The Wale brothers have been bonded by a lifetime of boxing but the events of this weekend will be a first even for them.
Josh, 31, is in action tonight at Ponds Forge, Sheffield, then Dempsey, 23, features at Rotherham’s Magna Centre tomorrow evening – where he will be corned by his elder brother.
It is going to be a busy 48 hours for the Brampton siblings who have been involved in boxing from as soon as they could stand up and make a fist.
Trainer dad Mick started boxing in the army before becoming a coach to his sons – including eldest brother Gwyn who also boxed professionally before being followed by Josh and Dempsey. With an age gap of eight years, Dempsey looks up to Josh more like ‘a second father’ – though Mick still looks upon their progress eagle-eyed in their Mexborough gym.
“As soon as I have boxed, I have to switch my focus,” said Josh. “I go from being a professional boxer on Friday to a professional trainer on Saturday. We’ve been in boxing so long that it’s just what we do and it clicks into place. “With the age gap, our relationship is a little bit different.
“We said that, when Dempsey started as a professional, he would have to meet mine and my dad’s expectations because you can’t play at boxing. He’s met those expectations. He’s into it now and we are having to hold him back rather than push him, which is what we wanted.”
Former British champion Josh continues his assault on the featherweight division with an eight-rounder against Catalonia-based Nicaraguan Sergio Gonzalez.
“Dennis (promoter Dennis Hobson) wants to get me involved with titles so this fight is all about settling me into the featherweight division. The first fight (a one-round knockout over Ekow Wilson in July) couldn’t have gone any better. We’ll look for titles after this fight because I want to win titles at three different weights.
"At this time last year I was making bantamweight so I have to settle into this division because I’ve jumped two. He is naturally bigger than me and has boxed at super-featherweight so the idea is he will give me some rounds at this weight. After this fight I will be knocking on the door again. I just know that I have big performances in me still at featherweight.”
Novice Dempsey, a light-welterweight, will be looking to build on his professional debut win earlier this year as he goes in with seasoned journeyman Youssef Al Hamidi, from Dewsbury. Their ring experience could not be more different with this being Dempsey’s fourth fight in total – following two amateur wins – and Al Hamidi’s 146th paid outing.
“They’re all learning fights at this stage for Dempsey,” said Josh. “He is improving rapidly in the gym and I’m really happy with his progress. In pro boxing, if you get knocked off your bike, you get back on it and take your bumps. Dempsey’s learning that.”
