Travel Bug – Road Warrior Tommy Hyde Excited to Mix Favourite Pastimes
Tommy Hyde blends two of his favourite pastimes, travelling and fighting, when he takes to the ring in Melbourne this weekend.
‘The Governor’ fights Anuary Mlawa of Tanzania, in an eight-round fight on “SLB Fight Night,” at The Melbourne Pavilion on April 11.
The fight is the Irish Road Warriors’ first down under, but his eighth outside of Ireland as he continues to advertise his wares worldwide.
Indeed, prior to flying to Australia, Hyde had racked up 47,064 round-trip miles fighting in the United States: Greater Boston three times, as well as once apiece at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut, Redwood City, California, and Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
He can now add another 10,827 round-trip miles from Cork to Melbourne and back -and those nearly 60,000-plus miles don’t even include additional miles he’s traveled to multiple training camps in the United States and England.
Why fight halfway around the world in Australia?
“I have a lot of friends living in Australia and we knew there was a huge Irish population,” Hyde explained. “So, we decided to get a fight and build a fan base here. As an amateur, I boxed all over the world in places like South Africa, Canada, America, and Russia, to name a few, but I never got an opportunity to fight in Australia. I’m very excited.
The 25-year-old has proved himself a ticket seller in his home county as well as the East Coast of America and now wants to build his name in a new territory. He is confident the Irish card will help and the Irish Down Under will come out and support him.
“Wherever you go in the world,” Hyde added, “you’re going to find an Irish bar because the Irish are everywhere. We support our own, and not matter where I fight, I seem to get brilliant support from the local Irish people.
“I love to travel, and I love to fight, so to be able to do both in one trip is like hitting two birds with one stone. I’m getting so much valuable experience fighting all over the world and when I’m stepping up to the world stage, I think that will put me in good stead.”
The Cork man’s manager and father, Gary Hyde, is keen to point out the boxer isn’t travelling on holiday. The experienced manager notes that all the trips abroad build the kind of experience that will pay off in the not-too-distant future.
“I believe fighting away from home will stand to Tommy when he fights in bigger fights,” the NoWhere2Hyde boss claimed. “He is no stranger to the big shows as he has attended massive shows since he was nine years old. The brighter the lights, the better he will perform. He doesn’t fight with the added advantage of being in the home corner, which will also benefit him when he is in big fights.”
