Daza Usher [6-3-0]

After a couple of setbacks recently, it certainly can't be said that Daza Usher has treaded an easy path in the early stages of his professional career. After feeling as though he could learn no more from boxing with journeyman, we have seen him step up in class against some top quality operators on the British domestic scene. The results didn't go his way, but Daza feels that the lessons learned have put him in good stead going forward. Daza recently talked to BoxingQnA.com, where he took the time to discuss his background, his career so far, and his determination to get straight back into the mix at championship level.

You have a tae-kwon-do and kickboxing background, so first and foremost, how did you get into boxing and what made it your chosen combat sport to pursue as a professional?

I first got into boxing in my late-teens it was pursued in order to improve my punching for kickboxing. I started to enjoy boxing much more, so I gave up the kickboxing and haven't looked back since.

What was your amateur career like?

It wasn't too bad. I had about 30 amateur bouts, winning 20-25 of them. I was able to compete with the best in the country in the amateurs, but never really had much of a chance to prove it. As a result of injury, I missed out on the opportunity to box in the ABAs a couple of times. I did however win the Haringay Box Cup, beating some open class fighters along the way. My amateur career came to an end when after taking about 6 months out in order to heal from injury, I started training with some professional boxers. At this point, after missing out on the ABAs once again, I just felt that it was the right time for me to turn pro.

Who are you trained and managed by now as a pro?

I train at Jim Evans' gym in Maidenhead. Jim is the head coach there and he is also my manager now, too. He has been around for a while and he always gets the guys in the gym some good opportunities, so I felt that signing with him recently was the best move for my career. Although I am mainly trained by Jim, I also have Chris McDonagh helping me out with work on the pads and sometimes he is involved in the coaching side of things, as well.

There's the old boxing cliche that a fighter learns from a loss than a win. Given the quality of the lads you've been in with, do you feel that even though you have picked up a couple of losses recently that you did take a lot away from those fights?

Yes, definitely. When I started my career, I went straight in there with some very experienced, journeyman, but despite the fact that these were supposed to be learning fights, I didn't feel that I was getting much out of those types of opponents aside from rounds. Recently, I stepped up majorly in competition against top talented fighters who have aspirations of challenging for the British title even beyond. I feel as though I have learned a lot from fighting these guys. Not only are they going from strength-to-strength as pros, but they boxed at a high level in the amateurs, too. For example, Mitch Buckland has already won a title in the pro ranks, while he also picked up several youth titles as an amateur. Liam Taylor, my last opponent, also represented England in the amateurs and he is already on course to mix it up with the best on the domestic scene. So with the credentials of these guys in mind, I don't see the losses as a bad thing and I feel that I took a lot of positives from these fights.

Was that the plan from the outset to step up and go full steam ahead with your pro career, or did it just sort of happen by itself once the offers started coming in?

It sort of just happened. I think I went into the pro game blind to start off with and didn't really have a long-term plan in place. My mentality was to it fight by fight and to get in with whatever opponents they put in front of me. In due course, I just became mindful of the fact that I am not getting any younger and I haven't got much time in my career as a professional boxer, so I saw the merit in just mixing it up with the best competition that I can and test myself. I'd say that is still my intention now. I want to box as often as I can against the best fighters that it's possible for me to get in with and see how I get on.

With hindsight, do you think that perhaps you took these fights too soon, or do you feel that you were you ready and that your opponents were just better on the day?

I don't think they happened too soon. I felt ready and while I could say that I could have done some things better on the day, the fact is that I lost to these guys. I do however feel that I am better for it, that I have learned from the losses and that I am now all the more prepared for when I step up again.

Of course, if it was mma, nobody would bat an eyelid at your record. But in boxing there is so much emphasis placed on retaining the '0' for as long as possible. Do you feel that there is too much scrutiny of a fighter's record in boxing?

Yes, definitely. Especially people who don't know how boxing works, as when you lose the '0', they suddenly think you're not a good fighter. On the other hand, sometimes a fighter might be building up an undefeated record without ever really challenging themselves. I didn't really want to take that sort of path myself because, as I say, I didn't feel as though I was learning much from journeymen. I think that in reality the '0' can be overrated and possibly even misleading when used as a means to assess how good a fighter might be.

At this point, are you looking to regroup, get back to winning ways and then step back in at championship level?

My next fight coming up on the 14th of September at York Hall is actually an 8 rounder and I will be contesting a British Masters title, so I'm going straight back in there at championship level. I wanted to take a step across rather than a step back!

For those who haven't seen you in action yet, how would you describe your boxing style?

I'd say I naturally box on the counter, but I do like getting involved and getting on the frontfoot if need be. I try to do a bit of everything and whatever I feel is necessary in accordance with the style of my opponent.

Who are some of the best guys you've sparred with, either as an amateur or a professional?

I train with Mark Douglas, who's a top-rated welterweight and has recently participated in Prize Fighter. I've also sparred with guys like Jamie Cox, who's obviously a former Commonwealth champion. I've sparred with Bradley Saunders at the MGM gym in Marbella. It was such a great experience at MGM, as no matter how good you are, you still learn and there is always top quality sparring available. I've also sparred Kelvin Young, who looks to be on the verge of contesting the IBO world title. So I've been in with some really good fighters and feel that I learned from all of them.

Any favourite fighters from past or present? I've seen your picture with Naz, so I'm guessing he'd be one of them?

Naz was definitely one of my favourites when I was growing up. I loved the KO power his skills and definitely the showmanship that always came with it. He was a very entertaining fighter. I also very much enjoyed watching Mike Tyson.

You run your own gym, so you obviously have a lot of fitness knowledge. Do you feel that gives you an edge when it come to your own training?

I think it does, especially on the nutrition side of things. Also, with the advantages of having my own gym, I can structure my own training around my work schedule as the head coach.

What are some of your interests outside of boxing?

I love racing, both motorbikes and cars. I'm actually off to the Moto GP this weekend, while my wife and I recently attending the Formula 1 race at Hockenheim last month, which was part of a European road trip we went on. We haven't got any kids, so we go on holiday quite a bit.

Final words, shout-outs or anything at all you would like to add?

I want to thank my coaching team at Jim Evans' gym. Jim, Chris, and all the guys who help me prepare for fights, including my brother, Logan Usher. A big thank you also to my sponsors, so thank you Keith Brabbin, as well as to Unique Ring Wear who have been supplying me with all my training and fight equipment.

To my supporters, please keep following. Hopefully in a couple of weeks time it will be a British Masters title win and then we can build on that.