He may have shot to fame as a winner of the X-Factor but Ashley Fongho is now causing a big stir in the boxing ring after claiming a shock victory – and he has no intention of stopping there.

The Rak-Su singer is still a novice in the increasingly high-profile sport of crossover boxing but on Saturday he stunned You Tube star King Kenny with a split decision victory to claim his first triumph in Misfits Boxing.

Reflecting on his success, Ashley told the Watford Observer: “My back was up against the wall and not a lot of people thought it was going to happen but we managed to get it done.”

His coach Luke Groves said: “He was a massive underdog, he was never meant to win and he went out there and totally outclassed him.

“We were grafting for 14 weeks in a fight camp and it was gruelling, all over London sparring in different clubs but he caused a massive upset and the whole You Tube world, social media world has gone crazy about it.”

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The musician was inspired to take up the sport when he was watching another Watford star, Anthony Joshua, winning a fight in the company of band-mate Myles Stephenson and Luke.

“The boys all laughed at me but Luke thankfully decided to give me some time and actually teach me how to fight,” Ashley said. “Then this crossover boxing world started to open up and we realised there was an opportunity to have some more fights. Seeing AJ’s path definitely sparked the fire.”

Crossover boxing – where names from fields including mixed martial arts and social media – ‘cross over’ to boxing has spiralled in popularity in recent years thanks to the likes of Jake and Logan Paul and KSI.

The Watford-born internet celebrity formed promotions company Misfits Boxing in 2021 and it is now the biggest platform in the sport, signing a five-year deal with global sports entertainment outfit DAZN in January which will see shows staged across the world.

Ashley was invited back by Misfits after fighting Anthony ‘Pretty Boy’ Taylor in October. Although he was knocked down inside three seconds, Ashley got through the rest of the fight to lose on a unanimous points decision.

The 2017 X-Factor winner admitted boxing had “almost turned into a full-time thing” since that fight but he is making it work alongside continuing to pursue his music career with Rak-Su.

Watford Observer: Ashley Fongho catches King Kenny with a left handAshley Fongho catches King Kenny with a left hand (Image: Misfits Boxing)

He said: “It’s become the primary focus because getting in there with ten ounce gloves on and no headguard is obviously a real risk. You’ve got to eat properly, you’ve got to sleep properly, you have to train properly, but otherwise they do quite well together because the hours I can kind of make up myself.

“Even now I’ve just left the boxing gym and I’m going to head to the studio, so that’s just become life - train in the morning and studio in the afternoon.”

Asked if he surprised himself in his new sporting venture, Ashley responded: “No to be completely honest, purely because I know how much work has gone into it.

“I know I’ve got a good coach so I trust what he’s taught me and I know that I will often be in the gym and will run until I’m lying on the floor and have got nothing left. I’m not surprised, I’m grateful but not surprised.

“I’d like to go as far as I can really. My mentality has always been – whether it be music, whether it be boxing, whether it be anything – in life if you have the opportunity to do something, great, you should take it, you should try and do it because not everybody has that opportunity and you never know when it’s going to come round again.

“I don’t know where my limit with this is and when I find it I’m sure I’ll know, but in the meantime keep going.”

Luke has been involved with South Oxhey Boxing Club since he was eight and is now one of its head coaches, having also established his own coaching brand L.G Boxing.

A former golfer who competed on the Alps Tour, he said: “It all started with Ashley and it’s just blossomed into this crazy world. We’ve got each other to thank really, but it’s more personal with him because he’s a friend and I want to see him do well and Saturday night was overwhelming.

“I went there knowing we were massive underdogs, but we ticked every box in the training camp, he was comfortable and he shone at the right time.”

Luke is training other crossover boxers including reality TV star Kori Sampson and football freestyler Andrew Henderson. He admits becoming involved has made life more “comfortable” and said: “The best way I can explain this world is it’s like real life WWE. It’s real entertainment. On Saturday night we had the first ever tag-team boxing fight. It was unbelievable. It’s like WWE, boxing and UFC all mixed in one.”

The 30-year-old is acutely aware there remains a lot of scepticism about crossover boxing - and admits his views have changed since becoming involved - but he believes this is largely due to a lack of understanding about what’s involved.

He said: “What I don’t think people understand is, yes, they’ve got their own day jobs and, yes, they build themselves up to be lucky enough to box on this platform, but they haven’t had it given to them.

"Like Ashley, he won X-Factor which again is a massive achievement, but they’re training twice a day, they’re full-time athletes. They’re going through the learning, the hard training camp, the strength and conditioning, the sparring, taking punches, that’s what people forget.

“I think people just think they just put a pair of gloves on, they get in the ring and have a fight and get paid for it, but they’re not. They’re really changing their lifestyle.

“I appreciate as well now the power of social media. It is such a big presence and what is amazing about this world is there’s so many characters. If everyone had a Tyson Fury in their sport they’d be flying. If every boxer had a bit of Tyson Fury’s DNA they’d be flying, but you get so many great boxers that are overlooked because of their personalities.

“They don’t know how to sell a ticket and that’s where the pro game is struggling and that’s why the crossover boxing game is always sold out. Pay per views, from arenas to stadiums, everything is sold out.

“One thing that did get me was I went to the KSI fight at Wembley Arena a few weeks ago when he fought Faze Temperrr. From the first bell there was not an empty seat in the house.

“You go to a professional boxing night, you’ve got maybe 200 people there at the first bell if you’re lucky. The new fighters walking out to absolutely no one. This place was absolutely rocking from 7pm to 10.30pm. It’s all faces. It’s influencers, it’s Tiktokkers, it’s Instagrammers.

“It’s a safer environment as well for kids and families to go and watch their favourite You Tube stars box than go and watch a real pro fight. Entertainment is definitely the right word.

“Being from a boxing background, I also understand how professionals coming through the ranks absolutely hate it. These guys are getting pay packets that pro fighters who have been boxing since they were eight years old could only wish for. I get that but if you can’t beat them, join them.

“But I never thought L.G Boxing would be doing this. If you’d have said to me would L.G Boxing be doing crossover boxing, I’d have said ‘no way, I wouldn’t do that rubbish’, but now I’m heavily involved with it, I’ve built great relationships with KSI, (his manager) Mams Taylor…they’ve got a show every month. Next month’s New Orleans, they’ve got Berlin, Ibiza, Texas, back in London, then Cardiff stadium. DAZN have supported it so well and they’ve just signed a five-year deal with them. It’s not going anywhere.”