9 to 5? Not the way to make living

EIGHT medals – one gold, six silver and a bronze – is an extraordinary return for England’s amateur boxers at the European Championships in Ukraine. Indeed it was the best of any nation. Peter Mcgrail (above) stole the headlines with 56kg gold, but in truth this was a triumph for the system and the culture of amateur boxing in the age of National Lottery funding. What we are seeing is the professionalisation of the amateur sport. When I was a lad I used to have to work in my mother’s shop to help pay my way. Others held down full-time jobs and trained at night and weekends in order to pursue their dreams. Now, with the benefit of funding by UK Sport, which effectively pays the boxers a professional salary, our young fighters are able to prepare as full-time athletes. The set-up in Sheffield is finely-tuned, with head coach Robert Mccracken (right ) backed by excellent support staff. In the pro game Britain had 13 world champs for first time last year, more than North America. This has a knock-on effect. Anthony Joshua’s success, first as an Olympic gold medalist and now as a world heavyweight champion, lifts morale. There can be no better learning environment than a group of elite athletes following each other’s example. And when you consider the tighter connection between the amateur and professional codes in this era, you can see how the amateurs would benefit – by sparring with pros for instance. Funding is obviously crucial. These kids train three times a day with supervised rest periods for proper recovery built in. You can’t do that working nine to five. This increased funding has brought our boys into line with the experience of athletes in the former Soviet states. They were able to dedicate all their time to training and won a stack of medals as a result. Now we are competing on equal terms and it shows. All of this augurs well not only for the Tokyo Olympics but the professional ranks when these boys eventually cross over, as most do. Hopefully, they know who to call when then the time comes. And I don’t mean Ghostbusters.