Bobby Vanzie: "No regrets at all"

[shaunundisputed]

By Michael J Jones of Undisputed Fight Magazine

I RECENTLY had the chance to speak to former British and Commonwealth lightweight champion Bobby “The Viper” Vanzie. Bradford’s Vanzie was a terrific fighter at his best and a formidable force at British title level. Blessed with fast hands and feet, the Naseem Hamed-like southpaw could box well but also slug it out when he had to, scoring many off-the-floor victories. Alas Vanzie’s promising career was riddled with misfortune, unable to secure a fight with any of the other leading UK lightweights; the gifted Yorkshireman suffered a series of controversial points losses leading to his retirement in 2004 at just 30 years-of-age.

The flashy, confident former champion retired with a solid 26-5-1 (12) record, voicing his many frustrations with the sport. Vanzie turned to religion, becoming a Jehovah’s Witness and cleared out all of his hard-earned boxing belts and trophies.

Now some 90lbs over his old fighting weight, but still in good shape, Bobby’s bitterness at the sport has eased over time but he had some powerful words to share regarding his boxing career.

Here’s what he had to say.

1) Going right back to the beginning, how did you first get involved in boxing?

BV) I first got involved after being bullied in school; I think a lot of other fighters started the same way. I was living in a rough area and you needed to fight to earn respect. I got taken down to the gym in Bradford called the Karmand Centre.

I started fighting amateur; I guess the fighter most well-known I fought was Junior Witter. We fought three times; the first was a no contest, the second he won a majority decision and I won the third by unanimous decision. He’s obviously from Bradford too and we always said we’d fight again as pro’s but it never happened.

It was always hard to get fights as an amateur because I was a southpaw and back then, I was known for being a banger.

2) After turning pro’ you built up and unbeaten record, won the Central Area title before dethroning Manchester’s Wayne Rigby for the British lightweight title. Rigby was strong, durable and very fit, yet you took him apart becoming the first to stop him. Were you surprised how easy that fight turned out for you?

BV) No, not at all because we knew I’d put in all the hard work in the gym. I was ready for 24 rounds in there. I said after the fight “they could have put Mike Tyson in there I was that ready”. We knew he was strong but as you could see in the fight, everything we’d worked on; footwork, angles and going to the body, everything came off like we planned.

3) You added the Commonwealth title the year after before facing unbeaten Steven Smith for both belts in a hugely controversial fight. The controversy continued after the fight, he insisted you should have been disqualified for low-blows. Did his many supporters make you lose your game-plan before you stopped him in the ninth?

BV) I wasn’t myself at all the first six rounds. We’d had a feud going on for about a year before we fought, so there was a lot of tension going in. He settled before me in that fight where-as I was pent-up in those early rounds. He knew I was struggling with making weight, so I think his plan was to burn me out, set a fast pace and wait for me to tire. The turning point was when my trainer Godfrey Brown told me to start whacking him downstairs; as soon as I started going to the body the whole fight changed. I’d trained meticulously so instead of me tiring Smith’s plan back-fired and he ended up gassing out in the ninth.

4) Did the negative aftermath surprise you; Smith made many public comments about your alleged illegal tactics?

BV) The thing about Steven Smith was he had good PR relations; it did surprise me when he had an article printed in “The Sun”. He said I wasn’t a “true champion” and that I’d only won by fouling but it’s the body-shots that did him not low-blows. I don’t think he was ready for that fight; they’d built up his record against nobody’s out in Germany, when he got in with me he couldn’t handle himself. It was the same when he fought Ricky Hatton; he got destroyed. When you’re a fighter it’s nice when you can fight pretty and stay away but when you’re in a tough fight and your back is against the wall; that’s when you prove your fighter’s heart. Smith was just a mummy’s boy; a pretty boy. He couldn’t gut it out when push came to shove.

5) You suffered your first loss the year after when you lost your commonwealth belt to unbeaten African James Armah. Some had Armah ahead, some scored for you, how sure were you that you had gotten the decision?

BV) Well I’ve always thought 100% that having the referee judging the fight was wrong (on their own whilst controlling a fight). The ref’ that night was Mickey Vann and we hated each other (Vann scored to Armah by a single point). I think he just thought “if it goes the distance I’ll give it to the other guy”. There’s always people you get on with and others you never will, and me and Mickey couldn’t stand each other. Some saw me as cocky and arrogant but that was just my confidence in my abilities; I felt if I didn’t stick up for myself, nobody else would.

6) In May 2001 you fought 16-0 puncher Steve Murray, coming off the floor twice in the first to stop him in the seventh. That was some comeback that night?

BV) Yeah but honestly we weren’t shocked in that fight. I had the best trainer in Britain in Godfrey Brown who made sure he studied the fighters before I fought them. He said to me before the fight “you may get knocked down in this fight, but you’ll get back up and win because of your fitness”. We knew Steve only fought one way; coming forward and try and land that big left-hook. He was better inside but I knew my arsenal was superior to his. In the fight, yes he had me down, but afterwards it was all me. I boxed him at range, fought off the ropes, landed big punches, tied him up and turned him when he got too close and ended up winning easily.

