British champion Josh Wale still trains like a challenger and he believes that will help him to cement his legacy as Barnsley's best ever boxer.
The 29-year-old bantamweight surpassed the achievements of all the other boxers from the town last year when he became the first to ever win and then successfully defend the British title.
He is chasing another defence tonight, at Ponds Forge, Sheffield, where he headlines against Lincoln's Bobby Jenkinson.Brampton's Wale needs just two more wins to keep the Lord Lonsdale belt outright.
Although Jenkinson is seen as an easier opponent than Don Broadhurst, who he fought last, Wale has still been through an extensive training camp which also took in a trip to train at altitude and spar with British featherweight champion Ryan Walsh in Tenerife.
Wale said: "I want to go down as Barnsley's best ever boxer. I've worked my way up over a long period of time and now I am getting what I deserve. I have already achieved my dream of winning the British title and some people would think that my hunger has gone, but it hasn't.
"The pressure is off me and that is making me perform better. I am getting more relaxed as I get older and I still know there is more for me to achieve like winning the belt outright and going on to fight for even bigger titles.
"In the Broadhurst fight, I was patient and the knockout came. I knocked out a guy who had never been knocked out in more than 100 fights as an amateur and pro. I always train like the challenger. The training camps I go through are always hard. The fight is the easy bit."
Wale's popularity has grown since he won the English and British titles and then defended his cherished British crown against Broadhurst in September. It means he will be backed by 260 people in Sheffield as he headlines the bill broadcast live on Free Sports.
He said: "Credit to Stefy Bull (joint trainer and manager), he realises I have outgrown the Doncaster Dome and needed a bigger platform, we have got that. My profile has grown and grown. There are a lot of people coming and I am proud to say that I know all of them.
"I have always had support but it's been on the road. I have seen both sides of the coin and it's good to be in the home corner."I won't ever forget what it is like being in the away corner."
That last statement hints at the danger of writing off Jenkinson who – as a former Commonwealth super- bantamweight champion – is no mug and, at 25, has plenty left to give. Wale admits there are no easy fights at this level.
He added: "I know that, if I turn up, that I can really impress. He usually comes and has a go which would suit me perfectly but I know to prepare for everything. I always expect the unexpected because he might come out and box or storm out of the corner."
