Boxer Aloys Junior is comfortable with taking on a more villainous persona outside the ring. In fact, he strongly believes this attitude is a more genuine reflection of his true character.
Last month, the 22-year-old fighter declared himself the king of Scotland, shortly after convincingly defeating David Jamieson on Jamieson’s home turf.
Since that victory, Junior has repeatedly launched verbal attacks at his domestic rival, Viddal Riley, although a potential cruiserweight clash between them still seems quite distant.
However, this more aggressive approach is relatively new, emerging only in the last few months. The previously modest prospect credits much of this change to what most people would consider a deeply traumatic experience.
“I was in a very bad car crash about six months ago,” Junior, who holds a record of 10-1 with 9 knockouts, stated. “We kept it quiet, away from the boxing community.”
“Before that, I had many people influencing how I expressed myself, trying to control my story.”
“But the car crash showed me that I could die at any moment – I literally faced death directly.”
“I didn`t complain about it, or close my eyes and turn away. I just accepted it, and thankfully walked away with just a concussion.”
“So that made me view life completely differently. I`m a f***ing monster – I make a living by breaking people`s jaws – and you`re not going to tell me what to do.”
Even before this unexpected close call with death, Junior had already begun the process of shedding his somewhat media-trained public image.
Interestingly, it was Anthony Joshua`s loss to Daniel Dubois last September that prompted him to decide, from that moment forward, to express himself in a more authentic way.
As a stablemate of the former heavyweight world champion, the explosive puncher was confident that Joshua`s night at Wembley Stadium would be a complete success.
But instead, Joshua ultimately suffered a devastating fifth-round knockout defeat. His setback was compounded by a significant negative shift in public opinion.
“I had always wanted to be like Anthony Joshua, to have everyone love and appreciate me – and be seen as the hero,” Junior confessed. “But now, I`ve realized that all of that [Joshua`s public image] was just an illusion.”
“Everyone was showing Anthony Joshua support as he was heading into the fight [against Dubois]. But after the fight, I hear people saying Anthony Joshua is a b****, Anthony Joshua is a clown. They were tearing down the hero.”
“You can be this nice guy – this hero – but then people will just betray you. So why the f*** would I even try to get people to like me?”
“Ultimately, you guys don`t care if I f***ing end up with half a brain. You just want to be entertained.”
Indeed, Junior has only experienced the positive outcomes of having a polarizing personality, particularly in terms of increasing his presence on social media platforms.
But despite these benefits, the recently crowned Commonwealth champion is most grateful for being able to conduct his career with a sense of unapologetic freedom.
“I don`t mind being the villain; I think it probably suits me,” he stated.
“I gained 10,000 followers on Instagram [after defeating Jamieson] simply by being myself. Before, I used to hold back certain comments and modify my responses to please the fans. But f*** that.”