7) After beating durable veteran Anthony Maynard in 70 seconds in a British title defence you said you were going to vacate to move up a level. The statement was quickly retracted by your team. Was there a rift behind the scenes with yourself and your team?

BV) What I actually said was “it’s time to see what my manager could do for me”. I’d been at British title level too long, I’d called out all of the other names in the UK; Billy Schwer, Michael Ayers, Colin Dunne etc. None of them wanted to fight me. I even said I’d fight them winner-takes-all at one point but it fell on deaf-ears. There was a rift but it wasn’t with my trainer or Jack Doughty but with Tommy Gilmour (Doughty and Gilmour both co-managed Bobby). I just felt I wasn’t being moved along quickly enough, getting the opportunities I should have.

8) In 2002, a European title shot fell through and you never had another big fight until the year after when you fought Yuri Romanov for the WBO Inter-continental lightweight title. Romanov had beaten Murray but was only 11-1 at the time, did you underestimate him a little going in?

BV) No, what you have to understand is my biggest battle, biggest fight, was always with the scales. That was the worst weight-making I’d ever done. I wasn’t like Ricky Hatton, couldn’t afford a nutritionalist. I was old-school; if I wanted to shed the last few lbs I’d put my sweat-suit on and run it off. I never replaced lost fluids; I had nothing left at the weigh-in. I was only 9st 9lbs for a split-second at the weigh-in. It was the craziest weight-making I’d ever done; I even was spitting out saliva to get weight off. Maybe I underestimated him in the way that I left getting the final few lbs off far too late. Honestly though, my eight-year-old daughter could have dropped me in that fight.

9) Lets talk about the two fights you had with Graham Earl, both closely-contested points losses for the British title. A lot of people think you won both fights?

BV) I know I won both those fights. Hands down I won them. The second fight was closer than the first. The first fight was all Bobby Vanzie, I sat down to watch ‘Ringside’ (sky boxing show) and they couldn’t find any clean punches from Earl to show. I think he landed a right-hand in something like the eleventh and that was it. There was serious uproar after those fights; it wasn’t just me I had phone-calls, text messages from many people saying I’d been ripped-off. The internet message boards were all jammed with fans and boxing people absolutely disgusted with the decisions. They were even angrier than me!

The second fight was only closer because I’d gotten to the ring so late; they made sure of that, that I didn’t win.

I really felt ‘lady luck’ had deserted me by this time. My trainer had left me, no dispute or anything, he just had to go. Godfrey left after the Anthony Maynard fight to concentrate on his life, bringing up his kids and that. He didn’t want to go but he knew he could no longer give me 100%, which, he knew I needed from him. It was never the same after with Maurice Core. He had different ways of training me and the dynamics I had with Godfrey weren’t there any more.

Graham Earl never beat me, the system did. I saw it like Terry O’ Conner (scoring ref’ in the second Earl fight) took the food out of my children’s mouths by denying me (the victory).

10) You left boxing under a cloud; losing to Dave Stewart. The fight was cut from four rounds to eight at late notice and he beat you by a single point. You walked away aged just 30-years-old. Any regrets about leaving the sport at that time?

BV) No regrets at all. The Stewart bout was a total p**s-take but that wasn’t the reason I walked away from boxing. I became a Jehovah’s Witness, a religion that condones any form of violence. I saw it that continuing to be a boxer was making me a hypocrite. I didn’t want to be reminded of my boxing career, so all my belts went on e-bay. All of my amateur trophies went in the skip. That may shock some people but it’s my memories that are precious not the trophies. I live a simple life, have simple needs, I don’t need trophies and belts around me. It doesn’t bother me that I purged myself of boxing. I still follow it and am very proud of what I achieved.

11) Four of your five losses were by the narrowest margins in fights many had you winning. How different do you think your career could have been if you hadn’t have lost those fights?

BV) Oh, it would have been a lot different. The only fight I genuinely lost was to Romanov (stopped in the eighth). One thing I regret was leaving Tommy Gilmour when I did. A European title fight was close to being made but kept falling through. I signed with allegedly who paid to finish my contract with Gilmour. I never fought for the European title.

12) You had the flair and the tools to be a massive star in boxing, yet you never went above British and commonwealth level. How frustrating is that for you?

BV) Very, extremely frustrating. I used to cry a lot about it. I struggled with a few guys just because they shouldn’t have been allowed to fight me. I kind of fought to their level and under-performed. If I’d been in with world-class opponents I’m certain I would have raised my game and done well. I used to look at guys like Shane Mosley, and later Stevie Johnston, and dream about fighting them on a big bill. I never got anywhere near a fight like that.

We could have had a great set of domestic fights with me and the other guys like Dunne, but they point blank refused to fight me. If I could have beaten one of those guys or won the European title, I could have got to the world stage and been in a much better position. I’m over it now but it took a long time to get over (not reaching world class).

13) Let’s say we go back to your prime and in one year you take on Dunne, Ayers and Schwer one after the other. How would you see those fights going if they’d have happened?

