sport news Andrew Selby on alcohol abuse and suicide attempts... and his hopes of a boxing ... trends now
From the backseat of his friend's car, Andrew Selby signposts several landmarks on the short drive between the chiming amusements of Barry Island and the grey walls of Queensberry Gymnasium.
He points out his new flat, and a Texaco garage around the corner from the gym. He bought a bottle of whisky there once. Not much use to the town's tourism board. For Selby, though, they represent critical stops on his journey into darkness and back towards the light.
It has been some fight and there are still tales the 33-year-old would prefer not to share. For nearly an hour, however, Selby speaks to Sportsmail with brutal honesty about all he has lost and all he has learned. About the drink, the self-harm, the suicide attempts, the grief. About the time he tried to drive off a cliff and the time he cut his throat while his sister watched.
Andrew Selby speaks to Sportsmail with brutal honesty about all he has lost and learned
'I want to say sorry to a lot of people,' says Selby. 'At the time, I thought I had it under control — I'd shadowbox drunk, saying, "I will go back to boxing". Now, I know how bad it was.'
The cold truth? 'I just felt like I weren't Andrew Selby no more.'
That Andrew Selby was one of the most gifted boxers this country has produced. As an amateur he travelled the world collecting medals. The Welshman fought alongside Anthony Joshua at London 2012. Selby can see now that a bomb was ticking by then.
Both he and brother Lee — the former featherweight champion — struggled with their sibling Michael's death in 2008. Then, in 2017, their mother Frankie suddenly passed away. Andrew was in treatment for self-harming when he found out.
That is when he visited that garage to buy that whisky and the wheels of destruction gathered pace. There have been false dawns but he has been sober since November 2020 and is back in the gym, preparing for his latest comeback.
'If I did (drink) now, I'd probably end up dying,' he concedes. Instead, the Welshman wants world titles and to provide for his young son, Kade. He hopes one day to host talks for others who are struggling. First, he must learn to keep himself on track.
'I don't have to prove anything to anyone else now,' says Selby. 'This is what's making me happy. So why change it?'
Selby (far right) was 23 when he boxed at the London Olympics alongside Anthony Joshua
Selby was the local celebrity whom people later treated like a beggar. 'I was in a hostel for two years,' he says. 'There were fights, arguments, drug busts. I was living on tinned food off food banks because I had no money.'
Now, having moved into his own place, the flyweight enjoys a healthier routine alongside his mentor, family friend Clayton Smith. 'We go charity shopping,' Selby smiles. 'Have a Greggs.' They train. And play chess.
Some routine at last to a professional career that has stuttered over the past seven years: 14 fights, one defeat, one premature retirement. A terrible shame, really. Before London 2012, Selby was world No 1, a precocious talent tipped for gold.
Instead he lost in the quarter-finals. A few hours earlier, he had been at the roulette table.
'I must have lost £8,000,' says Selby. And before long he was packing for home. 'The people who worked for the Olympics used to help you carry your bags. But as soon as I lost, not one person helped me.'
A harsh lesson he would learn again during his darkest days.
'I was down and out and no one wanted to know me,' he recalls. 'The mates I did have, I would have them down to my caravan, look after them because not many people have money in Barry. And then I was skint, crying because I had lost my mum. Not many
