Jonathan Oakey

Jonathan 'JayJay' Oakey
Statistics
Real name	Jonathan Joseph Oakey
Nickname(s)	JayJay
Rated at	Light Heavyweight
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Nationality	British
Stance	Southpaw
Boxing record
Total fights	8
Wins	7
Wins by KO	5
Losses	0
Draws	1

Jonathan 'JayJay' Oakey is a British professional boxer who competed within the British Army and is now reported to work in the private security industry. With a no-loss record Oakey rapidly gained publicity within the sport, supported by the British Army through trials for the Olympics.^[1]

Oakey, who is a relative of professional rugby player and ex-England coach Ellery Hanley (MBE), is mostly known for his quick classification change in the sport, after beginning his professional career at Light Welterweight and then quickly building up to compete at a Light Heavyweight classification by 2010. Whilst reportedly serving in the British Army.^[2]

In 2009 he was accepted in the regional pre-selection trials for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, but a shoulder injury forced Oakey to withdraw from further trials.^[3]

Having a competitive record of 7 professional wins (including 4 KOs and 1 TKO) and no losses, Jonathan caught the attention of Lonsdale and Adidas,^[4] who were working with academies to find young talents within the sport.

Training

Oakey trained with multiple boxing academies around the UK and has trained in gyms such as Sharkey's in Leeds and Victors Arena in Sheffield. Seemingly the British Army encouraged Oakey to continue with the sport whilst serving, which is where he gained his first professional contract.^[5] Jonathan also trained under Joe Gallagher for a short time, who has trained other young professional boxers such as Danny Randall,^[6] Liam Cullen, Hosea Burton and Zak Burton. Gallagher also trained established professionals Michael Holden (former British Heavyweight Champion) and European middleweight champion Matthew Macklin.

In 2011 publications it was revealed that Oakey had an interest in martial arts including Karate, Thai boxing and Krav Maga, it was also noted that at a younger age Oakey spent a short time playing for an amateur Leeds rugby league club.^[7]

TV appearances

In 2007 Oakey became part of a selection of short clips sponsored by and broadcast through the BBC,^[8] one of which won a short film youth award.^[9] Oakey has been a feature of various sport-related local and national articles^[10] and at age 7, a picture of Oakey at Scarborough beach was published in a magazine, submitted by a family member.^[11]

History

As a teenager, Oakey was a member of the Army Cadet Force and went on to join the Parachute Regiment under a fast-track Short Service Reserve Engagement contract before transferring to the Royal Military Police. At this time, reports point to Oakey still having association with the British Army.^[12]

References