Black History month is a time of celebration, Liverpool Boxer Lucas Dube uses the time to reflect, not only on his sport, but on athletes who have a significant impact.
“What black history month means to me, it’s just kind of a celebration of a lot of great and amazing things that black people have done for all communities across the world.”
“In terms of boxing, I don’t really think much changes. However of course when you look at the sport of boxing you can’t deny the influence that black people or the impact that black athletes have had in that sport.”
“If you look at the top 10 greatest fighters, a lot of them are black. So, it does relate to boxing quite a lot and it’s just a celebration of what they’ve accomplished.”
“All over the world when you look at black history it’s quite easy to focus on all the negative stuff that’s happened. For me, I just feel like if you’re going to focus on a specific group of people, it should be about shining a light on all the positive things that have happened.”
As a Liverpool lad, Dube offers an interesting insight being raised in the city.
“When I was a child, even growing up in the UK, it took me a long time to even realise I was black. The people I was around, it never really comes into your head when you’re young, that you’re different to someone else.”
With the friendly atmosphere around Merseyside, it’s no surprise that a similar atmosphere was felt when training to fight.
“I think in boxing as well, I’ve never felt any different to an Asian athlete or a white athlete. I think the sport of boxing is a welcoming sport and I can’t say I’ve had a bad racial experience being a black athlete in Liverpool.”
Dube was a late bloomer in the world of fighting, starting to box when he was 15. Having discovered his love for the sport he watched more and more fights, with two fighters standing out as inspiration.
“Floyd Mayweather at the time, and probably still is, the biggest attraction in the sport, just a huge star, so I’d watch a lot of his stuff.”
“My favourite fighter right now, and my biggest inspiration is a Mexican called Canelo Alvarez. He’s number 1 on my list. I think he’s probably the best overall package in boxing. Defensively sound. Offensively sound. Very clever ring general ship. I really admire an athlete that can do everything.”
While it’s important to take inspiration from the greats on their performances inside the ring, Dube believes it just as important to do the same outside the ring.
“Even outside of boxing as an athlete you should be able to look at yourself, assess what your weak points are and then really work on those. Iron out what you feel isn’t up to par. If you can do that, you can be great in any sport.”
His own future looks bright.
