RISING TO PROMINENCE
Marine George Crotty plans to become a force at light-heavy
HAVE you got any bouts coming up?
I’ve got the Tammer tournament coming up in Novemer for my GB debut. So it’s quite a good competition to go in for. Then I’ve got the GB championships after that on December 7. Not been told who I’m boxing yet on there but I’m definitely on there.
I boxed [Scotland’s Sean] Lazzerini in the Three Nations final in Cardiff in May. I beat him I think it was a split but it was a good fight, he was good. That would be a challenging fight but a good fight again.
What type of bout was it?
I won the first round and then he won the second round. So it was one all going into the last. I had quite a good last round but I knew he had a lot of power because I’d seen videos and I’d been told so I was very wary. In the first round I boxed sharp and good. Then the second round he got his way a little bit so the third round I knew I had to get that third.
You’ve had a great year this year.
From September through May, the boxing season, I had 12 fights, won 12 fights and over half of them were against internationals. I boxed an Australian international with the Navy when we went over there. I boxed against Ireland, beat him in December and then I beat Tom Whittaker Hart in the ABA final. That was a good win. I think that massively helped me get on to GB after the Three Nations. Are you on trials with GB?
I done my second trial end of July, then they asked me to join the team in September, the start of September. You go on a three month period where you’re on Podium Potential, part time. Do every other week, Wednesday to Saturday.
I did one camp up there and then the GB coach rang me and asked if I wanted to go full time. So I’m on full time Podium Potential. So I’m up there every week at the minute.
To get my first ABA title was a massive thing and for the Royal Navy. I think it was their first one since 2003. I think they had one in 2003 and then the last one before that was Terry Marsh in 1982. It don’t come a lot. How did the Navy react to that?
The year before I was aiming for the quarters, semis for the ABAS, my first year back. This year we were aiming to win the ABAS. It seemed quite a realistic goal. It was still a massive thing.
It helped the Royal Navy boxing big time because it justified having full time boxers off normal work, like Royal Navy and my Royal Marine work. It did quite a lot for us and the team.