BoxRec

Yes, great piece Mr McNeilly. That is a whopping carp BTW, does anyone know what Glyn's biggest carp was? Maybe that one?

Great obit, he'd have liked that Ian.

RIP Glyn Leach

Very sad news!
Boxing has lost a devoted son.

People might assume BN and BM are rivals and in essence they are. But Glyn and I were not directly competitive.

We would work together and tried not to crossover our content too much. Of course, it's inevitable it happened but there was never conflict. A little-known fact is we swap complimentary subscriptions.

I suppose I've known him 10 years, so less than Graham H and indeed many others.
I was in hospital on Monday night when George Zeleny texted me the news. It was one of those moments when the ground feels like it will gobble you up and everything starts moving.
It was shocking.

While I can't profess to lay claim to knowing Glyn as well as George – who is devastated, and Claude (who is also deeply saddened) – over the last four-five years we have done what we can to support one another during a decidedly turbulent time for boxing publishing.

The pressures of the job (and there are many) are all-consuming and in this day and age when you are publisher/brand manager/editor/occasional journalist/sub editor/mediator across multiple platforms it is relentless. Glyn wrote relatively recently about how hard it was becoming and the pressure is being cranked up like never before. In facing this pressure together we were united.

We listened to one another's problems, tried to help where we could but I so valued Glyn's opinions as I felt he was the only one in the same boat. I truly, truly hope he felt the same way about our chats.
I remember many times driving home stupidly late at night and pulling in at a lay-by in the darkness and calling him.

Invariably our conversations would take place either be very late or ridiculously early, from empty offices when we were both ready for slogs towards our respective deadlines. Usually we would talk shop, then it would switch to a bit of football, then he'd tell me when he might next get a much-needed break to go fishing. He looked forward to them, there's no doubt.

He also enjoyed creating an annual boxing Fantasy Football league and in my Twitter DMs this morning was a message from late last week about that very subject [Glyn always placed highly in our leagues, I have been away and not been using my 'work' Twitter].

I cannot speak highly enough of him. Yes, he was a talented writer. Yes, he was a friend to many, many people. Yes, he loved boxing. Don't let that detract from what he did and how he lived. He slaved over BM for years, grafted like you wouldn't believe. He'd had hard times, he'd come through them, he'd fought, and he leaves a body of work that any boxing writer would rightly be extremely proud of. It was never easy and it was getting harder. But that didn't faze him. He would grit his teeth at a challenge, role up his sleeves and then face it head on.

I can only applaud his work and check the box by his name when it deservedly appears on the International Boxing Hall of Fame ballot. To do what he has done at BM is simply magnificent and like all of you, I will miss him terribly.

PS I reckon he would be thoroughly embarrassed by all of the kind tributes but he earned each and every one of them the hard way.

TDixon wrote:People might assume BN and BM are rivals and in essence they are. But Glyn and I were not directly competitive.

We would work together and tried not to crossover our content too much. Of course, it's inevitable it happened but there was never conflict. A little-known fact is we swap complimentary subscriptions.

I suppose I've known him 10 years, so less than Graham H and indeed many others.
I was in hospital on Monday night when George Zeleny texted me the news. It was one of those moments when the ground feels like it will gobble you up and everything starts moving.
It was shocking.

While I can't profess to lay claim to knowing Glyn as well as George – who is devastated, and Claude (who is also deeply saddened) – over the last four-five years we have done what we can to support one another during a decidedly turbulent time for boxing publishing.

The pressures of the job (and there are many) are all-consuming and in this day and age when you are publisher/brand manager/editor/occasional journalist/sub editor/mediator across multiple platforms it is relentless. Glyn wrote relatively recently about how hard it was becoming and the pressure is being cranked up like never before. In facing this pressure together we were united.

We listened to one another's problems, tried to help where we could but I so valued Glyn's opinions as I felt he was the only one in the same boat. I truly, truly hope he felt the same way about our chats.
I remember many times driving home stupidly late at night and pulling in at a lay-by in the darkness and calling him.

Invariably our conversations would take place either be very late or ridiculously early, from empty offices when we were both ready for slogs towards our respective deadlines. Usually we would talk shop, then it would switch to a bit of football, then he'd tell me when he might next get a much-needed break to go fishing. He looked forward to them, there's no doubt.