BV) Colin Dunne would have been the trickiest of the lot. He was pretty quick but I would have won on points I’m certain. Ayers liked to stand and trade so I would have been more in ‘fight mode’ in that fight. He really was scared to face me. I think him being more a fighter would have played into my hands and I would have stopped him in the middle-to-late rounds. Billy Schwer would have been a close fight, he threw a lot of punches but I would have worn him down. I’d have stopped him by the tenth round, similar fight to the Steven Smith fight.

14) Were you ever tempted to come back?

BV) No. Actually, yes just once. I went into a gym and started hitting the bag and I was like “Wow I’ve still got it”. My footwork and accuracy were all still there so I thought about coming back and fighting at light-welterweight. I always say I should have moved up from lightweight a lot sooner, I killed myself making lightweight for years. Anyway I realised it would be a mistake. Once I decide something I’m a 100% out. I do feel sorry for fighters who are forced to quit boxing, that must be a bit harder than walking away by your own decision. All fighters struggle when they leave boxing but some take it harder than others.

15) You’ve been out of the ring for seven years; what have you been working on in that time?

BV) I stayed in boxing for a while doing commentary. I worked for the BBC when Audley Harrison was first on the scene, then I worked with Sky Sports before moving to Radio Five live. Eventually I felt it still wasn’t right being involved that closely with boxing so I stopped commentating.

Being a Jehovah’s Witness, we don’t pray in Churches, we call them Kingdom Halls. Anyway one day one of the other followers came in and did a deal where I bought £6000 worth of window-cleaning equipment. I had some money saved so I bought it all and set up my own business. It’s a bit humbling going from boxing to window cleaning but it’s a good earner. Boxing paid more but if you didn’t get the fights, you always went short (of money). I love working for myself, my wife also works as a therapist so we do ok, live comfortably. I do some modelling also.

Life is good for me right now, I’m not bitter anymore about boxing; I’m in a good place.

[ThereByTheGrace]

Great post thanks for this. Bobby Vanzie was a great fighter and was unlucky with matchmaking and timing - 2 of the most important things a tricky, slick fighter who is well avoided needs.

Mucho respecto Mr Vanzie and glad to see that life is good#1

[black panther]

Robbed twice against Earl, Vanzie really did get it rough. Also being matched with Romanov as well, that would have a hard night's work even at the best of times. He was down 5 times in that fight, I thought he wasn't quite right when watching him. He just seem to have anything on his punches and couldn't keep Romanov off him. Whereas usually his punches were pretty spiteful.. Glad to see he is doing well in retirement. Best of luck with the future Bobby, top fighter!

[pyenest77]

Seen Bobby a few times back in the day & I have to say he was one of the who needs him club. Good fighter quick & very unorthodox.

[housesecond]

Nice work. Always liked Bobby, he got the short end of the stick lots of times. Robbed blind in the Earl fights. I was at the Murray fight and it was one of the most hostile I've ever been to. I saw him a few weeks after the Murray fight, I told him I'd been stood on my chair screaming for him, he said, 'You're a very brave man'.

[Terminator666]

Surely can't be 90 pounds over his old fighting weight and "in good shape" as stated at the beginning? That would make him over 16 stones.

[Coco]

I fought Murray and he had a double hostile crowd, even had one of his fans try and have a pop on the way out of the ring, Vanzie did a proper number on him after suffering real heavy knockdowns, that Murray hit like a horse, I would have given him more money for his belts, he almost give them away.

[liamlion]

Great little read that mate

Always liked Vanzie, i used to think of him as a bit of a poor man Naseem's Hamed what with his style and swagger. I remember him coming back really well against Steve Murray from such a horrific start and also being massively robbed against Earl twice.

[oliverfennell]

Surely can't be 90 pounds over his old fighting weight and "in good shape" as stated at the beginning? That would make him over 16 stones.

I thought the same, but the actual page that the interview is on has a pic of him looking thick-set but otherwise healthy. The stated weight might be an exaggeration, though. He didn't quite look like a heavyweight.

[DavidPayne]

Surely can't be 90 pounds over his old fighting weight and "in good shape" as stated at the beginning? That would make him over 16 stones.

I thought the same, but the actual page that the interview is on has a pic of him looking thick-set but otherwise healthy. The stated weight might be an exaggeration, though. He didn't quite look like a heavyweight.

I'm still in touch with Bobby from time to time, he got into body building after boxing, he's a heavy set lad now - now to be found around the night-spots of Hull, Bradford...when he's not running his business.

He's the guy I interviewed first both on the phone and in person.

Lovely fella.

And robbed against Earl, ugly stain on British boxing, especially the first fight.

[housesecond]

Link to the pictures??
Not seen him for ages.

[DavidPayne]

He's back on facebook.

[bad mamma jamma]

good article, i found the website this is on, he's a big bugger now. i am married to a JW and whilst i dont agree to some of the stuff they believe in, they have a good community spirit and always help each other. by the way i am a non-believer, not an antheist as such, so u can imagine some of the conversations I have with her

bobby was entertaining to watch and was proper robbed vs earl. wasted talent

[Jackjackson]

Nice to hear he is doing well and life is treating him well I remember him from daughtys Gym I trained there as well