You do not have to look too hard to find boxers who have a captivating tale to tell. Whether it is a rags to riches story from the roughest of upbringings or success stories from humble beginnings. Maybe even glittering amateur careers that have transitioned like boxing butterflies. But what about the trainers? They are the mentors, the motivators, the nurturers, and the adhesive that forms a bond so tight with fighters, that they are often considered as part of the family. Trainers and coaches are often only interviewed to speak about their fighters, but I spoke to one of Britain’s most successful trainers, Joe Gallagher, to find out his own, unique story.
I enquire about the boxing influences Joe had as a youngster, curious as to who had helped shape the studious figure that has become so synonymous with boxing success in Manchester, Liverpool and beyond.
He points to a memorable meeting at Moss Side ABC with a pivotal figure in Manchester's rich boxing history. His name was Phil Martin. Joe recalls the feeling he had upon meeting him. “I think I was about 17 at the time. I decided one Sunday morning-because I knew it was open-to go up. I remember walking up the stairs, it had big stairs and Phil was stood there. He was quite an imposing figure and he was taking someone skipping. I told him who I was and asked if I could join the gym, he said ‘Yes, be here tomorrow, 6 o’ clock, don’t be late, the doors are locked at 6.’ I remember going down the stairs and running all the way to the bus station at Princess Parkway, dead excited that he had said yes.”
I struggle to stop the smile spreading across my face as I imagine a young Joe Gallagher shadow-boxing his way through a bustling crowd on his way home, through the busy streets of Manchester. A far cry from the eerily empty, unoccupied state our cities currently lay.
He may not have realised at the time but being accepted into Phil Martin’s iconic Moss Side ABC Gym that day, was the first step on his own staircase to the top. It was where the coaching cogs began to turn within the mind of a future mentor.
The embers from the Moss Side riots in 1981 had barely been extinguished when Phil Martin boldly set up his ‘Champs Camp’ Gym. By the time Gallagher joined in the mid-eighties, there was a huge banner with superstars Hagler and Duran adorning the entrance and an even bigger reputation, ignited by the fiery ambition within Martin.
Joe had previously attended Wythenshawe ABC as a schoolboy under the tutelage another big character, the legendary Jimmy Egan, where he had already displayed nurturing traits, helping new members settle by taking them under his wing. Speaking of the education and the knowledge he picked up, he said, “Jimmy Egan was a huge influence and even when I left, I would still speak to him for advice. At Wythenshawe, I used to help and give advice, watch things, and see things, help at shows, help Jimmy in the changing rooms and help take the little ones on the pads. Seeing kids take heed of what you are saying and then applying it was brilliant, I was always that way inclined."
It was under Martin though, that Gallagher really started to become a student of the game. Though in a typical reflection of the tension that was around in Manchester at the time, he was warned against the move. “It was great to be there, but people were saying, ‘you don’t want to go there you know, there’s not many whites there’ and all that stuff. It didn’t deter me, it just made me want to join even more, it was great.”
Speaking of how his coaching traits were further enhanced, he added, "When I went to Moss Side it was already in me. I would sit in the office with Phil and he would sit me down and we’d watch opponents for Tony Ekubia, Frank Grant, or Carl Thompson. I would watch it, then Phil would show me a different way of watching it, looking at different things. It was a proper education. At Champs Camp, there was like six or seven hundred VHS video cassettes, hundreds of fights, amateurs and professionals. I must have marked up around two hundred of them for him. That was like my Oxford University Degree at Champs Camp, doing that with Phil in the offices in the daytime, watching the pro’s training and helping out, being around that when the gym was thriving, you had Frank Grant, Paul Burke, Steve Garber, Maurice Core, Carl Thompson, Frank Eubank, Des Robinson, Mario Culpepper, an unbelievable stable of fighters.”
