Wilden: fighter with powerful message

Dan Wilden….super-feather makes his professional debut on May 10

NEW pro Dan Wilden is driven by the memory of his father who took his own life two years.

That tragedy has not only pushed Dan to pursue his boxing dream, but moulded his attitude to life and spurred the 28-year-old to help those battling mental health issues.

“It has been a big motivation because my dad wanted me to box,” he said. “When I moved away from the sport, my dad was the one who said, get back to your boxing because you’re good at it.”

A personal trainer by day, Dan believes fitness and exercise can play a key role in banishing dark thoughts and depression. “Training and fitness is the best medicine you can get,” he said. “When you are challenging yourself mentally and physically in the gym it puts your problems on hold.”

Dad Marc “Wilf” Wilden was a big part of Nuneaton’s Boxing Clever Academy, where Dan spent his entire, stop-start amateur career. His tattoo business was one of the gym’s main sponsors.

Not surprisingly, Dan has joined trainer Lee Spare’s growing band of pros at the gym – a sweatshop he first entered as a nine-year-old - and is set to make his debut at Birmingham Airport’s Holiday Inn on May 10.

“Life is short,” he said. “I turned pro because I didn’t want to look back and have regrets. I’ve been with Lee for 20 years nearly and the lads in the gym had turned pro.

“I feel if I was in the amateurs now I’d be boxing against children. I’m a man, I feel it’s my time now.”

Wilden gets ready for his big night at the Holiday Inn

Refreshingly, the super-featherweight refuses to make brash predictions about future ring glory. He’s confident about flogging a lot of tickets, however.

“I’m not going to say I’m going to be a world champion,” Dan stressed, “but I’m not going to set limits, either. I may not become a world champion, but the one thing I can do is puts bums on seats. I know a lot of people.”

He reckons he can shift over 300 tickets. That’s a lot of bums, a lot of seats.

Dan’s amateur CV is punctuated by long gaps. He had around 15 fights as a junior and lost only one of eight at senior level.

He joined the army at 16 and during his four year stint became a Physical Training Instructor. He took those skills onto Civvy Street, travelling the world as a personal trainer.

He has worked and lived in Thailand, Dubai and Ibiza.

“I’m a pressure fighter,” he said, “quite slippery with it. I’m a counter puncher who comes forward.”

He added: “I want to show people you can do this (achieve your goals) – only you have the key to do it. I want to show people anything is possible.”

Lee Spare said: “Dan has only boxed for me. He has learnt through our system, our ethos.”