Carl Fail: Light-middleweight's toughest critic is his twin brother

It is perhaps not the most propitious surname when chasing success in sport.

For light-middleweight boxer Carl Fail, though, there is no doubt about his focus and determination to make it to the top.

The 26-year-old from Northampton has a 10-0 record and if he is ever tempted to slacken the pace and take it easy, he can expect to be quickly put in his place by twin brother Ben, also a professional - and also unbeaten.

"Me and Ben talk about this a lot. We're each other's hardest critic," Carl told BBC Radio Northampton prior to his latest fight, a points win over Angel Emilov at York Hall in Bethnal Green.

"If he's having a bad day, I make sure I pull him back and he does the same for me.

"We never drift too far. Where other people probably get the opportunity to do what they want for a little too long, he's on my back - we don't let each other off lightly."

Carl was a high-class amateur, winning the ABA welterweight title in 2016 and a European silver medal two years later before he and Ben both turned pro in 2020.

He had to wait until March 2021 for his first pro contest, a points win over Jordan Dujon, and since then has been determined to keep busy, with four fights in the last 11 months.

"I'm looking to have at least one more before the end of the year," Carl said.

"Although we're experienced and have done a lot, every fight is an opportunity to learn and build as a professional.

"Every time I leave that ring, I'll have learned something, whether it's positioning, certain offences or defences, it's a chance to build and get better."

Both brothers stand around 6ft 1ins, tall for a light-middleweight, but don't have weight issues.

He said: "We're big for the weight, but we're professional athletes, we don't cheat, we train all year round and stick to our diet, we don't balloon up in weight, so it's never that hard for us.

"This is our life, this ain't a hobby, it's not something we take half-hearted, me and my brother are 100% in, it doesn't matter where we are in the world, every chance we get we'll train.

"Obviously we're not perfect, we have our treats as well but we don't drink, we're 100% committed to this lifestyle."

There is a strong boxing scene around Northampton at present, with the Fail brothers and local middleweight Kieron Bradley drawing inspiration from Chantelle Cameron, who outpointed Ireland's previously undefeated Katie Taylor in Dublin in May to retain her undisputed world light-welterweight title.

The pair will meet again in the Irish capital on 25 November.

"Chantelle Cameron is definitely leading the way - she showed how it's done by beating Katie Taylor and I think she's in talks about fighting in Northampton next year hopefully," Carl added.

"If that comes through, me and Kieron aren't too far off each other and I would take that fight in a heartbeat if there's a big show in Northampton. He's only the weight above me and that would make sense."