James DeGale vs Chris Eubank Jr undercard: Meet the soldier turned boxer who will debut with wife in corner

Exclusive interview: Chez Nihell served in Afghanistan but is turning over this Saturday into the pro ranks at The O2

Chez Nihell was 23 years old when he called time on his life as a self-employed carpenter, knocking around with ‘old boys on building sites’, in order to join the British Army.

A life of chasing payments down Civvy Street had become even harder once the recession hit and the amateur boxer decided to follow his brother by leaving behind the Isle of Wight and joining up.

Within seven months, he was serving as an infantry soldier on a fighting tour of Afghanistan. He would have felt every one of the 3,500 miles from his old amateur boxing club, the Newport Phoenix, back home.

“I was already boxing when I joined up,” Lance Corporal Nihell tells the Independent. “I’d had 25 bouts at that point with a 50-50 record.

“It was half the reason why I joined – because I wanted to box within the army. I had boxed against the Combined Services as a civilian in a Southern Counties v Combined Services show.”

It goes without saying that unarmed combat inside the ring swiftly became secondary to the conflict in Afghanistan for Nihell, who was in his early teens when troops from the USA and UK were first sent to the country back in 2001.

But he returned home a changed man and has enjoyed a swift rise through the boxing ranks ever since.

“When I was working on building sites I remember seeing what my brother was up to, the sort of training he was getting, and he was just a novice boxer for his regiment at the time,” Nihell adds. “That made me just go for it.

Nihell will make his debut at The O2 (Lawrence Lustig)

“It was good because I went straight on a tour of Afghan, which I wanted to do, and then straight into the boxing when I got back.

“After doing a tour like that, you look at life differently, 100 per cent. You just see things differently. You think f*****g hell, we’re lucky. People complain about England but we’re very lucky.”

Sitting bolt upright, arms crossed, in the office at the renowned Guildford City Boxing Club, Nihell still looks every inch the soldier. Asked to paint a picture of his life in Afghanistan, the 31-year-old takes one look at the recording device in front of him and replies: “I’m not really authorised to talk about anything that happens in operation.

“But at the time I was an infantry soldier, a fighting soldier, we were on foot patrols. It was a fighting tour – that’s as much as I can really talk about Afghan. I was there for six months.”

It is put to Nihell that serving on the front line in an active war zone might make the idea of three-threes against a bloke carrying only padded fists far easier.

Nihell served for the army in Afghanistan (Lawrence Lustig)

“People often suggest that but, nah, that’s not really how it works,” he says. “Does doing a tour take my nerves away from boxing? No.

“My outlook on life changed but it’s not like I’ve done a tour so boxing doesn’t faze me. Boxing’s not easy at all and if you didn’t get those nerves you’re not human. It’s part of it. You still have to control those nerves and go to that place in my head.”

And the nerves have been ramped up to a new level this week as he prepares for his professional debut on the undercard of James DeGale’s clash with Chris Eubank Jr at the o2 Arena on Saturday.

Since turning professional, reigning ABA super-heavyweight champion Nihell has been trained by the hugely respected Johnny Edwards at his Guildford gym, but there will be a far more unusual presence in the corner on fight night.

Nihell trains with his wife (Lawrence Lustig)

“It was Valentine’s Day in 2014 when we officially got together,” Nihell says of his wife Alanna, herself an elite and feted boxer.

“We met boxing for the army team, we were teammates for a year before we got together.

“To be honest, she’s just in the gym, bandana on, tom boy, cracks on with training. In the gym it’s business and we’re there to train.

“I think I just bumped into her one night out and said ‘you alright?’ We went out for a coffee and we went from there.

“We obviously have huge amounts in common. She understands the sport which is a massive help. It’s not the be-all and end-all of our relationship but it’s a massive help.

“We share the same passions and she’s like my best mate. It would feel weird if I was going on this journey without her.”

The husband and wife duo serve together in the 27 Regiment Royal Logistics Corps and were both part of the British Army Elite Boxing Team. Now Chez is her coach in the army but takes orders from her in the professional game.

She was still Alanna Murphy when she broke ground back in 2001, as part of the first ever officially sanctioned women’s bout to take place on Irish soil when she took on Katie Taylor.

There are plans for the decorated amateur to follow her husband into the professional ranks but they will be concentrating on one career in the paid ranks for now.

“Our plan is to try for a family this year but my wife’s not retiring,” Nihell adds. “But when she comes back and fights, who knows? It would be great for us both to box on the same bill as pros but it’s one goal at a time.

Nihell will fight on the undercard of DeGale vs Eubank Jr (Getty)

“She’s going to be very involved. We’ve only got better since we got together. She’s inspired me in the sport. When we first got together, I’d not won a national title, I’d not worn a national vest but she’d boxed in the world championships and medalled at the Commonwealth Games. She always inspired me.”

Saturday begins the next phase of Nihell’s boxing life, which started when he first wandered into the gym two decades ago. His stepdad had boxed himself and even faced former world champion Bernard Dunne during his career.

Nihell grew up idolising Lennox Lewis and later David Haye but it was the army that forged him into the cruiserweight who will step through the ropes at the o2.

“Even though I’m turning professional I’m a soldier first,” He says. “At all times – and my coach knows that.

“Is there a chance I’ll be called upon again? Of course. I’ve only been in eight years next months so if I do my full 22 years, there’s every chance.

“If another tour started that was really busy and they needed people, they could draw that from anywhere.

“Like I said – soldier first and if something happens, I’m good to go.”