He also enjoyed creating an annual boxing Fantasy Football league and in my Twitter DMs this morning was a message from late last week about that very subject [Glyn always placed highly in our leagues, I have been away and not been using my 'work' Twitter].

I cannot speak highly enough of him. Yes, he was a talented writer. Yes, he was a friend to many, many people. Yes, he loved boxing. Don't let that detract from what he did and how he lived. He slaved over BM for years, grafted like you wouldn't believe. He'd had hard times, he'd come through them, he'd fought, and he leaves a body of work that any boxing writer would rightly be extremely proud of. It was never easy and it was getting harder. But that didn't faze him. He would grit his teeth at a challenge, role up his sleeves and then face it head on.

I can only applaud his work and check the box by his name when it deservedly appears on the International Boxing Hall of Fame ballot. To do what he has done at BM is simply magnificent and like all of you, I will miss him terribly.

PS I reckon he would be thoroughly embarrassed by all of the kind tributes but he earned each and every one of them the hard way.

Great words Tris.

Also a great write up by Ian.

Mr Dixon, I think you summed the man up very well

Glyn Leach may you rest in peace my friend. As an avid reader since 1995 I was so proud to be introduced to Glyn ringisde and watch some fights with him, later to share phone-calls and texts, e-mails, facebook etc. I first worked for him in 1998 aged just 18, and whether behind the scenes or with my name in print, in the office or via the internet - here I am some 16 years later still referring to him as "Guv". When I saw the news this evening I was shocked, have held back tears and am just truly, truly gutted.

Reading these stories of people who also knew him, worked with him, or were tutored by him - I find myself nodding at the words or the sentiment. I will now treasure some e-mails he sent me and am totally choked-up that I didn't tell him more often how totally, totally grateful I am for the chances and opportunities he gave me.

The last 5 years have had some rough times for me and so bad were my finances that a couple of christmas' ago I wasn't sure I could buy my sons any presents. Not only did he swing some extra work my way, but when my life was on the verge or going under he would compliment me for never letting him down and say he fully expected me not to meet the deadline. I was proud he thought enough of me to give me a chance, let alone to praise me for not failing. "C'mon Kidder" he would write to me (our names of "T.M.K" and "Y2G" being descended from his WWF-enthsuiasm of circa 1998) and gee me up, or "How we doing son?" in a very protective yet slap-on-the-butt-and-get-back-on-the-horse manner. Such a calming way about him.

The Boxing Monthly Christmas Crosswords will never be the same............... and as long as BM continues I will work with a doffed-hat to Glynner.

Glyn, I salute you my friend and finish this holding back watery eyes. I have said a prayer for you - and even laughed afterwards as I imagined you telling me off.

Love ya, may you rest in peace

Col / T.M.K x



ps: and to think I was going to e-mail him tonight and tell him off: we'd only done our last e-mails session on Friday and he was going to get back to me yesterday. Glynner, I'm gonna let you off this time! x

My tribute to Glyn:

http://markeortega.blogspot.com/2014/08 ... t-but.html

Very sad news, he was a boxing man through and through, and a nice bloke as well.
will be sadly missed RIP

Fabulous tributes

I used to get my Ma to ring up the newsagents to see whether BM had hit the stands as a kid. Once it arrived, I'd sprint to the shop, run all the way home and devour it -- still have every copy since '92. I grew up reading Glyn and his views on the sport helped shape mine.

A few years back I was struggling for direction and so wrote him a letter asking for job (despite having no writing/journalism experience -- I hadn't written as much as a blog post)! Thankfully, it was sufficiently brazen and contained enough wisecracks to catch his attention and he was good enough to write back. Glyn reminded me that life wasn't a fairytale. He offered me encouragement, explained that formal training wasn't a pre-requisite, but that I'd need a passion for the sport, thick skin and a monumental work ethic in order to compensate.

That started me off blogging and I'd occasionally submit freelance pieces to BM now and again (some of which were truly awful). Glyn said he'd try "to find a home" for one of the earlier efforts but it failed to materialise (which only served to spur me on more).

Eventually, the penny dropped after spending years trying to learn to write. Glyn published an interview I completed at Xmas which meant more to me than any promotion or slap on the back I've received in my day job.

