As a die-hard Tottenham Hotspur fan, and someone who has long dreamt of winning the British title, few moments are likely to hold more meaning for Sam Gilley than this Saturday’s clash with Ishmael Davis.
The 31-year-old recently revealed in an interview with Boxing News that he had started seeing a therapist not long before his eight-round draw with Gideon Onyenani in June.
That fight came at a time when everything seemed to be falling apart. Not only was he coming to terms with several events in his personal life, but Gilley also had his scheduled British title fight with Louis Greene ripped away.
Now, though, it is as if Lady Luck has suddenly directed her attention solely on ‘The Magic Man’, helping him to finally live up to his moniker.
Speaking with Boxing News ahead of his appearance on the undercard of Chris Eubank Jr vs Conor Benn 2, it is clear that Gilley’s life has taken a drastic turn.
“If you’d have said to me a couple of years ago, ‘You’ve got to have a rough couple of years, but you’re going to fight for the British title at Spurs,’ I’d have bitten your hand off.”
“It’s the dream, isn’t it? I could retire the next day. You look at [Tony] Bellew when he did it at Goodison Park, and then Ricky Hatton when he did it at Man City [stadium].”
While eager to stroll out onto the pitch at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, a place he knows all too well, Gilley equally knows that his opponent, Ishmael Davis, is no scrub.
Ahead of their showdown for the vacant British super-welterweight title, Gilley has been mixing it in the gym with fighters that campaign at a much higher weight.
James Osborne, who won GBM Sports’ super-middleweight last Saturday, is one of them, while light-heavyweight operator Dan Azeez, too, has offered the Londoner plenty of valuable rounds.
“The main thing was finding someone short, strong, and a southpaw. Sparring down the Peacock Gym is great, because you never know who’s going to be there, so, when James [Osborne] walked in, I was like ‘You’re going to be perfect.’
“Then you’ve got Dan [Azeez], who’s obviously a wrecking machine, so we’ve ended up getting two perfect sparring partners.”
After losing to Serhii Bohachuk and Josh Kelly, both on short notice, Davis suffered a fiercely-contested split decision defeat to Caoimhin Agyarko last September.
In each of those fights, the 30-year-old proved to be a tremendously strong customer, his plucky performances always keeping him within touching distance of another meaningful opportunity.
And yet, for Gilley, it seems that a battle of wills is exactly what he is hoping for.
“I’ve been preparing for a good, hard war – that’s what I want.
“I don’t want no cuddling contest, like I had last time. I want to go in there and just go hell for leather.”