Thai boxer Jarvis looking to build on winning start

The Lumpini Crawley fighter kicked off his career as a professional Muay Thai fighter with two wins in as many contest.

First he picked up a points victory against Diago Cardoso on his debut back in November 18 of last year, and he followed that by recording a knockout victory against Marco Diaz on March 4 this year.

The Crawley man admitted the nerves of a first pro contest loomed large; however he enjoyed the experience.

“The nerves were quite realistic as it all became real. The rounds become longer and the pace slows down a bit as you come up against the more experienced people.

“A lot of it’s in the head really. The actual fighting itself doesn’t change too much, you have the difference in head contact and elbows but it’s just how you take it mentally.

“As long as you’re mentally confident you’ll realise it’s not too much different, it’s just all in the head.”

Jarvis has transitioned from a junior fighter all the way to class A pro rules, and believes the change in styles suits him better.

He said: “Even though it was a lot harder it is a bit more relaxed in terms of fighting and speed, it becomes a bit more of a chess game as opposed to a war.

“To be honest this is my style, kicking, moving, elbows when it comes in close so I love A class I think I was made for it as a fighter.

“Because I’m a kicker and I like to keep the range and time the punches and knees so it suits me, where the C class can be a bit more messy and hard to keep your range.”

The 17 year-old first picked up the gloves aged just four, as his father John founded the Lumpini Thai Boxing club in 1996, later founding the Crawley Martial Arts Centre.

The gym has been home to world champions such as Paulo Da Silva and Ruth Ashdown, and Jarvis feels having such characters in the gym has motivated him.

“Seeing the likes of Paulo win world titles across the world keeps you motivated and pushes you on to hopefully achieve something like that in the future.

“Having a good coach as well as a father keeps you motivated but it’s good to see everyone doing well as it inspires you to do the same.”

While focusing on his fighting career Jarvis works at the gym as a coach and he admits he enjoys the element of passing down his knowledge to kids who are training at the same age he once did.

“It’s good to see the kids having fun because at that age it’s all about having fun and not really thinking about things too much. To see them having fun is great because that’s what I loved about it when I was younger.

“It’s a nice place and vibe to be around and it’s good to pass on your skills onto the kids and hopefully they can become a fighter one day as well if they want to.

“It’s a good stress relief especially when you’re going through school and exams it’s good to come in here and switch off for a couple of hours.

Jarvis is back in action on May 26 at the Effingham Park Hotel, Crawley.