A DAD who has a boring 9-5 office job by day earns £15,000 a night in brutal bare-knuckle fights before going home to the kids battered and bruised.
By day Connor Tierney,29, is a quantity surveyor, but at night he prowls the ring as the “Brumtown Bomber” bomber.
Instagram/connortierneybtbConnor has carved out a name for himself in the brutal sport of bare knuckle boxing[/caption]
Instagram/connortierneybtbHe trains six days a week and endures a gruelling regime[/caption]
Instagram/connortierneybtbHe plans to pack it in when he has put enough cash to one side[/caption]
Connor, 29, often turns up for work with black eyes and other facial injuries picked up the night before.
After building up a name on the Bare Knuckle Boxing (BKB) scene, Connor can now command up to £15,000 per fight, boosting his annual income somewhat.
Although described as bare knuckle, the fighters wear hand wraps to comply with the law. The grisly sport was made famous by the Guy Ritchie movie Snatch.
The father of three recently revealed how he plans to pack in the dangerous game once he has earned enough cash.
The midlands man said: “A lot of people think I’m crazy – training and trying to get fit for fights, all in between working a full-time job and being a dad.
“Everyone needs a dream to work towards don’t they, and I’ve got my dream.
“I said to myself by the age of 35, I want to be earning like £60,000 or £70,000 a year, and I want to have made a name for myself in a sport, so hopefully I’ll have some big paydays and a couple more titles.
“The balance of working as a quantity surveyor and being a bare-knuckle fighter, no matter how many worlds apart they are, I think that’s what motivates me really.
“Showing people that anything can be done.”
The dad is up at 5.30am so he can train for an hour in the gym before the office.
He trains six days a week with Saturday spent at home with the kids.
He said that sometimes it was a bit awkward turning up for work with facial injuries picked up fighting.
He said: “I’m in an office environment all day with black eyes and stuff from sparring. I’ve got a picture of me in the office, two days after my last fight, with a swollen jaw, two black eyes and a big cut under my eye.”
Pro footballer gave it all up for new career
By Jane Matthews
A PRO footballer who played more than 200 games before stepping up as captain has opened up about why he blew the final whistle on sport.
Josh Staunton, 28, called it time on his footie career recently – and made a transfer to greener pastures.
The centre-back, who played more than 200 games for a range of clubs in the National League South, has dug in and started his own business – as a gardener.
But after running into issues with his knee the dad-of-one decided he should consider slowing down – and give up the salary of less than £50,000.
And it was a groundskeeper he met during his footie days that inspired him to start Staunts On The Grass.
Staunton said: “I’m glad I’ve got gardening and that I stumbled upon it, but it’s a career path I didn’t foresee.
“If you’d told me at 16 I would be doing this, I wouldn’t have believed you.”
Staunton said there was a mutual agreement his contract would be terminated from Yeovil Town.
But it was the club’s head groundsman, Stuart Antell, who gave him the push he needed.
The 28-year-old continued: “I’ve always liked gardening, but I became fascinated with grass when I started playing golf properly.
“Playing football, I became interested in pitches and one of my old groundsmen, Stuart Antell, was a mentor to me.
The dad said he believes more should be done to prepare young players for life after the game – as “football careers always end”.
When he started fighting he would only earn around £500 to £1000 per fight, but now commands around £15,000 per fight.
If his winning streak continues he could pull in £30,000 for a fight, which would allow him to move on from the sport.
He said: “But in term of bare-knuckle boxing, I don’t want to spent too much time in it. I’ve sacrificed a lot of time with my kids growing up, because when you do a fight camp that’s eight to 10 weeks.
“So I do want to bow out of the sport in the next couple of years because it can take so much away from you.”
Follow @connortierneybtb on Instagram.