the same friendship group since we were younger. Like nursery. From when we was little and then obviously I made some friends in high school. Still stuck. Always stuck through.
Learning the sport β from white collar to the pros
Boxing has a hierarchy that most people outside the sport don't know about. White collar boxing β where you train for a few weeks, get matched with an opponent, and fight at a local event β gets a lot of stick from purists. It's not the traditional route. But Issiah is quick to defend it.
"With Fab now being a world champion, I don't think no one can ever say nothing bad about white collar again," he says. "It's now made a world champion."
Issiah had six white collar fights, five amateur, and then in October last year, he got his professional licence. He stood in front of a panel, answered their questions, brought people to vouch for him, and got the green light. His first pro fight followed shortly after at Trinity Park. He won.
What was your first fight actually like β were you scared?
It is nerves but it's more like β cool. Like you get nervous and then you hear your ring music and all that and then you get in there and it's like, I'm ready now. Game time. I had that mindset where I was just like, you know, you're going to have to do a lot in order to beat me at the end of the day. I'm not coming here to lose. I'm going to give it my all.
What actually goes through your head when you're in there fighting?
It's weird because you can like β you can hear certain voices. I hear my mom, I hear my sisters, they're going crazy. But the main voices I am looking for is my corner. Fab was there. He was giving me pointers and it's weird β your senses really open up and you can hear them certain people. You're locked in but it's like, okay, that's Rob, that's my coach Rob's voice. That's Fab's voice. And I can hear them saying stuff. I'm like, cool. Let me do that now.
What camp actually looks like
Most people think boxing training is just punching bags. The reality of fight camp β the monitored preparation period before a pro fight β is something else entirely.
Issiah has a nutritionist in Sheffield who tells him exactly what to eat. A separate strength and conditioning coach who builds his power and stamina. A boxing coach. Because after all, it always takes a village.
Walk us through what camp actually looks like day to day.
You ease your way into it. You start eating good, you start dieting. You're splitting your days between boxing, sparring in the week, strength and conditioning in the week as well. So there's a lot. Then as you get into the middle β maybe like a month out β it will really peak. You'll start going real crazy, real hard. And then when it gets to like a week before fight week, you'll start to ease off a little bit just so your body has time to recover and rest
You're also working full time. How do you manage that?
Everyone needs money to live, just keep that in the back of your head β cool, I'm doing this for a reason. I'm doing this to be able to make my dreams come true. Nothing's going to set off just like that. It's baby steps.
One of the things Issiah talked about was sleep. Not as a luxury β as a performance tool. "If you don't sleep correctly, it can have a real effect on your weight. When it's time to cut weight and you step on the scales and nothing's budged β that's sleep. Sleep is hella important."
Fabio, Ipswich, and the boxing scene
You can't talk about boxing in Ipswich without talking about Fabio Wardley β world heavyweight champion, also from Chantry, also came up through white collar. Issiah trained under him. In every interview Issiah does, they're mentioned together. He's thoughtful about it.
"It is a huge blessing to be under his wing, him kind of like pushing me forward," Issiah said. "But at the end of the day, one day I'll obviously have my own legacy. It's up to me for sure."
On the Ipswich boxing scene more broadly, he's genuinely optimistic. He talks about seeing more and more people turn up to the gym since Fabio's rise β kids who maybe never cared about boxing suddenly paying attention.
What has Fabio done for boxing in Ipswich?
Now it's like, okay, kids now have something. Even if you're not into boxing, you can't not respect what the man's done β from literally white collar to where he's at now. He didn't even have any amateur fights. He went straight from white collar to pro. So he went straight into the deep end. You don't have to be a boxing fan to respect what the man's done.
Do you see yourself as an inspiration?
I just think to myself β keep hard working, keep staying dedicated to the sport, and eventually be in the same place as where Fab's at. And just keep winning and achieving. And then one day look back on it and be like β I did it.
What do you want your connection to Ipswich to look like long term?
This is where I'm from. You should be proud of where you're from. This is my root. And I think it's really encouraging to get young people in sports, in the arts, in these kinds of spaces. I just remember seeing so many kids just out doing random stuff. Keep them active, keep them out. That's important.
His message to you
We closed by asking Issiah directly β what would he say to a young person in Ipswich trying to make it work?
There's a generation of young people in Ipswich who are done waiting for permission β to chase a sport, an art, a career that doesn't look like the obvious path. Issiah is one of them. He's showing up every single day when nobody's watching. And personally, I think that is what makes you ahead of the game.
Issiah is a professional boxer based in Ipswich, training under the guidance of Fabio Wardley. At the time of this interview he had one professional fight victory - with a second fight coming up in Manchester on an undercard for Wardley. His professional record now stands at 2β0. This interview was conducted by 1473 and has been edited for length and clarity. (and for the pleasure of your reading)