I submitted another interview to him last week before going away on holiday over the weekend. I arrived home today eager to charge my phone so that I could check my emails and harass Glyn again if he hadn't yet replied. Instead, I received a text from a friend asking whether I'd heard the news, which completely choked me. I can't profess to being an acquaintance (probably more a nuisance if anything). I'd email Glyn work from time to time and he'd almost always get back to me. We'd shoot the breeze occasionally but I was too in awe of the man to reply too readily. The news today has left me struggling a bit, though.

I hope the magazine continues. The last issue was one of the strongest I'd read in a long while and it would be a fitting tribute.

RIP Glyn. You'll never know how much those few kind words got me off my arse, got me to knuckle down and got me to apply myself. Sometimes, when you're busy navel-gazing, you need someone to give you a slap before picking you up, dusting you off and helping you on your way. Glyn did that often. Top man.

RIP Glyn - a true legend of British and World boxing. Some lovely tributes on here that show the depth of respect Glyn commanded. A great writer who always grabbed my attention and someone I looked forward to reading. My thoughts are with his family and closest friends at this very difficult time.

I don't know where to start with what I owe Glyn, but it's encouraging to read I don't appear to feel alone.

I regret that we never met in person but we spoke over the phone and via email; he had a way of consistently making either a really human experience. From the very start there was genuine warmth and passion, and a complete absence of ego or pretentiousness.

It's rare that someone in such a difficult position commands such widespread respect, and I'm in no doubt about why. From personal experience, I can tell you that any criticism from Glyn really ate away at me, and a compliment from him was truly cherished.

As part of his Twitter bio, Glyn described himself as "having the good of mankind at heart" and clearly everyone reading/contributing to this thread can see how sincere that was.

I didn't know him well but I didn't need to to see what a thoroughly decent man he was because that was clear from the start; it's only now it becomes almost intimidating to see the staggering amount of time he had for boxing and so many people who shared his passion.

Thanks for all you did for me, mate. I'm privileged we came into contact.

Like so many people here and elsewhere, I feel a gaping hole with Glyn’s passing.

I first met Glyn in the mid-1990s when I was a young staff writer at Boxing News. He was his own man and I instantly warmed to him. He didn’t play favourites or fall in with common opinion. This was a man who called it how he saw it. A straight talker in a business too often blurred by hyperbole. He was accessible and encouraging, and would call me out on my mistakes with a friendly rock and roll swagger that marked him out as a maverick.

After a sabbatical from the sport, I reconnected with Glyn earlier this year through social media and it was as if no time had passed. He was intrigued by my foray into the emerging boxing scene in Macao and we swiftly rekindled our friendship. I was thrilled when Glyn invited me to contribute to BM on a monthly basis as it afforded me the opportunity to spend many wonderful hours swapping ideas and old war stories with a man who I liked and respected so much.

We talked most days, but the last time I saw Glyn was at his favoured coffee establishment ‘Elbows’ near the BM HQ in Hackney where we exchanged surreal boxing experiences over a couple of memorable and riveting hours. With a glint in his eye, Glyn recalled his often Herculean endeavours at the helm of BM, trials that would have sent most editors spiralling into madness or despair. In the fast-evolving world of boxing media, what Glyn achieved at BM was nothing short of heroic, especially given his recent health issues.

Before our day took us in separate directions, Glyn kept patting me on the back warmly. And that is how I will always remember him. With fondness and admiration. He was a boxing man, his own man and a wonderful one at that.

Mark Butcher

This thread is beautiful.

What an absolute legend Glyn is.

I put on Twitter yesterday a post about an old editorial in Boxing Monthly that featured the lyrics of a Neil Young song. There's a line in it that goes "The King is gone but he's not forgotten."

Glyn was, and still is, boxing royalty.

The sport will always him.

G0mez wrote:Glyn was a really accessible man and always had time for everyone. A couple of years ago I gave his subscription offer (I think it included a free mug !) a push across various Facebook pages and twitter to a few people and he clawed a few sales in. He was still 'catching up' with social media. After he kept emailing me asking how he could repay me and I said 'not everyone is after something' and said a thanks was more than enough, that it took me very little effort. But he insisted on sending me an issue every month despite me protesting in happy to pay for it. Very generous man.

