Former Wolves winger Adam Hammill swaps boots for boxing gloves - teaming up with ex-Molineux keeper

Adam Hammill is a man on a mission.  A boxing mission. And it’s not just about the charity bout he is taking part in as part of ‘A Night To Remember II’, being organised by former Wolves goalkeeper Graham Stack and Pro Project Promotions.

A night which, incidentally, will also feature fights for Hammill’s former Wolves team-mates Carl Ikeme and Chris Iwelumo.

For Hammill, a lifelong Liverpool fan and Academy graduate whose taste of the Premier League came with Wolves, heading into the ring is about far more than how well he boxes and raising some valuable funds for charity.  It is about finding a focus and a purpose.

“I think it can be very difficult when you finish playing football, and you lose that structure,” he explains.

“For me it was about dropping the kids at nursery at school, then having a few hours where I didn’t really know what to do with myself, and very quickly that can take hold.

“We are looked after as footballers so well – like babies almost.  If you need anything, from a pair of socks onwards, you just ask, and it is there!

“But then you lose all the structure and team environment at the end of your career and before you know it you feel lost.

“That has happened to me, I always struggle without a structure, and maybe ended up going for a beer at the weekend and then before I knew it, I was out on a Sunday.

“And that gym session I was going to do on a Monday has gone back to a Wednesday, and I just got complacent with everything.

“When I got the call from Stacky about this boxing, it coincided with a time when I had just started getting myself into shape, had started dieting and was back in the gym regularly.

“I really think that when you start doing things right and living your life properly then everything falls into place and opportunities come along and it felt like this was meant to be.

“It’s given me a purpose again, and a sense of pride, and the chance to show that with a bit of hard work and dedication you can achieve something.

“I’m not going to go into the ring and be like Rocky Marciano or anything like that but it’s all for a bigger purpose and to support two great charities.

“Even as footballers, we have lows, and it is so important to have a target to drive towards and for me, this night and whole experience is going to be nothing but positive.”

It feels like Hammill, now 38, is in a very good place in all respects at the moment.   He has always been a confident character, and a very articulate speaker. But as he himself recognises, at times during his career, could perhaps have been a bit more diligent. And worked a bit harder.

His two-and-a-half years at Molineux, albeit punctuated with effectively 12 months away on loans with Middlesbrough and Huddersfield, perhaps epitomised all of the above.

He arrived midway through the 2010/11 season, signed by boss Mick McCarthy as an exciting wing talent who had already notched eight goals in half a campaign in the Championship with Barnsley.

In all he would make 27 appearances, many from the bench, of which 19 were in the Premier League.   But at a time when Wolves were very much batting above their average in the division, a couple of seasons reasonably successfully, it was difficult for the more creative players to make an impression.

“The Premier League is very different to the Championship and always has been,” Hammill explains.

“I’d had some great times at Barnsley, where I’d previously been on loan, particularly under Mark Robins who was one of the best managers I ever worked under.

“He gave me the freedom to go and enjoy myself and make a positive impact where I could, and had players around me to get me the ball and told me to get into the opposition half.

“In the Championship you can get away with that, but then you go into the Premier League, with Wolves battling away, and you have to be an elite level player to get away with not working as hard as everyone else on the pitch.

“I understand all that, and how demanding Mick was in wanting discipline, and he was always a very honest manager which is what players want.

“When I look back, I thought I could have had a little bit more game time, and sometimes didn’t have as many opportunities as other players.

“And there were certain games I thought I did well, often against the more footballing teams where there was more time on the ball, and it wasn’t so much of a grind.

“It was probably a little too soon for me to go to Wolves, I wasn’t very mature at the time, infact I was immature.