Anthony Yarde wants to follow hero Idris Elba to the top after boxing gave him reason to live
Light-heavyweight sensation and the Hollywood film star both grew up on the tough streets of east London and are inspiring
ANTHONY YARDE did not care if he lived or died but is now following Idris Elba out of the east London poverty and crime they grew up in for a decade of boxing dominance.
Ahead of Yarde’s 14th pro fight in just two years on December 9, the light-heavyweight gave a talk and training session to kids at The Boxing Academy in Hackney.
The inspiring school offers 40 kids struggling or excluded from mainstream education the chance to earn GCSE’S while benefiting from all the virtues of boxing training.
And Yarde – who admits to a wild childhood fuelled by a fierce temper – looks up to the Luther star in the same way the troubled pupils look to him.
Yarde said: “I understand their situation and I remember my experiences. I can see myself in their faces and their attitudes but some of them could be great.
“Idras Elba was from Forest Gate – where I am from – there are a lot of great people around if they can be given a chance or have the belief.
“I still get angry but it’s not as bad as it used to be. When it was bad I just used to think “f*** it, I don’t care’.
“But now I am doing something with my life, I have something to achieve and look forward to. I finally have something to lose. In my mind, back then, I thought ‘so what if I die?’
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“I didn’t care and that is a young way of thinking. Now I am older and wiser and I know people love me and care about me.
“I was never a trouble maker who went out looking for it but if someone wanted to upset me then I got upset.
"The streets are tough but sport, and boxing especially, has put me on the right path in my life.
“The career is about longevity, I have only been a professional for two years.
"It is about a ten-year career where you are earning.
“People always want to rush you. It’s not about protecting your unbeaten record, it’s about raising your levels and getting better and then great fights will happen.”
Yarde’s social media accounts are a fun-filled insight into his hard work at the Peacock gym and his growing celebrity.
Towie face Arge is a regular and Wycombe legend and Fifa’s strongest footballer Bayo Akinfewna has been down for a training session.
But Yarde has no intention of following the films of Conor McGregor or Chris Eubank Jr and using footage of once-sacred sparring sessions to embarrass rivals.
The old-school star said: “For me, sparring is just practice. I see it as being at like school and studying.
“People can come to the gym and watch me sparring but I always say ‘no recording’.
“Once sparring videos go out then they can’t come back and sparring is when you are working and studying and the ring is where you showcase things.”