Gym fighters

[jonp]

Dee Mitchell was unreal in sparring anybody who watched him thought British title minimum.Just couldn't do it with the bright lights on..
He got paid to spar by some of the top names up and down the country and gave them all enough that he was asked back many times.
Sparring included Macklin,Frankie Gavin,Matty Hall,Ryan Rhodes,Groves,Young Muttley,Prince Arron and many others.

[jonp]

Settled in Manchester got a barbers and raising a family pops down to a show every now and then.Hes happy in life

[Boxingcutsman]

Yh Dee Mitchell was great in the gym, and even in fights you could see his capability at times and it was like he just would go back in to move around zone, one of the nicest fellas you could ever meet aswell, couldn’t speak high enough of him.

I’ve has a couple of lads myself that was absolutely phenomenal in the gym, probably the best and one that sticks out by far was Chris Keane, the kid was so humble, quiet, polite and extremely talented, a genuine nice lad, but was sickeningly unlucky and marred with terrible bad luck to an crazy amount unfortunately, but a absolute beast in sparring and looked world class genuinely, plenty of trainers, mangers, boxers and Sparring partners like the list of just a few below that can vouch for him inc : Mike Perez, Andy Lee, Dillian Whyte, Tyson Fury, Hughie Fury, Michael Sprott, Tony Bellew, Nathan cleverly, Eddie Chambers, Derek Chisora, plus many more top fighters he sparred, was never out his depth with any of them and without going into too much detail or speaking out of turn showed some of them up at times and on more than one occasion, but then in fights would either turn up the same beast and March through lads quick or just not turn up at all and was like he couldn’t be bothered to even be there or had boxed before, was strange

[coneye]

Yh Dee Mitchell was great in the gym, and even in fights you could see his capability at times and it was like he just would go back in to move around zone, one of the nicest fellas you could ever meet aswell, couldn’t speak high enough of him.

I’ve has a couple of lads myself that was absolutely phenomenal in the gym, probably the best and one that sticks out by far was Chris Keane, the kid was so humble, quiet, polite and extremely talented, a genuine nice lad, but was sickeningly unlucky and marred with terrible bad luck to an crazy amount unfortunately, but a absolute beast in sparring and looked world class genuinely, plenty of trainers, mangers, boxers and Sparring partners like the list of just a few below that can vouch for him inc : Mike Perez, Andy Lee, Dillian Whyte, Tyson Fury, Hughie Fury, Michael Sprott, Tony Bellew, Nathan cleverly, Eddie Chambers, Derek Chisora, plus many more top fighters he sparred, was never out his depth with any of them and without going into too much detail or speaking out of turn showed some of them up at times and on more than one occasion, but then in fights would either turn up the same beast and March through lads quick or just not turn up at all and was like he couldn’t be bothered to even be there or had boxed before, was strange

Its really unusual is'nt it , there seems to be Lots and lots of these guys around ,, personaly i've always put it down to a couple of things ,

1--- The bigger the occasion , the bigger the nerves , and less they perform . .

2--- Second thing is , I think quite often you get guys , who are so natural , have talent in spades , that they find it easy , and don't apply themselves to the hard work , they coast along winning there spars winning the fights , because they dont have to try hard ,,they just have natural talent . , But when they step up and come across , other guys who have similar talent , BUT have put the work in , they fall a bit short ,,,, .and then have the excuse , if i was a bit fitter

Course others will have made different observations , but never the less these guys for whatever the reason are in abundance

[Boxingcutsman]

Yh Dee Mitchell was great in the gym, and even in fights you could see his capability at times and it was like he just would go back in to move around zone, one of the nicest fellas you could ever meet aswell, couldn’t speak high enough of him.

I’ve has a couple of lads myself that was absolutely phenomenal in the gym, probably the best and one that sticks out by far was Chris Keane, the kid was so humble, quiet, polite and extremely talented, a genuine nice lad, but was sickeningly unlucky and marred with terrible bad luck to an crazy amount unfortunately, but a absolute beast in sparring and looked world class genuinely, plenty of trainers, mangers, boxers and Sparring partners like the list of just a few below that can vouch for him inc : Mike Perez, Andy Lee, Dillian Whyte, Tyson Fury, Hughie Fury, Michael Sprott, Tony Bellew, Nathan cleverly, Eddie Chambers, Derek Chisora, plus many more top fighters he sparred, was never out his depth with any of them and without going into too much detail or speaking out of turn showed some of them up at times and on more than one occasion, but then in fights would either turn up the same beast and March through lads quick or just not turn up at all and was like he couldn’t be bothered to even be there or had boxed before, was strange

Its really unusual is'nt it , there seems to be Lots and lots of these guys around ,, personaly i've always put it down to a couple of things ,

1--- The bigger the occasion , the bigger the nerves , and less they perform . .

