Historic moment may be pure gold
BIRTLEY will make British boxing history in Hamburg this week; and coach Graeme Rutherford thinks Callum French and Luke and Pat McCormack could set off a gold rush.
No club has ever provided three GB fighters to a World Boxing Championships but that will change on Thursday when this year’s tournament starts in Hamburg.
The Birtley boys are certainly not going just to make up the numbers.
All three made the podium at June’s Elite European Championships in Kharkiv.
The McCormack twins picked up silvers – Luke at light-welterweight, Pat at welterweight – and French took bronze from his lightweight semi-final.
Rutherford sees no reason why with a bit of luck they cannot go all the way in Germany.
He said: “The three of them have as good a chance as anyone.
“They are all ranked two in Europe by AIBA.
“It all depends on a good draw. Some fighters can be tiring as much as causing you problems during the fight with their quality. They are still growing and they do not have that physical strength yet and those three three-minute rounds are killers.
“Your opponents will find out any weaknesses in that time.
“When Luke reached the final in Ukraine (against Armenian Hovhannes Bachkov) it was two tough fights in three days. Pat boxed a Russian who was 27.
“Frenchy could have boxed a little better because he wast hit a bit more than normal – he never normally is hit – but I still think he was stitched up by the judges.
“You could actually see them tiring but it will comes as they get stronger. By the time they get to the Olympics – because hopefully they will qualify – they should be able to deal with it much better.” Rutherford is not just interested in his star fighters and any success in Germany will help the club as a whole. He added: “It is not just about the elite, it is about giving kids a better life and a bit of discipline. “You might be the only person in their lives who tell them they are doing well. “The door is always open for kids coming through and you have to keep the conveyor belt going because if you just concentrated on the elite there would be nothing else coming through.
“Other kids look up to those lads in the gym and they see how hard you have to work to get to where they are now.
“Their success is a bit of a leg-up because kids can see ‘Birtley’s trained them so they must know what they are doing. “If I stick in and listen maybe they can do it for me too.’
“There is always space for new kids. We run sessions on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.
“Kids can come in from six and they don’t have to box if they just want to keep the weight off because you never want to lose that community side.” Anyone interested in joining the club can phone Rutherford on 07857 546 141 for details.
They’re still growing and haven’t got that physical strength yet and those three three-minute rounds are killers