Later he wanted to know how to set up twitter on his 'new f*cking phone' and how hash tags etc worked. He hit the ground running and was on it often, enjoying the interaction with fans. I recall an outburst once of his after Ricky Burns knocked out Nicky Cook in the opening round, had a promoters son tell him it was libellous and he just laughed.

I recently ended up as his email tech support after he'd got sky-go and wanted to watch it when he was fishing or something.

He once described himself to me as a fork lift driver whom fell into a dream job! But he was much more than that. He gave so many decent web guys a lift and even an opportunity to publish stuff - where others felt threatened and chastised them - but not Glyn. He only ever created allies , never enemies in a very fickle industry.

Why does life take the good guys and leave the sacks of sh*t behind ?

RIP

GOmez, that's a lovely, lovely tribute and captures the essence of Glyn perfectly. So, so giving. And a lovely, inclusive sense of humour.

thewarcap wrote:Been reading Boxing Monthly for years, wanted to be published in it. It was only a dream. I battered on Glyn's door. My ideas were poor but I wasn't going away. He gave me pointers, I took them on board. I came back with more ideas and he gave me a shot with an Andy Lee interview I did in 2012.

From that point we clicked. He appreciated my graft and I couldn't believe I was starting to become a regular in a magazine I'd read since 1995.

He opened up a bit. We became good mates. For the last year we talked every week. I could open up to him and give him my problems and by the end of the conversation he'd have solved them with his words. He was my safety net in boxing journalism. Lost without him. Time's a healer but knowing I'll never speak to him again hurts like hell.

I was always in awe of his writing. His honesty and the way he pieced it together is a rare thing these days. Something I need to learn. He gave a failed school leaver and a mouthy sod like me a shot.

I admired him, I respected him and when I heard the news I shed a tear.

A giant of boxing journalism who didn't crave the attention or limelight. He told me he would never do TV but he was beginning to enjoy working on BT Sport and allegedly. Things like that seemed to re-energise him.

As straight talking and fair a man as you'll ever likely come across.

Waffling now.

Cheers Glyn. RIP. I owe you big time.

Another lovely tribute. What is your name?

What a fantastic thread, i feel poorer for not ever knowing the man after reading these words.

RIP Glyn, a good man.

I hope it's not too trite, but I've thought about Glyn often over the last couple of days, and it's a comfort to me that he lived as Kipling described in "If"

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

Brilliant tributes from Ian and Tris.

I'll never forget the moment that Glyn told me he would publish an article I had written. To me that was the Holy Grail, the dream, the unobtainable. It was the biggest buzz I've ever felt in my life.

I only knew Glyn for a few short years, but even through our emails here and there I learnt a tremendous amount about journalism as he generously gave his time to help encourage and educate me. He was a Master at his craft, and I was just a clueless apprentice eager to learn, given a golden opportunity to seize any wisdom that he threw my way. As the tributes arrive, it becomes even more apparent that he was that Master to so many people. And how lucky we all were.

Whenever my creative well would dry up, I'd get an email along the lines of 'Come on, mate. Where are the ideas?' Unfortunately, I hadn't been able to write as much as I'd like to this year, but I really wish I'd had, only so we could have chatted back and forth more regularly. But the conversations we had and the knowledge he shared I'll look back on forever.

dondada wrote:Ah, so sad. They just don't make 'em like Glyn any more. And even when they did, there weren't very many of 'em.

http://news.boxrec.com/2014/glyn-leach-obituary

Fantastic, mate.

A true gent. Read one of the first things I ever wrote and said that if they hadn't just published a similar article it'd have been published.

That was enough to spur me on and I've been paid for writing ever since.

Only chatting to him on twitter the other day. He was, without a doubt, the best in the business.

Gutted.

It sounds as if he was a really decent man, it's a real shame and very sudden.

Datsue wrote:

dondada wrote:Ah, so sad. They just don't make 'em like Glyn any more. And even when they did, there weren't very many of 'em.

http://news.boxrec.com/2014/glyn-leach-obituary

Fantastic, mate.

x2

Lovely tribute by Graham H over at

http://www.fightwriter.com