2--- Second thing is , I think quite often you get guys , who are so natural , have talent in spades , that they find it easy , and don't apply themselves to the hard work , they coast along winning there spars winning the fights , because they dont have to try hard ,,they just have natural talent . , But when they step up and come across , other guys who have similar talent , BUT have put the work in , they fall a bit short ,,,, .and then have the excuse , if i was a bit fitter

Course others will have made different observations , but never the less these guys for whatever the reason are in abundance

Yh i agree with you there tbh mate, Chris again I can comment on as he was my fighter and my good friend so know him well and believe this was one of his downfalls, he was quite inexperienced really for the level he got to in fights and in the level of sparring opposition in such a short space of time and bouts, it was all just so natural and easy to him that he just was so laid back I don’t know now whether he could be bothered in there some times, I mean he only had 17 amateur bouts, and in that he won 16, nearly all by k.o, winning the nations at heavyweight and the senior ABA’s and is only the second person ever to knock all his opponents out in the ABA’s if my memory serves me right, then within 10 fights he was facing British champions, fighting for WBO titles to give him a top 10 world ranking, he was really being fast tracked and I think he just couldn’t be bothered in the end and it was all just so natural and easy for him, shame really cuz he’s a great kid and I would of loved to see him achieve some massive recognition, titles and money cuz he was well capable and it showed especially in sparring and in the gyms

[coneye]

Its really unusual is'nt it , there seems to be Lots and lots of these guys around ,, personaly i've always put it down to a couple of things ,

1--- The bigger the occasion , the bigger the nerves , and less they perform . .

2--- Second thing is , I think quite often you get guys , who are so natural , have talent in spades , that they find it easy , and don't apply themselves to the hard work , they coast along winning there spars winning the fights , because they dont have to try hard ,,they just have natural talent . , But when they step up and come across , other guys who have similar talent , BUT have put the work in , they fall a bit short ,,,, .and then have the excuse , if i was a bit fitter

Course others will have made different observations , but never the less these guys for whatever the reason are in abundance

Yh i agree with you there tbh mate, Chris again I can comment on as he was my fighter and my good friend so know him well and believe this was one of his downfalls, he was quite inexperienced really for the level he got to in fights and in the level of sparring opposition in such a short space of time and bouts, it was all just so natural and easy to him that he just was so laid back I don’t know now whether he could be bothered in there some times, I mean he only had 17 amateur bouts, and in that he won 16, nearly all by k.o, winning the nations at heavyweight and the senior ABA’s and is only the second person ever to knock all his opponents out in the ABA’s if my memory serves me right, then within 10 fights he was facing British champions, fighting for WBO titles to give him a top 10 world ranking, he was really being fast tracked and I think he just couldn’t be bothered in the end and it was all just so natural and easy for him, shame really cuz he’s a great kid and I would of loved to see him achieve some massive recognition, titles and money cuz he was well capable and it showed especially in sparring and in the gyms

I feel for you has a coach , its frustrating cos you really do want the best for these fellas , you put your heart and soul into it and it just does'nt pan out , its frustrating , but you can hold your head up cos you know you helped them become the best they could be or wanted to be.

[mickey1975]

Gavin Wake from Leeds tore everyone up in sparring. I would have put money on him being world champion. Conversely I have seen Josh Warrington struggle with amateurs.

[Controversial]

Just goes to show sparring means little, it's what you do on fight night that matters. Muhammed Ali was often beaten up in sparring. You have to take into account the top guys sometimes come into camp out of shape and are sparring guys in shape who are trying to make a name for themselves.

[TheGoods]

And apparently the opposite was true in that Eubank frequently looked terrible in sparring but could turn it on when it mattered.

100% it's psychological - even at a local amateur level back in the day I could see the difference. One guy looked brilliant in the gym but would freeze during a fight and just be content to get through the rounds.

I'll probably get slated for this but did Eubank ever look fantastic against decent opposition ?
He was very strong , had a great chin and good basics , but never looked owt special to me .
I think it was his brute strength at the weight and fortitude that saw him get where he got .

Never. Apart from Benn, Watson (twice), Rocchigiani, Wharton.

[TheGman]

Just thinking about fighters who never showed their true levels on fight night , but looked great in sparring , and the opposite look awful sparring but look like world beaters on fight night. Any examples you can think of?

Iv heard this on a youtube video the other day,think it could of been chael sonnen?

[rd350lc]

I'll probably get slated for this but did Eubank ever look fantastic against decent opposition ?
He was very strong , had a great chin and good basics , but never looked owt special to me .
I think it was his brute strength at the weight and fortitude that saw him get where he got .

Never. Apart from Benn, Watson (twice), Rocchigiani, Wharton.

The Benn and Watson fights he actually got caught himself loads and a fighter with a lesser chin would have been in more trouble . Rocchigiani and Wharton even though strong enough fighters were never in that elite group imo .

[rd350lc]

Wasn't Jamie cox a real handful in the gym ?
Has he retired or still going ?

[Boxingcutsman]

Wasn't Jamie cox a real handful in the gym ?
Has he retired or still going ?

