alfie middlemiss

by sam rhodes

Finding the balance between his acting and boxing life; Alfie Middlemiss made his first mark in professional boxing after winning his debut on December 6th 2024.

Alfie the 21-year-old actor turned boxer has had the small screen in his family throughout his life.

“My family’s been in acting for a long time, and I started acting at a very young age doing quite a few different commercials, like the Morrisons advert, and I was in Emmerdale for a short stint.

“Then I wanted to focus on school and boxing came into my life straight after so at the moment I’m balancing the acting and the boxing but I’ve got a few parts coming up soon.

“I went over filming in Malta for a short stint, it was unbelievable, I went out there filming for a week for Madame Blanc; the scenery was fantastic and Joe Cordina was out there, a boxer as well, so I did some training with him – a total dream.”

Balancing his work, acting and boxing can be a challenge but Alfie sees the positives to his passion.

There are days he aches, wakes up with black eyes and may slightly question the path he has taken, but the love of the sport gets him through and his quick progression through boxing classes was no surprise.

“It was difficult at the time when you’re doing GCSEs to balance school and boxing but I think for your mental health, doing something like boxing is a massive relief, it was like a routine for me training in the mornings and doing schoolwork.

“At the start, I was working in the fitness group within the first few weeks, developed very quickly and took a keen interest in it straight away.

“I started sparring within the first two, three months, and I was in the adult class straight afterwards – I was fighting within five months of starting.

“It’s that old saying in boxing that the first time you get hit on the nose, you either love it or you hate it and I was the one who loved it: I’ve been lucky to touch wood that I’ve not had any major injuries only the occasional pulled muscle but I get a new shiner every week.

Only suffering a few losses in his amateur career so far, Alfie has seen this as an experience booster rather than a setback.

His competitive nature leads him into the gym and his routine after a loss rather than being too dejected as it is the amateur route where you gain priceless experience before turning professional.

“If you do something you love, you never work a day in your life but dedication is the hardest bit, whether you’re cutting weight or you’re in training camp, just staying on it with a diet, that’s definitely the hardest thing for me.

“The boxing is the priority for me as I’ve turned pro now, I’m training twice a day, doing the boxing in the morning and strength and conditioning at night but if any acting comes up in the meantime, I think it’s also great for the profile, and I love to do it so if anything comes up I’m definitely interested in doing it.

“The goal is to be a world champion.”

Despite his dad being heavily involved in his training and boxing, Alfie’s mum is supportive yet a worrier.

Turning into a different person ringside with her screaming and shouting, Alfie described her as one of his biggest supporters with a fond memory of her running her mouth ringside on his amateur debut at 14 years old.

With the professional debut coming up on Sky Sports he said: “The debuts coming up in November and I’ve been training all summer, I missed my 21st birthday for training so I just can’t wait to get in there and show them what I’m all about really.

“It’s the stuff of dreams as a kid you’re watching all these big fights on Sky, like Anthony Joshua or people like that, and it’s gonna be a weird, surreal experience when you’re actually in there yourself but I think I’ll take it all in a thrive and fight.

“I’m confident in my own ability, and I’m confident in the team – I’ve got a great team around me, and I think with all the experience that I’ve had as an amateur and also doing the acting as well as being in front of the spotlight, it’ll only stand me in good stead for fight night.”

Influenced by Anthony Joshua and Floyd Mayweather, Alfie takes little bits from each fighter and uses them in his own style so he believes he can switch up his boxing when necessary.

Not worried he gets acting work due to his dads name, Phillip Middlemiss, his confidence in both boxing and acting is unwavering.

Despite loving to play the villain, he doesn’t believe that his boxing will make him become a typecast character as he said: “A lot of roles I’m playing the wrongen, I played a bike thief in Doctors recently, but I don’t think it’s typecast as I think I can play a variety of different roles but it’s more fun playing the villain rather than being the good guy.

“(Rejection) I think it gets a lot of actors down, and I think it stops a lot of careers but it’s just part of the game – I think it’s part of life.

“You take these losses, and in the end you’ll find your way.”