Matty Floyd went from being in prison to sparring Liam Smith.
On July 25, at the O2 Indigo in London, UK, ‘The Jedi’ will return to action against Armstrong Martins on the undercard of the legendary Shane Mosley, who’s set to go to war with David Kurzhal.
The event will serve as a major opportunity for Floyd to showcase his skills to the British fans.
Throughout 2025, the Australian has made his presence felt on UK shores, training with some of the best fighters in the country, including ‘Beefy’.
WOW: Liam Smith won his world title with a devastating knockout over an American trash-talker
Matty Floyd read all about Liam Smith before sparring him
While Matty Floyd was in jail, he fell in love with boxing, training every single day, with the ambition of making a name for himself in the sport.
During his downtime, the Perth athlete read a book, documenting Liam Smith’s monstrous fight with Canelo Alvarez.
With this in mind, Floyd was blown away when he eventually received the opportunity to spar the former WBO super welterweight champion at the Rotunda Gym in Liverpool.
In an exclusive interview with Bloody Knockout, Floyd explained: “I was boxing four hours every day in prison. I got real passionate about it while I was in there, and there was only one boxing book that we got our hands on.
“In that book, it was when he was fighting Canelo Alvarez, and there was a big write-up. There was all sorts of stuff in that book, I read it quite a few times.
“When things happen for me, it always happens that way. If I was ever going to end up sparring a big name, it would’ve been something like that.
“It’s just how my life is, the stars always align for me, so many things have happened, it’s been crazy. This was the first, ‘Wow, I can’t believe that just happened’, but it just keeps happening like that now, like everything is falling into place.”
Matty Floyd opens up about sparring Shane Mosley
Sparring Liam Smith will have undoubtedly taught Floyd lessons that he can apply when he returns to the ring next month.
The chance to fight on a Mosley undercard is a massive accomplishment for the brawler, who, many years ago, actually had the chance to do some rounds with the icon.
On a day he’ll never forget, the Australian traded blows with one of the very best of all time.
In his interview with Bloody Knockout, Floyd revealed what it was like to spar Mosley.