Buoyant Brooks ready to strike again (From Stourbridge News)

Buoyant Brooks ready to strike again

9:23am Thursday 7th March 2013 in Sport

HAPPY Lance Brooks believes his new-found contentment outside the ring will lead to success in it.

The Dudley light-welterweight fights for only the second time as a professional at Wolverhampton Civic Hall this Saturday, almost three years to the day since his first outing.

Brooks famously claimed an emphatic and exciting points win over Bheki Moyo in March 2010 despite suffering from torn ligaments and a chipped bone in his right ankle.

The injury and subsequent personal issues kept him out of action but now he’s back, buoyed by a flourishing roofing business and eager to make up for lost time.

He said: “At the moment everything is going right in my life and it’s increased my hunger to succeed.

“It used to be the case I wouldn’t properly switch on until and hour before the fight but now I’m really pushing myself.

“My training has gone great, I’m in far better shape than I was for the Moyo fight, though that’s obvious because I haven’t got a broken ankle.

“I’ve started a roofing business and have a couple of lads who work for me. It’s going great and really eased the pressure on me and given me more time to relax and concentrate on my boxing.

“It’s been poetry to be honest.”

Brooks, who received treatment on his ankle from the physio of ice skating duo Torvill and Dean, has prepared for his comeback at Priory Park Boxing Club where he fought as an amateur from the age of 14.

The club now has a stable of six professionals and two of them, light-welterweight Luke Paddock and light-heavyweight Ricky Summers, also feature on Saturday’s bill.

Brooks believes the club is destined for big things.

He said: “All we need is time and it is on our side.

“We are all young. I think we are going to be good stuff.

“I know people say things like that all the time but I really think we have the skills to succeed.

“We are like one big family, like brothers, speaking to each other every day. We really push each other on.”

The Wolverhampton bill concludes a day of celebrations to mark the Civic Hall’s 70th anniversary as a pro boxing venue. For more information and tickets call 07976 283157 or the Civic box office on 0870 3207000.