'I wouldn’t recommend being a journeyman to everyone,' says Van Poetsch
Lewis Van Poetsch
Most people would say that professional boxers should keep their number of defeats as low as possible if they’re to be a success.
Most of the time they would be right, however, a small group of boxers buck that trend, as they often occupy the away corner when you watch your new favourite prospect, or hometown hero.
These people are called journeymen and quite simply, the sport of boxing wouldn't be able to function without them.
Their sole purpose is to get into the ring and not get hurt, ultimately the result does not matter to them, as they provide a service to boxing promoters.
Journeymen aren’t supposed to win fights, and don’t try to because they are brought in make their opponent look good.
Lewis Van Poetsch is one of the most popular journeymen on the circuit, with a staggering 125 fights under his belt with 114 of them ending in defeat.
As with every boxer, the 29-year-old said he never set out to be a journeyman and he even won three out of his first four fights as a professional.
However, Van Poetsch said he soon became disillusioned with professional boxing, which in turn altered his career intentions.
“It was never my aspiration to become a journeyman. It was just a chain of events that unfolded and it happened quite quickly,” he said.
“I’d been around professional boxers for a while before I turned pro and I sort of knew how the game worked a little bit.
“I turned pro and I thought I could get to British title level if I really put a lot of effort into it. I soon realised that probably wasn’t going to happen.
“After two fights, my manager said he could get me a fight in London and I was naïve because I was thinking I’d never be able to sell tickets in London for a show in a week’s time.
“Then he said I just needed to turn up and fight, which I thought was brilliant. That made me wonder why I spent my time trying to sell tickets like a madman for six weeks before my fights.
“I don’t regret not training hard and giving the sport a proper go because I wised up to it quite quickly.
“I realised my level and I knew I was never going to be a world beater.
“So that opened my eyes to the other side of boxing and after that I had another fight in Gloucester before I just started taking away fights and then slowly transitioned into being a journeyman.”
The super-middleweight, who is based in the South West says he is constantly ready for a call that could see him boxing at the weekend.
Van Poetsch revealed the amount of notice he receives can vary from a month to a few hours, meaning he has to live his life a certain way.
After spending a number of years as a journeyman, Van Poetsch, who is a barber during the week, says not everyone can get into the ring and does what he does.
“In terms of lifestyle you just need to get to know your body, know when you’re tired, when you should train and when you shouldn’t train,” he added.
“I still live the life of someone in their late twenties, I didn’t want to waste my twenties living the strict life of a boxer.
“Would I recommend being a journeyman? Yes and no. I don’t think you really know if you can be a journeyman unless you try it, because I think you have to be cut from a certain cloth.
“You do have to have a skillset to be able to do it too, I wouldn’t recommend being a journeyman to everyone, because not everyone can do it.
“You have to be thick skinned and you have to just be able to get on with it if you are going to be a journeyman, not everyone can do it.
“It’s all a bit tongue and check, but I do pride myself on having a hard head.”