Yes mate, I managed him, he hasn’t officially retired, he’s taking some time out with his young family, he would knock out a horse in the gym and did to many a world class fighters on many occasions when sparring, he’s just got a fighting mentality that wants to do damage and then when it comes to fight night can be a hinderance has much has it is a blessing and talent he how he is and what he’s like, but you take that killer instinct away from him or try and kerb it too much then that wouldn’t be him or make him as exciting, again he has a huge abundance of talent and ability and imo has never even scrapped the surface in fights that you see of him in the gym and what he’s capable of, and again just like Chris Keane, he’s a genuine lovely, trust worthy, straight down the line, stand on, loyal fella

[Counter-puncher]

I'll probably get slated for this but did Eubank ever look fantastic against decent opposition ?
He was very strong , had a great chin and good basics , but never looked owt special to me .
I think it was his brute strength at the weight and fortitude that saw him get where he got .

Never. Apart from Benn, Watson (twice), Rocchigiani, Wharton.

And Thompson

[Controversial]

Never. Apart from Benn, Watson (twice), Rocchigiani, Wharton.

And Thompson

Eubank seem to need the big occasion, he looked poor and struggled in some fights with lesser opposition (Schommer, Sherry, Close). I always remember him only fighting for some of the round. The Schommer fight for sure was hugely controversial and most though Eubank lost, including the Sky Sports commentators, I think Eubank even later admitted he lost that fight.


.

[rd350lc]

Wasn't Jamie cox a real handful in the gym ?
Has he retired or still going ?

Yes mate, I managed him, he hasn’t officially retired, he’s taking some time out with his young family, he would knock out a horse in the gym and did to many a world class fighters on many occasions when sparring, he’s just got a fighting mentality that wants to do damage and then when it comes to fight night can be a hinderance has much has it is a blessing and talent he how he is and what he’s like, but you take that killer instinct away from him or try and kerb it too much then that wouldn’t be him or make him as exciting, again he has a huge abundance of talent and ability and imo has never even scrapped the surface in fights that you see of him in the gym and what he’s capable of, and again just like Chris Keane, he’s a genuine lovely, trust worthy, sntraight down the line, stand on, loyal fella

Nice insight

[knockout]

Some fighters treat sparring as practise, others treat it likes it’s a Fight .

Remember when Takaloo fought Wayne Alexander and Takaloo made it known that he used to beat up Wayne in sparring.

They were two totally different characters, Wayne laid back and chilled , Takaloo always gave 110% in everything.

Come fight night Takaloo hurt Wayne but then got a bit too confident and with those small gloves on , he walked on to a monster shot.

[THEBUTCH]

Nathan Gorman would have everyone believe he bettered Daniel Dubois time and again in the gym...maybe he did, but it counts for sh1t.

The only thing that really counts is what happened when they clashed for the British title. An easy, one sided win for DDD

[Fray Bentos]

Some fighters treat sparring as practise, others treat it likes it’s a Fight .

This.

Some fighters bring their A game to sparring whereas others have the several gears to go up when it matters.

[bripez]

I also think it shows a strength of character that a boxer will use sparring for what it is and turning it on in an actual fight - rather than the macho approach of trying to “win” every spar

Going off on a tangent it Is interesting how different boxers have different approaches to sparring - from the Wincobank boxers who didn’t do a lot of hard sparring to the likes of Chris Eubank who would be sparring hard up to the day before a fight.

[Fray Bentos]

I also think it shows a strength of character that a boxer will use sparring for what it is and turning it on in an actual fight - rather than the macho approach of trying to “win” every spar

Going off on a tangent it Is interesting how different boxers have different approaches to sparring - from the Wincobank boxers who didn’t do a lot of hard sparring to the likes of Chris Eubank who would be sparring hard up to the day before a fight.

I knew of a well-known pro who would beat up unboxed novices after promising them to 'go easy' in sparring. Some arseholes knocking about unfortunately.

[Stuarty]

My best mate who went pro was a very good fighter in the gym. Would give anyone an argument. Saw him besting a couple of ex Paisley pro's in sparring a few times. He just froze in a real fight and went safety first. He wrapped it undefeated but he always boxed cautiously.... Must be the thought of losing in front of folk. I was the same to an extent. Even in the street growing up. I'd have fought anyone myself but the thought of getting a hiding in front of mates or randoms watching scared me a bit Didn't usually stop me but made me think twice

[mickey1975]

I know Ingles do body sparring amongst their own. Paid sparring partners get hurt.

[Stuarty]

I know Ingles do body sparring amongst their own. Paid sparring partners get hurt.

Heard that before as well. I suppose gym wars take years off a fighter. That's the only gym i've heard of doing that. When i was a boy my coach would put a seasoned fighter in with one of the new ones with instructions just to move about with him but if he tries to get cocky take him out!!

[Dean B]

I saw Eubank spar Rod Douglas, Tony Collins and Gary Jacobs at Thomas A Becket in the summer of 88 - ripped vest hanging off, trousers with holes in and boxing boots with soles coming off. He wanted a gym war and the others and their handlers didn't. He was phenomenal. Tony Collins ran away. It was only Errol Christie who could handle the intensity so Eubank used him exclusively from 88 to 92, apart from Simon Collins who also could stand up to him and go to war.