Martin-who sadly passed at the young age of 44 after a battle with cancer- had a disciplined approach to coaching, something Gallagher has retained within his own style to a certain extent, though more an extension on the subject of respect as opposed to a strict regime. If Phil Martin said 6 o' clock, he meant it. It didn’t matter who you were, those doors would be locked. Recalling countless times his former coach would be true to his word, he said, “I used to get there early, on the earlier bus so I wouldn’t be late, I remember the gym door being shut numerous times, people weren’t allowed in whether it was 5 minutes, 2 minutes, I don’t care who they were ABA’s, seniors whoever they had to be in, or the door was shut.” Unsurprisingly, Gallagher has a similar outlook with his own fighters. “I have it with my professionals in the gym, when we say a time, there’s a time, that’s it. There is times when they are 10 minutes late and I say ‘If you went to the airport to catch a plane you would have missed it’ so that’s it and there’s times in the past where they haven’t turned up for training sessions, they haven’t made a phone call, so I would arrange a session and then not turn up, then my phone goes off and I’d say, ‘now you know how it feels’. It is lack of respect, so it is just making sure you treat people how you expect to be treated yourself.”
It seems that Gallagher does not have too much trouble with ill-discipline. A consequence of having a tight-knit group with a family-feel amongst his charges. Another reason may be that he has a month’s trial with any prospective new fighter to see whether the relationship works. Fighters must fit the right ethos as Joe reminds me, “Nobody is bigger than the gym.” It is obviously a strategy that has worked well for him, his retention is second to none. Very few fighters have left him. The only high-profile fighters I can remember (off the top of my head) are Quigg who relocated to the US and Matthew Macklin, and both of those came back!
He admitted, “I’ve refused so many fighters, including Olympians, I’ve turned away loads. There is a certain thing I look for in a fighter, whether it is the work ethic, the humbleness, the respect, their values. It’s like Paul Butler, he had a trial, Tasha (Jonas) had a trial. They have all had trials to see if it is a good fit, no one is bigger than the gym, do you understand? We are all in it together, we don’t want an entourage of people around a boxer in the gym. You don’t take a load of people to work with you at Sainsbury’s or in a garage or McDonalds. What’s that sh*t about? We try to treat everyone the same, everyone has their time in the sun when it comes to their fight and that’s it.”
It is testament to Joe Gallagher the man, that we have not really discussed the staggering 62 fight unbeaten run he had as a trainer or finishing 2015 with three World Champions that saw him get The Ring Magazine trainer of the year. He guided Scott Quigg, Liam Smith, and Anthony Crolla to major honours after very near misses with Matthew Macklin (against Felix Sturm) and John Murray who gallantly fought in vain against Brandon Rios. He has since guided Callum Smith to a World Title and is again on the cusp of delivering title shots for Callum Johnson and Tasha Jonas among others. He has been involved in over a hundred World Title fights, which is a mightily impresssive haul, but rather than basking in his own glory, he instead speaks fervently and with meaning about the compassion he has for his fighters, the day-to-day relationships. In one way or another he finds time to talk about every single fighter in his gym, whether it is Sam Hyde, Hosea Burton or Paul Butler. He is so conscious of creating an inclusive environment and ramming home the point that everyone is on an equal footing. One team, together and united.
The successes and the highs are only one dimension of the multi-faceted role of a trainer. The despair and heartache that seeps from the ring and permeates the dressing room after a defeat is something that can't be prepared for. Partners, wives, husbands and families inconsolable, struggling for the right words. "It does affect you (when a fighter loses) ". Conceded Gallagher. " I remember when Ricky (Hatton) lost, Billy Graham disappeared for a little while and listen, I had a horrible Christmas and a terrible New Year, a really depressing January over Callum Smith losing. It's like Scott Quigg, I could never watch that fight when he lost to Frampton for nearly a year. It is just too painful to watch, why would I want to watch that again? People say ‘you’re too emotionally invested’ but I feel you have to have that feeling with them. Some trainers would take what you could call blood money, they turn up take the money and go but you can’t be that. You have got to be invested with them and they have to feel that you have got their back, and they have got yours. You win together, you lose together.”
Describing one of the most emotive occasions in his career, Gallagher said, “It can be horrible. When Natasha Jonas got knocked out in Wales, not one person went in the changing rooms afterwards, no one from the board, no one from Matchroom, no one from Sky. She was crying her eyes out. I got her in the car home and do you know what? That drive home, with her crying and sobbing on the way home to Liverpool, that haunts you. It is absolutely horrible. No, you can’t shake it off, it sticks with you.”
