PHIL FODEN is helping best pal and childhood fishing rival Niall Brown punch above his weight in the boxing ring.
The Manchester City and England superstar grew up with the 27-year-old super-middleweight in Stockport.
Niall Brown with childhood friend Phil Foden[/caption]
The two remain close to this day[/caption]
Foden even sponsors the boxer[/caption]
And, although a couple of school years apart, they bonded over a love of angling and camping around the local reservoir and Peak District.
The 25-year-old left-foot wizard was snapped up by City at just four years old, privately educated by the Abu Dhabi billionaires and currently earns around £225,000.
But the working-class lad still prefers maggots to millions, carp over cash and roach over riches.
And he has now cast his rod into boxing by sponsoring his mate’s training camps and helping him rise from small-hall shows in Eccles, Oldham and Bolton, to a Manchester Arena break-out on July 5.
“We’ve been friends forever,” Brown told SunSport with genuine affection.
“So he has always seen the sort of dedication I have and, for the last couple of years, he’s just been helping me and looking after me, sponsoring me and stuff.
“I massively appreciate it. It’s mint that he’s in a position to be able to do that for me because he’s just a normal lad.
“We played footy, liked going fishing, everything we liked to do back then, we still do now, but it has to be a bit more ‘behind-closed-doors’”.
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It’s clear – and thoroughly decent – to feel that Brown is cautious of speaking about his high-profile pal to a reporter he has never met.
But he’s ruthless when asked which of the super-talented Stopfordians is the biggest hit with a fish hook, instead of a right hook.
“If I have to be honest,” he grinned. “It’s him. But If I gave it a bit more time, it would be me! But Phil is just fishing crazy, fishing crazy.
“And he gives it everything, like you said, he’s not out, falling out of nightclubs.
“If he’s doing something, it’s probably fishing, which is not detrimental to his sport.
“And, like you said, he’s a good lad, he’s just a normal lad who happens to have millions of cameras on him.”
Foden has been headline news since 2017, when stole the show at the under-17 World Cup, scoring twice in the final against red-hot favourites Spain and running away with the player-of-the-tournament prize.
His skyrocketing to mainstream attention and Pep Guardiola’s first team appeared to be down to his wand of a left, his versatility in attack and his quiet dedication to his craft.
But former Thai-boxer Brown jokes it might have been more to do with a few kicks, elbows and knees he threw around just before his big break.
The two bond over dinner and fishing[/caption]
When asked if their sporting worlds and disciplines have ever crossed, Brown revealed: “I could have taken credit a few years ago actually.
“When he was in the England under-17s that won the World Cup. Because he actually did come down to my old gym and did a bit of training just before they went.
“Since then though he’s been down to my Collyhurst and Moston boxing gym, but just to see the kids in the gym and sign some stuff for them.”
In a sport built on hype and bragging – and increasingly contaminated by fake friendships and feuds – Brown could boost his own profile and pulling-power on Foden’s name.
Instead he admits that such commitment to two demanding sports keeps the boys apart much more than they would like.
And he still manages a second to express how proud he is of his little pal.
“As we’ve got older and can drive now, we sometimes go night fishing or out for food.
“But it’s rare that we see each other these days, because usually one of us has training or I am on a diet to make weight.
“We both understand it, because we are just both doing our best. And it’s great to see how well he is doing for himself.”
- Niall Brown is also proudly sponsored by A2Z Skip Hire, PL infrastructure, Blume, Morson group, IGD Sports, Income after sports and Fight Division.
Brown is super proud of his superstar pal[/caption]
