Every young fighter turns professional with dreams of taking the sport by storm, racing through the levels, and quickly becoming a well-paid, household name.
Once the excitement of a professional debut has faded and the daily grind of life as a professional has set in, the realisation that title fights and packed arenas are years and thousands of hours of hard work away can understandably test that early eagerness and intensity.
It was immediately obvious that Andrew Cain was different.
From the start, Cain carried himself with a menacing, intimidating air, and was deadly serious about his profession. He ruthlessly stopped his first six opponents and word will have also undoubtedly spread through the journeyman community about the potential hazards of fighting the Liverpudlian.
Nine years after turning professional, Cain, 13-1 (12 KOs), is a regular on TNT Sports and is the British and Commonwealth bantamweight champion. On Saturday night he stopped Colombia’s Lazaro Casseres in two rounds at Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena and received a warm welcome from his home city, but Cain still isn’t where he wants to be. He is getting closer and closer but, if anything, having his goals within reach has made the 28 year old even more intense and determined.
“I’ve got a weird sense,” he told Queensberry Promotions after stopping Casseres inside two rounds. “I can’t really explain it. It’s all well and good winning these fights and stuff. I wanna change my life; I wanna become financially stable. This is my dream – fighting in these arenas – but I’m not gonna be happy until I’ve secured myself and I’m comfortable.”
Shortly after Cain completed his night’s work, his gym mate Nick Ball successfully defended his WBA featherweight title by stopping Ronny Rios in nine rounds. Ball’s homecoming provided Cain with an ideal showcase to fight in front of his home crowd, but he is more than ready to step out of his friend’s shadow and to test himself at world level.
He has rebounded well after losing a split decision to Inout Baluta last year. On paper, that looks like the type of result that may indicate a limit to a fighter’s potential but – not wanting to let an opportunity slip – Cain rashly entered that fight with a damaged hand, an injury that quickly became much, much worse and resulted in a 13-month lay-off.
He has since been back to his vicious best, recording three successive victories and collecting the British and Commonwealth titles. Cain believes that when observers focus on his power they overlook his other qualities, and he insists that he has the all-round ability to thrive at the highest level.
“What bantamweight in the world is taking my punches?” he asked. “None of them. Get me in there with any of them.
“Having punch power is one thing. I had one fight where I was badly injured and I wasn’t able to flow the way I should have and I think I probably got hit with 10 clean shots. I think I’ve probably been hit 13 or 14 times – not even clean – in my whole career. I’m not just a puncher. I don’t get hit. I’ve got good eyes in there. I see everything coming. I’ve got good defences.
“I’ve got everything and I just want to keep proving it and proving it time and time again. Get my family secure, get a nice house, and I won’t be happy until I’ve done that.”
John Evans has contributed to a number of well-known publications and websites for over a decade. You can follow John on X @John_Evans79
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