George Peacock’s perfect start to pro career

Teesdale boxer George Peacock began his professional career with a convincing victory witnessed by 125 passionate supporters.

The 21-year-old Barnard Castle Amateur Boxing Club rising star scored an impressive points win over Sam “The Roadrunner” Kerr in a super-welterweight bout at a packed Sunderland Live Arena at the weekend.

George won all four rounds and was pleased with the way he negotiated what could have been a tricky fight against an experienced opponent.

“It went well, exactly how I wanted it to go to be honest,” he told the Mercury.

“I don’t think it could have gone much better, apart from [winning by] a stoppage maybe, but we weren’t really looking for that.

“I was never in any bother, I felt that my jab was lovely and I had a lot of compliments on it.

“He was on the back foot the whole time and I felt I was just popping my jab and there weren’t many times that it didn’t land.

“I was happy with my performance and my coach Craig was happy and that’s all that really matters.”

George was backed by a huge contingent of family and friends for his debut pro fight, including his parents Michael and Denise Peacock, and they all made their presence felt.

“They were all buzzing, they were a bit emotional, I think everyone was, especially before my fight,” said George, whose back-up team included another Barney ABC professional, Nathan Forrest.

“It was a bit emotional when I was stood behind the screen waiting to walk out.

“I was with Nathan, who was supporting me because he’d been through it before.

“It was really loud, the crowd was mental and I just looked at Nathan and smiled, thinking ‘this is what it’s all for’.

“I loved it.”

“I’m quite good at zoning in,” George added.

“You don’t really hear the crowd during the fight, I just zone-in to Craig’s voice and I was listening to his instructions.

“You can hear the noise get a bit louder when you land a big shot, which was nice, but you have to keep calm and do what you are supposed to do.”

Coach Craig Harrison was proud of the way George performed on the night, saying: “He showed great composure settling in behind his jab and giving his opponent nothing to work off.

“It was great to see so many from our town turn up to support him, I was taken aback by how much noise they made when he did his ring walk.”

George hopes his next pro fight will take place in late February or early March.