LEWIS RICHARDSON melted off another four kilos to make his longshot Olympics dream a reality – but his inspirational missus misses his love handles.
The 27-year-old Colchester southpaw had been a decade-long middleweight when IBA – the controversial Russian rulers of amateur boxing – threw the 75kgs division out of Paris 2024.
It looked like back-to-back heartbreaks for the Essex leftie, after a string of stress fractures to his spine cost him a place at Tokyo 2020.
But he ignored the idea of leaping up to 80kgs and incredibly lost over 8lbs to grab a ticket to France at the 71kg super-welter limit.
The success is everything he had dreamed of but long-suffering boxing widow Lucy preferred a snuggle with the old curvier version.
The medal hopeful told SunSport: “Every week in 2023, when I was really down and close to giving up, my girlfriend would tell me to move to 80kgs, she would tell me I was destined to go to the Olympics and moving up in weight was the best chance.
“I told her to get it out of her head and let us move on.
“Nobody predicted me moving down to 71kgs, nobody thought it was possible.
“I had been a middleweight since 2014, ten years at the same weight, I have grown from a boy-to a-man in that division, so it was tough, really tough.
“The first competition was a real shock to my system and my body didn’t know what was happening.
OLYMPICS FREE BETS – SIGN UP OFFERS AND DEAL FOR PARIS 2024
Nearly 15,000 residents – around 10,500 of which are athletes – will be cramming into the Olympic village between July 26 and August 11.
To ensure the athletes feel at home, a number of provisions have been made by organisers.
One of these is the stocking of some 300,000 condoms, in theory enough for around two every day during the run of the Games.
A number of Olympic athletes have opened the door on their steamy lives behind-the-scenes when in camp, including huge sex orgies and parties.
London 2012 had claimed the title of “the raunchiest Games ever”, but the 150,000 condoms ordered paled in comparison to the 450,000 ordered for the Rio Games four years later.
Condoms have been laid on by organisers at every game since Seoul 1988, when it they were used to spread awareness of HIV and AIDS.
Even with an intimacy ban at Tokyo 2020 due to Covid-19, some 150,000 johnnies were handed out.
Read the full story here.
“My body thought I was playing games with it, at the beginning. And then after a few wins my body seemed to cotton on and said ‘oh s**, you actually are doing this to me?’
“Then I got a second lease of time, now I am healthy at the weight and winning.
“I don’t know if my missus, all along, was trying to tell me to bulk up and get more muscles but now she complains she has nothing to hold on to anymore, nothing to cuddle up to.
“So I have promised her I’ll pile on the pounds when I retire and she can cuddle up to a very fulfilled fat bloke.”
Richardson had to settle for Bronze at the summer 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham but the real pain was to start at the end of the year.
Wrist injuries and surgeries kept him sidelined for 12 long months and almost drove him to despair.
But the boxing brainbox – with a masters degree in sports management – knuckled down to pave and pay his own way to Paris.
“Everything looked against me,” he told us. “I am not the most naturally gifted but I think it shows what hard work and persistence and discipline can do.
“My girlfriend tells me it was ‘meant to be’ so now I am so grateful I didn’t quit.
“I am grateful for everything but also proud of myself for not quitting.
“I thought the dream was over but I was still running half marathons and last year and doing other challenges, to keep my mind healthy and stay fit. I always gave myself the best opportunity and then I took it.
“I had to create my own path. The route has been crazy.
“The Commonwealth’s didn’t end as I wanted, I had injuries, my options were narrowing fast.
“At the end of 2023, I hadn’t boxed for a year and Rob McCracken offered me one last tournament before I left Team GB and moved on.
“I went to Spain and won gold and best boxer at the Boxam International tournament. That was the trigger to make me believe I could make the weight.
“In December 2023 Team GB were finished for the year, though, their season was done. So I funded myself for a tournament in Portugal, I took my best mate to help me make the weight and a couple of GB coaches who had time off and won that.”
When he felt at rock bottom with the unpaid code, Richardson met with some UK promoters to explore his options.
But without an Olympic medal to springboard him into the pro game – like Anthony Joshua enjoyed at London 2012 – the deals on the table for the puncher with business acumen were poor.
And thankfully the medal he might be able to hang around his neck from August until forever will mean much more.
“The Olympics are earned – never given,” he said about his pride.
“There are no handouts for easy routes because you are somebody’s son or mates with the promoter or sell a lot of tickets. It’s the purest form of boxing.
“Nothing worth having comes easy and that is a great lesson for all of life.”
Lewis Richardson is proudly sponsored by: Datum Group, Shaun Hanney Scaffolding, Frameclad, Maldon Demolition and Jak Finch Hair