The theme of that unbreakable bond between coach and fighter is a constant theme that runs in the background of our discussion, giving me a clear indication of the reasons behind the success that Joe has had. Many will have seen or heard him staunchly defend his fighter at some point. He is an unassuming character and more than happy to move in the shadows of the media glare for the most part. But challenge or attack one of his own and he will stand firm, protecting and shielding those who he works with.
From talking about the early influences in his career, it has now come full circle and we speak about the fighters who are helping him in the gym. Before I have the chance to ask about fighters who have the potential to train or coach, Joe proudly announces that he has already identified traits in one of his former fighters and whilst this individual might not be labelling up video cassettes in the office, he has been earmarked as someone who can carry the mantle of developing some of the North-West’s best talent. “Ant Crolla is in the gym, he is helping me now, he is learning and I’m teaching him, showing him. He is evolving and is beginning to get a few fighters himself, he is doing a little bit with Alex Dilmaghani who we took on board recently, we have got another few decent kids coming through who will be known very shortly.”
Highlighting just how long the journey has been with Crolla, he added “I first came across Anthony Crolla as a schoolboy who beat my kid in the opposite corner, and I’ve gone through the career with him and as a World Champion and now I’m seeing him grow as a coach and learning that way, so it is a very good positive story.”
Throughout his boxing and Coaching career, Gallagher has always thrived in making a difference to a fighter’s life. That is where the satisfaction is for him, it is what drives and harnesses the motivation to continue in his role. He has also seen during his coaching tenure, that some boxers need education and guidance to run parallel with sporting participation and that helped fuel the decision to create ‘The Joe Gallagher Academy’. Beaming with pride and enthusiasm, Joe explained, “It is something I always wanted to do, when I was 16 and we left school, there was no boxing or colleges or anything like that. You had to go out working or get a YTS scheme. I was taken out working on the roads with my dad concreting and stuff so that was it. Hail, rain, or snow or shine you were out grafting. So that opportunity for kids out there who can’t get on Team GB, this is a pathway to it.
The Joe Gallagher Academy is one of the ABA of England hubs around the country, we have been recognised over the last three years as the best now, in terms of the numbers and the retention of students with the pass marks. Even through the pandemic, everyone passed their Maths and English results, which is absolutely brilliant. We still got full quota of students enrolled. These are students that are coming from Liverpool, Leeds on a train every day, Leeds! Carlisle, Chester, we even had a kid come from Boston Lincolnshire who relocated to Manchester and two years ago and has gone on to University. A couple have gone on to University and studied Mental Health in sport, some have gone into nutrition, so I am really pleased."
The Academy also boasts a plethora of national champions male and female, but as admirable as those tangible achievements may be, Gallagher is most animated when he gushes about the emotion of seeing the enhancement in a young person's emotional development and the improved confidence . "I love the work we do with The Academy, I always remember being an amateur coach, you would get kids come through the door 10 or 12-years-old, even 13,14 and they would be low on confidence, some had no coordination and not really doing well at school. You see these kids over a period of time, get a bit of coordination, learn to skip, punch, you see their confidence grow. Next thing you know, they are having their first bout. Everyone would turn up, the parents the grannies, cousins, aunties, uncles. That kid would fight and win and get a trophy, it could be egg cup size or the size of a television, but do you know what? to see the tear in their eyes of excitement, to see the tears in the parent's eyes and the hugs and the loves and the kisses, money can't buy that. Those moments can not be bought. That kid who had been written off, has got up in front of two hundred people in a social club and boxed, which is intimidating and won. It is the same with The Academy, giving these kids a start and inspiring them."
When people look back and analyse the fighters that Joe Gallagher has worked with, they will not talk about what a Gallagher fighter looks like in terms of style or technique. They will be identifiable by their dignity, their propriety and in the way they carry themselves respectfully. Their ability to graft and work hard with little fuss, is the epitome of their ethos and even though the very idea of this interview was to understand Joe Gallagher the individual, it is perhaps fitting that he often found a way to shine that light back on others and talk of their success.
Another Great article Shaun