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Boxing Wiki describes the journeyman as ‘a fighter who has adequate skill, but is not the calibre of a contender or gatekeeper.’
This characterisation may seem insulting or condescending, but for boxers like Lewis van Poetsch, it is met with both pride of longevity and an acceptance of limitation.
Record to Date
‘Poochi‘ is known throughout the boxing community as being one of the most accomplished British journeymen to date. An almost decade-long career has included a staggering 162 professional fights (BoxRec), and despite a record of 11-148-3, his physical and mental resilience is evident for fans of the sport.
When asked about his emotions towards said record, van Poetsch replied: “I do take a lot of pride in being in that many fights. 161 – that’s mental, but it’s just all become normal to me now.
“I’m proud to say I’m a journeyman, because without journeymen there is no boxing. I’m a vital cog in the machine.”
Many boxing enthusiasts will associate journeymen with acting as a true test for the sport’s most promising youngsters. Prospects from around the world clash with these types of pros on a weekly basis, on both local and nationally televised cards.
The 31-year-old is more than familiar with this process, having fought recognisable youngsters (at the time) such as Idris Virgo and Jack Flatley throughout his time in boxing.
He said: “When people first start off in their professional career, their first step will be fighting against people like me.
“I always say, if they’re going to be any good, they’ll beat me easily and I’ll be in fifth gear going backwards.
“If these guys can deal with me easily and I don’t give them any problems, then they might do something. If they can’t then they probably aren’t going to go anywhere big.”
In terms of his ‘Poochi’s‘ best performance to date, there’s obviously a long list of possibilities from which he can look back upon fondly. But one in particular sticks out in his mind.
He continued: “In my 100th fight, I was fighting another journeyman in Scott Hillman, and everything just went right for me.
“Journeyman’s code means I’m not going to try and knock him out, I was getting the rounds in, I wanted to win my 100th fight badly.
“My head movement was great. I was picking beautiful, crisp punches. That was probably my best fight in terms of slick performances.”
Alongside 162 fights comes a multitude of different venues, each bringing their own size, location and most crucially, atmosphere to the table.
Van Poetsch’s career has seen him travel to all four corners of the country, as well as the occasional trip across the border and also into Europe in the early stages.
Even for a journeyman certain places stand out, and he stated: “York Hall in Bethnal Green has always been brilliant. Especially these days now you don’t get changed in the cellar anymore.
“It’s an iconic venue. It’s the home of British boxing.”
“I’ve boxed at the O2 Arena, The (OVO) Hydro in Glasgow. It’s always nice to get on one of the big arena shows because it makes you feel a bit more professional.”
“A big arena, big crowd, big ring walks. Yeah, it feels good.”
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Lewis Van Poetsch makes his way to the ring for the second contest of today's main card#????????????????? pic.twitter.com/OHhSewNtMj
— Fightzone (@fightzonetv) June 11, 2021
The Early Days
Respect is a teaching which ties boxing and other combat sports together. We often see the sport’s youth come from hardships in their past, making it even more remarkable when they achieve incredible things.
For van Poetsch, his love for boxing began following a childhood of being picked on. Like many fighters, he was tired of being looked down upon and decided to do something about it.
When asked about his beginnings in boxing, he replied: “I was a bit of a weak kid at school. Through primary school I was sort of picked on because I was quite small and I wasn’t really too tough.
“I was probably around 13, I was getting picked on by this big lad while playing football. He started to fight me, but out of nowhere I managed to get myself free, threw a punch over the top which connected and cleaned him out!
“The following summer I went to watch a friend of mine fight on an amateur boxing card. He actually fought against Luke Campbell in the final. I loved the atmosphere, and thought I fancy a bit of this.
“I went to the gym the next week and took to it like a duck to water. After that I never looked back.”
To much of the outside world, all a professional boxer must dedicate themselves to is their craft, whether that’s putting in the hours on the punch bag or exchanging frightening gazes with their opponents at weigh-ins.
At a national level, however, the workload is increasingly demanding. Many fighters must find time to train around their regular jobs, as well as selling tickets to the local community should they be in the home corner.
These tasks are what turn many a boxer into a journeyman, some more successfully than others. ‘Poochi‘ works full-time as a lift engineer, providing an income outside the fight game, and his decision to move towards the travel-fighting lifestyle came at quite an early stage.
He said: “In professional boxing, unless you’re signed to a big promoter, very good or you can sell an abundance of tickets yourself, you aren’t going to go anywhere.
“It became quite apparent to me after my second fight that selling tickets in the home corner was going to get harder and harder.
“I was in and around the professional gyms with people like Joe Cordina, Lee Selby and Fred Evans. I’m seeing how good these lads are and I thought I’m way off that.”
He continued: “After my fourth fight I was gifted a hometown win and I hadn’t sold many tickets. I thought I’m not going to be a world beater, there has to be a way I can enjoy the sport for what it is.”
“Then I got my big break in Curtis Woodhouse, who’d just come off a knockout loss to Derry Matthews. I knew if I was to win this fight I was going to be in the driving seat in terms of big promoters.
“I didn’t. I lost the fight but I gave a great account of myself and put up a good fight. My stock grew massively from that, but I decided to go down the journeyman route. The rest is history.”
What attracts many people to the sport of boxing is the characters it produces. The flamboyant, cocky and unpredictable nature of many fighters often draws in mass attention from all around the globe.
The first characteristic that strikes you when speaking to Lewis van Poetsch is his down-to-earth nature, one which has made him a fan favourite amongst British boxing’s cult following.
When asked whether he feels like a professional in terms of personality, he said: “It’s funny, because I see some of these young lads that, because they’re professional boxers, they all think it’s glitz and glam.
“The way some of them big themselves up and post on social media, sometimes it’s laughable.”
“I’ve never taken myself too seriously. Even if I was unified world champion I’d be the same guy I am now. I treat people how I’d want them to treat me.”
The Future
Before last weekend, van Poetsch hadn’t fought for around three months. Boxing was taken out of his hands while awaiting news on a brain scan, which fortunately came back clear.
Eleven weeks may not sound like a lengthy period for the majority of fighters, but for the 31-year-old it had been his longest hiatus since the COVID-19 pandemic.
After so many fights, so many punches thrown and so many punches received, ‘Poochi‘s’ relentless nature and love of the sport continues to shine through.
The Sussex-born fighter has registered two wins since March (one coming last Saturday night against Derek Renfrew via TKO), but confirmed he’s also looking towards an end to his commendable career.
“This will be my final year as a professional boxer,” said van Poetsch. “I made that decision around the same time my brain scan results came back.”
“The goal was originally 200 fights, but I won’t get to that now because I’ve lost three months of my boxing career. If I have a good final year I should get to around 180.”
“My goal now is to get to ten years as a pro. That would be a great milestone for me and I can walk away with my head held high.”
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