THE SWITCH EXPLAINED
Fewkes tells Matt Bevan why he’s lling in for Ingle in Brook’s corner
THERE was surprise when it was announced that Kell Brook would not be working with his usual trainer Dominic Ingle for his upcoming fight against Michael Zerafa on December 8 in Sheffield. But for John Fewkes, the man leading the corner that night and a long-time friend of Brook, it was an opportunity he could not turn down. A former English title challenger who retired in 2014 with a record of 21-2-2 (2), Fewkes told Boxing News how the partnership came about.
Before the bout with Zerafa was announced, Brook asked Fewkes to help him stay in shape.
“So we worked together for a week and then he asked me to come out to Fuerteventura with him, which is where he has trained for the past seven or eight years,” Fewkes said. “Now we’ve got a date and he’s flying in to the gym ahead of what should be a good night on December 8.”
Fewkes, for now, is adamant that the partnership is short-term. They have not looked beyond Zerafa, and it is presumed Brook will head back to the Ingle Gym in Wincobank afterwards.
“I will be training Kell for this fight,” Fewkes said. “He asked me to take over and that’s what I’m going to do and anything that happens after is nothing to do with me for now. As far as I’m aware, Kell and Dom were working on very different schedules and Dom is so busy with all his other fighters it just wouldn’t have worked for either of them.
“But it’s fallen right for me and I’m over the moon. We’re from the same sort of era and Kell knows how I read the sport, so I’m grateful he took the time to think of me. We bounce off each other well and he’s doing well in the gym, which shows that I’m doing my job well.
“I saw a lot of comments about me and Kell after it was announced. It seems that people think I’ve only just started doing this, but I’ve been in the gym for 22 years, since I was 10 years old. I’ve been in and around all levels of the sport at the SBC Unit in Sheffield, so I’ve not just popped up out of nowhere.”
Talk of Brook fighting Amir Khan next year is building by the week, but Fewkes is confident that the Sheffield man will not lose his focus on the task in hand.
“For Michael Zerafa, the fight on December 8 is his world title fight and that is the same for whoever Kell fights. He’s won 22 out of 24, and been in with the likes of Peter Quillin, so he’s no mug. Kell needs to be 100 per cent switched on because if he isn’t and takes Michael lightly, then any big fight, whether it be Khan or a world title fight, is out of the window.
“For Kell, and for any boxer, the important thing is simply remaining active and boxing. Boxers need to box, not wait around for a big pay-day, which a lot of other fighters are doing now, as the money some of them get is massive.
“You need to worry about yourself in boxing and, for Kell, he is also still coming back from his losses to Gennady Golovkin and Errol Spence. Since then he has two rounds, where he did a good job on Sergey Rabchenko.
“He’s still healing up after the operations and most importantly repairing his ego after the consecutive defeats. He is pretty much a complete fighter, so I’m adding some little bits to him with a fresh outlook. Once he’s back firing on all cylinders, I wonder how good he will actually be.”