Ringnews24.com: Did you ever have an amateur or professional career as a boxer before you became a coach, and what job did you have before coaching?
I did box as a schoolboy however i had to stop the sport very early as I had trouble with my head and sight so only had a few bouts, I was gutted as I live and breathe the sport, so I carried on training and settled for the next best thing which was coaching. I still sparred and to this day still spar you have to have been in that situation and had to of bouted to really understand what a fighter goes through. If you don’t know what it feels like how can you advise them
Ringnews24.com: How did you become a boxing coach, was it all ways something you dreamed of doing?
Well as i stated before health reasons were the reason i went into coaching at such a young age, but whatever would of happened i would of still ended up coaching. It really is my dream job, all my waking hours are spend thinking about boxing and training, I am new to the pro scene and i will hopefully and god willing in the future be known as one of the best coaches the country has to offer.
Ringnews24.com: What would you say is the hardest part of your job and the most awarding?
There is so many hard parts….Discipline is the hardest part, we have to put in as many hours if not more than the boxer does, its time away from the family and it really does take more time than people give us credit for. Its hard seeing your fighter who has looked so superb in the gym look completely flat on fight night for whatever reason, because you know at the back of your mind you know if he loses you will be blamed. Your fighter may not be doing the things that you tell him or may have cut corners behind your back but you still have to shoulder the blame. This is especially hard when some boxers change coaches more often than their underpants….. Most rewarding is seeing your fighter execute a plan to perfection, seeing them doing the things you have trained them to do, this is such a hard brutal sport and they are remarkable men and women who do it, so seeing them succeed is a delight. But also seeing your fighter grow as a person, you spend so much time with these people and grow so close so you get to see them grow, develop and mature and its nice to be a part of that.
Ringnews24.com: Is there anything particular as a coach that you try teach your fighters?
Firstly the importance of being fit, boxing is 90% fitness and 10% fighting. A fit average boxer beats a unfit good boxer everyday of the week. This sports takes your fitness to places you didn’t even know existed so you need to have it all in the tank. Secondly to believe in themselves confidence is a huge part of this game. As the saying goes “those who plan to fail, succeed” if a fighter goes into the ring feeling like he can lose, he will… we see it so often with the likes of Tyson where most of his opponents were already beat before they got into the ring. When all else is equal confidence is king. I try to make my fighters understand this
Ringnews24.com: Can you give us a insight to what a fighter has to go through leading up to a professional fight and how the training schedule changes leading up to a fight?
Well ever coach is different we all have our way which we think is best. When a fighter starts camp i start with base fitness, getting the lungs used to being put under intense pressure and getting the muscles in the arms and legs used to be pushed to breaking point from there i bring in technical stuff, start to formula a game plan and building overall strength. You have to get the balance right push them to hard and they will leave it all in the gym. Not push them hard enough and they wont perform so its a juggling act. Within that obviously you bring in sparring i only bring sparring in during camp i don’t allow any of my fighter to just spar when they are ticking over, they are taking blows to the head and i don’t care what anyone says will have an effect on them later on in life, however you cant do without it so during camp they spar as its as close to the real thing as you can get.
Ringnews24.com: We have saw many different variations of padword, from Ricky Hatton’s high work rate and power shots on the pads to Floyd Mayweather’s fast and soft combinations of the pads, What way do you teach your fighters on the pads and who’s padwork do you rate higher Hatton and Mayweathers?.
Well i think they each have their own place. Believe it or not not sure how many know this, Mayweather only ever used that fast – soft combinations as a warm up and for media workouts he also did other pads as well. I used them both in the same way sometimes we will do fast and light combinations with lots of movement other times we do more hard – higher work rate stuff, pads are so versatile they are my most important piece of kit. They can be used for so many things…. i would rather have pads than a heavy bag if i was forced to choose.
Ringnews24.com: You have worked beside the likes of Ricky and Matthew Hatton, Michael Gomez, Tony Jefferies to name a few, how much has that experience helped you in your coaching career?
Well actually i haven’t worked with them directly, I have worked alongside Bobby Rimmer who has coached all of them and has been my mentor really and probably one of my most trusted friends. Bobby has worked with so many top fighters and been involved in 15 world title fights, there is nothing he hasn’t seen in a boxing ring. So his knowledge has been invaluable to me. But then i have had experienced some of the finest coaches around Spencer Oliver, Lee Beard, Don Charles, Jim Evans plus i talk to people like Dean Powell a lot, these guys have seen it all and it would be silly of me to not take on some of the things they say. I am like i sponge i listen to everyone take it all in make notes, apply them and see what works… you have to remember the same things don’t always work for different fighters….knowledge is power
Ringnews24.com: You have a good prospect in Luke Fowler, what do you hope to achieve with Luke in 2012 and how fast do you think he will be ready for a British Title shot?
The boy is talented i can tell you that and is only starting out he had a good ABA career but his style is more suited to the pros, Hes only young (18) and is your classic box / puncher. I have had him since he was 11 years old so i have seen him grow from a boy to a man. I don’t like looking to far ahead as i think that is one of the sins of boxing where people over look fighters. He debuts on 18th September 2011 at York Hall, Bethnal Green on a Miranda Carter (left jab promotions) show so he is really only just cutting his teeth at the sport, so i don’t want to get too ahead of myself….maybe i can answer that question better in 12 months time
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