If you’re interested in enjoying Olly Murs’ greatest hits, you’re better off doing it outside the boxing ring.
The 40-year-old singer-songwriter took up the sport and shared his pride in learning the craft from scratch.
He has been training with veteran boxing coach Dave Coldwell, who revealed his amazement at the star’s strength and ability during a four-day training period.
Murs joined Coldwell’s gym in Rotherham to maintain his sharp physique while he was in Sheffield and Leeds for shows supporting Take That.
“We had a great few days in the gym with Olly,” said Dave. ‘He can sing, dance, work on TV and play football and it turns out he can do a bit of boxing too… that makes you sick!
Olly Murs has taken up the sport and shared his pride in learning the trade from scratch and training alongside Dave Coldwell
‘The man can punch! He swapped the dancing shoes and microphone for boxing boots and gloves between supporting Take That on their tour. The boy did well.’
Meanwhile, Olly met iconic boxer Ricky Hatton for a sparring session last week and shared a hilarious clip of the pair training – before the singer was swept away.
‘Ricky “Hit me” Hatton’, the clip read, which showed Olly landing a few punches on Ricky’s pads before the professional landed a final massive punch, knocking the X Factor star to the ground.
Olly, who is married to bodybuilder Amelia, 31, took to Instagram in April to talk about his boxing journey.
He wrote: ‘Normally I don’t post anything boxing related but after doing it for 18 months and learning the basics I actually watched a video [of himself training] and for the first time, I liked what I saw.
‘It’s been a tough job! So f*** it, I’m posting it! Learning to box from scratch is hard work.
‘I’ve been consistent and Amelia will tell you all, “I’m one of those guys now” everywhere I go I try to improve shadowboxing!’
Olly gave a ‘big shout out’ to his friend Commonwealth Superwelterweight Champion Sam Gilley, RJ’s boxing gym and ex-Team GB boxer Harvey Horn for helping him on his journey.
Olly has been training with experienced boxing coach Dave, who revealed his amazement at the star’s strength and ability during a four-day training period
“We had a great few days in the gym with Olly,” said Dave. ‘He can sing, dance, work on TV and play football and it turns out he can also box a bit… that makes you sick!’
Meanwhile, Olly met iconic boxer Ricky Hatton for a sparring session last week and shared a hilarious clip of the pairs training – before the singer is swept away
‘Ricky “Hit me” Hatton’, the caption read, showing Olly landing a few punches on Ricky’s pads before the professional landed a final massive punch, knocking the X Factor star to the ground
Olly, who is married to bodybuilder Amelia, 31, took to Instagram in April to talk about his boxing journey
He continued with the training with Dave and said: ‘[It] was nothing short of amazing!
“I learned so much from him and I have plenty to work on (I’ll be back to see you). But if you are thinking of taking up a martial art, take it seriously, be patient, be consistent and you will see results.”
Wanting to give his followers some advice, Olly added: ‘If you’re thinking of taking up a martial art, take it seriously, be patient, be consistent and you will see results.’
The star, who comes from a semi-professional football background, said he now has ‘100 per cent the passion for boxing, I love it.’ The sparring and bumping of the heavy bags relieves his stress, he said.
The singer rewarded coach Dave and his family with tickets to his performance in Sheffield. Dave described it as a ‘brilliant night out.’
It comes after Olly celebrated his 40th birthday on Tuesday and paid a special tribute to his newborn daughter Madison at the milestone.
The singer shared an adorable photo of himself cradling and kissing the one-month-old baby, and admitted: “The only gift I wanted for my 40th was to be a daddy and here you are xx love you Madi.”
Olly celebrated his 40th birthday on Tuesday and paid a special tribute to his newborn daughter Madison to mark the milestone
The X Factor star enjoyed endless parties all day long as he was surprised by family, friends and crew as he supported Take That as a special guest on their This Life tour
Greggs took the opportunity to wow him with a truly unique Sausage, Bean & Cheese Melt cake
During the day, the X Factor alum was surprised by his family, friends and stage crew as he supported Take That as a special guest on their This Life tour.
Olly and the nineties favorites performed at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham on Tuesday, and when he appeared backstage earlier he found a pleasant surprise.
The red velvet sponge cake It was almost a meter long and contained no less than two kilos of cherries in kirsch liqueur, three kilos of ganache and eight kilos of buttercream.
The giant surprise item arrived in a custom box with the slogan ‘Turning 40? Piece of Cake’ and inside wished Olly a ‘Happy Sausagey Beany 40th birthday’, complete with a bow on top.
Onwards Gregg created hidden drawers within the custom cake box containing 12 freshly baked Sausage, Bean & Cheese Melts, ready to share among the crew and backstage guests – as the star is a big fan of the ‘real deal’.