Constantin Ursu can win the British title tonight
Constantin Ursu is the perfect antidote to Reform rabble-rouser Nigel Farage.
The right-wing firebrand is on course to beat a path to Downing Street on an anti-immigration ticket. Farage and his cronies revel in whipping up sensationalist storms to portray newcomers as little more than outcasts. But Moldovan Ursu is flying his adopted flag in the face of that increasingly hostile rhetoric.
He moved to these shores on a whim and a prayer and was welcomed with open arms. And tonight the 25-year old will challenge for a British boxing title. “I was born in Moldova but raised in England,” said Ursu, who moved to Plymouth seven years ago. “English people have built me into a man, they have given everything to me. I feel part of England now and I feel the same as English people feel.
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“People here are more humble. When I came from Moldova, everyone tried to help me and it felt weird. I thought, ‘What do they want from me?’ But they didn’t want anything, they just wanted me to be successful in life. That was very strange and very weird for me in the beginning but now I understand. People from England want to help you for no reason.”
Ursu takes on Owen Cooper for the vacant British welterweight title in Derby tonight. He is in the process of applying for a UK passport having been convinced to move 3,000 miles west after the end of his amateur career. “My last fight before I left Moldova was at the World Championship; I thought I won but they gave me a loss,” he added. “I didn’t see the point of boxing anymore so I needed to think about what to do with my life.
“Then one of my friends who lived in Plymouth rang me and asked if I wanted to come to England to box. I said no but he kept ringing and asked me to come for a month. He knew my character and said there was nothing for me to do in Moldova. So I came over but for the first month I did nothing because I thought I would go back home. But I started to love Plymouth and my coach told me I could achieve big things.
“I had a good life in Moldova so I went from something to nothing in order to build a life for myself. I didn’t need to stay in England but then one month became seven years. I’m happy and grateful for everything I have achieved and fighting for a British title means a lot to me. Nobody gave this to me, I’ve earned it.”