Confessional Interview:

‘I thought I’d reached the pinnacle of sport.’

With a childhood that will always push him to reach his goals and work hard for what he wants, Charlie Kelly, 24, has already had two professional sporting careers under his belt. He saw his professional football career rise and fall before his eyes, but bounced back for round two, working harder than ever to move up the ranks from an amateur to professional boxer, while still in his teens.

“I didn’t grow up with my parents; my mum wasn’t thought fit enough to look after me and my sister.  She had mental health problems which meant that we had to leave her. My dad wasn’t around then either, he went to prison when I was really young and  so me and my sister were split up. She went to live in Ireland, with some of our family out there and I was put into care; I don’t remember how old I was or too much about being in foster care, but know I didn’t really understand what was happening. I didn’t stay in one place, I was with a family in Blackpool and another in Oxford, and I was also in two foster homes which were different. I don’t really remember too much about the families or the care homes, but everybody was really nice and just took care of me.”

“On my fourth birthday, I remember going to live with my great aunty, in Tottenham. It was really different living with my aunty, there were quite a few of us living in the household and she was quite old fashioned and quite strict, so it was different to what I was used to before then.

I lived with my three cousins and I was bought up with them. The youngest of the three cousins, I didn’t really get on with that well at first. I think he thought I was stealing his time with his family, which must have been difficult, but now we get on really well.

I didn’t really get all the things I really wanted as a child. It must have been hard for my aunt with three children of her own and me on top. All us kids just got it with it really. When I was younger I just thought ‘one day I’ll get it just not right now.’  Now it makes me appreciate things a lot more, now if I buy a pair of trainers they’ll be a nice pair and the things I buy will nice things ‘cause I know I’ve worked hard for it and I appreciate it.

I enjoyed a lot of sport and worked hard to achieve a lot in my teens. One of my older cousins who I grew up with was a professional footballer; he played for a few teams Southend, Hull, Bradford and a few others I can’t remember. He sort of inspired me to play. Watching him growing up, playing football and me sticking out playing footie games with him and his friends had a lot to do with my career in football. I was picked for a few teams when I was young and eventually I got a professional contract with Dagenham Redbridge and then Stevenage for a little while and eventually I had offers to play over in America and I was there for six months.”

“I played for Ohio State while I was out in the US, I also played a few games for Chicago fire. I was very young, I was 16. It was a great experience and it was like a completely different world out there, but it was scary for me as boy so young. I felt really special and I thought I’d never have to work again, but that didn’t come true. I ripped the tendons around my knee and that meant I was on crutches for six months. And when I came back into play I just wasn’t the same. I just lost the passion a little bit and other sports I could take part in took over and that was the end of football for me really. I was really disappointed when I got my injury because there were players around me, who probably wasn’t as good as me and they were given a great chance. There was nothing I could do about it, it was out of my hands.”

“That was when I became interested, more than ever in boxing. I always boxed, it was always in my family – it’s what my dad did before he went into prison. I was eight when I started and I still box now.

The thing that made me stick it out and work really hard at it was that I could box even with my injuries from football. It took over my passion and dream for professional football and I got better and more confident at it. I went all the way - from amateur level to professional.

My current record stands at 56 out of 63 games, so I’ve only ever lost seven games. I’ve won many titles and things, I was lucky enough to be the national champion as a kid. I was also given the title of London champion. I’m proud of them all it just shows how hard I work.

I even got the chance to box for England for two years, not long after my time in America playing football. There was no better feeling than representing your country, I mean, at that point I thought I’d reached the pinnacle of sport!

I’m still licensed as a professional boxer and now I’m coming to the end of the pro game, but I don’t know if I’m going to continue my boxing career. Work commitments are taking over and I don’t know how I’m going to it everything in. I’m finding it really difficult to train and keep that professional level with working. Especially when my new employer isn’t as lenient as previous have been. It’s a hard decision to make when it’s in your own hands.”

“Everything that’s happened in my life, especially growing up, has made me work harder, made want to do really well in life and it’s taught me that the l the harder I work the better the outcome will be – it’s given me a better work ethic which I guess is reflected in my success in sport. I really look forward to having children and bringing them up in a similar way I was with my aunt, with structure and that work ethic, as well as a lot my values and things I love.”