THE ROCKY ROAD
BOXING ABERDEEN ACE OUT TO DEFY THE ODDS MICHAEL GANNON EXCLUSIVE
THE line between brave and bonkers is pretty blurred at the best of times but Lee McAllister reckons there is room to be both.
True courage tends to be commended only when the man taking the deep breath makes the jump to the other side and lands safely and is only considered crackers if he ends up at the bottom of the ravine.
McAllister has never been much of a man to look before he leaps, mind you. He’s about to attempt the kind of jump that would put off Evel Knievel. But the Aberdeen boxer only sees opportunity where others are wary of a fall.
The former lightweight champ will step into the ring next weekend with Danny Williams – the heavyweight who beat Mike Tyson and took on Vitali Klitschko for the world title.
The Londoner is 44 now but he’s still 6ft 3in and 19 stone in his socks.
McAllister said: “Everyone says I’m off my head. Friends, family, media, the lot, all think I’m crazy.
“I just thought, f*** it, why not?
Williams may be his toughest challenge in the ring but the 35-yearold has dealt with a few outside it. A motorbike crash at 21 should have ended any hope of a boxing career as it nearly ended his life.
Instead he won Commonwealth crowns at lightweight and light welterweight, claimed WBU belts and fought for the British title, backed by a passionate Aberdeen support and trademark red highlights in his hair.
There were dark days too, the death of his mother Dianne and a stint in jail after a kebab shop assault soon after docs told him it was time to hang up the gloves.
McAllister said: “I was lucky m.gannon@dailyrecord.co.uk to even be alive after the accident. I broke my two cheekbones and my jaw, snapped my leg and lost a chunk of my thigh.
“I was told I’d never fight again. I did pretty well considering. I was told I was finished five years ago. My body was burnt out with all the punishment. I had three years out but here I am again, still going.”
By 2013 his body was
LEE McALLISTER
broken and so was his spirit after the loss of his beloved mum at 55 and the spiralling misery that led to nine weeks slopping out in Peterhead. McAllister said: “It was a tough time. My mum passed away and that was devastating.” But it was no excuse for prison, he admits. He said: “You know what, it was probably what I needed. That sounds mental because it was horrendous being away from my kids. But it was a real wake-up call. “It’s hard giving up something you love, something that was part of your life since you were eight. “Aberdeen is like a village at times. People know me about town and the fact I was a boxer and some boys think they can make a name for themselves.
“But that’s no excuse for what happened and I regret it. I’m a role model to young people and that wasn’t acceptable.
“I made a mistake and paid the price by going to jail. But I’ve learned from it. I don’t get involved. I still like a pint when I’m not in training. I go for a game of pool or to Pittodrie. I have good people around me.”
McAllister has come out of the darkness and returned to the ring two years ago. He fights under the British and Irish Boxing Board rather than the more reputable British Boxing Board of Control, who would likely have rejected any notion of this contest next week.
It might look like a circus but, while McAllister loves to play the joker, he is serious when it comes to the fight game. He said: “It’s funny how it came about. I was promoting a show in Ayr and stepped in at the last minute against a heavyweight to make sure my man got a fight. I won comfortably and afterwards I said I’d love to share a ring with a top heavyweight like Williams. He got wind of it and wasn’t very happy.
“He came out and said it was disrespectful for me to talk about fighting him and he’d destroy me inside three rounds.
“I saw the comments at half 10 in the morning – and had a contract with him by noon.”
McAllister has bulked up (the “Tyson Fury diet in reverse”) but going up seven weight divisions sounds outlandish at best and foolhardy at worst. He said: “People will say it’s dangerous but every fight is dangerous. I know the risks.
“Speed will be the key because I can’t get stuck on the ropes trading with him.”