Ten amateur defeats. Twelve professional losses. One world title - defended thirteen times. This is the journey that became the Find-A-Way framework.
- IN MY OWN WORDS
"My path is more than just a story. It's a system."
Before I became WBO Cruiserweight World Champion, my journey was far from easy. In fact, I lost 10 of my 13 amateur fights, and early in my professional career I lost 12 fights that many believed would end my chances of ever becoming a champion.
But those defeats did not define me. Instead, they became the foundation for the mindset that shaped everything that followed.
- THE CHAPTERS
I started boxing as a quiet, uncertain young man on the streets of Sheffield, looking for friends. I lost ten of my thirteen amateur fights. Looking back, those early years were the price of an education. Every loss taught me something a win never could.
Twelve professional losses is the kind of record most fighters never come back from. There were nights I hit the canvas and the world wrote me off. But discipline, the right mentor, and a refusal to let results define identity slowly turned setbacks into a blueprint. Failure stopped being a verdict - and started being feedback.
Fear never disappears at the elite level - you just learn to walk beside it. I went on to become a record-breaking world champion, defending the WBO Cruiserweight title thirteen times. Every defence was a quiet conversation with myself.
In recognition of my contributions to boxing and the community, I was honoured to receive a King's honour - an MBE. Standing there with that medal, I thought about the shy kid in Sheffield who lost more than he won. Hard-earned glory is different. It carries the weight of every defeat that came before it.
- 4 PILLARS · 12 PRINCIPLES
- WITH BRENDAN INGLE, SHEFFIELD
- THE MENTOR
"A mentor isn't just someone who tells you what to do. It's someone who sees more talent and ability within you than you see in yourself - and helps bring it out."
Brendan Ingle saw something in me long before I saw it in myself. The right voice in your corner can rewrite the story you're telling about yourself - and that is the single most important lesson I carry into everything I do today.
- JOHNNY NELSON MBE
- THE VOICE
After hanging up the gloves, I spent over twenty years as a pundit with Sky Sports Boxing - calling the biggest nights in the sport. The ring taught me to fight; the microphone taught me to translate everything I had learned into a language others could use. It is the same voice I bring into every room I speak in today.
- WHERE I AM NOW
My journey hasn't been without its challenges. I was forced to retire due to injury, and today I continue to manage the physical consequences of a long career in the ring, including two hip replacements and knee surgery.
But even those challenges have reinforced the same lesson that shaped my career: resilience is a choice, and setbacks are often the beginning of something greater. The lessons I learned along the way became what I now call the Find-A-Way framework - my way of sharing the mindset that carried me through defeat, pressure, injury, and reinvention.
The definitive autobiography. From a shy kid in Sheffield to WBO Cruiserweight World Champion - every defeat, every lesson, and the mindset that turned setbacks into a system.