ONE OF A KIND
The magic and mischief in review as legend Brendan Ingle passes
MOST of us who have been in boxing in the UK over the last 50 years have a Brendan Ingle story or two.
Whether it was him phoning up the Boxing News office and tearing a strip off either myself or my predecessor Claude Abrams in defence of one of his fighters, if you boxed for him, boxed against him, were a fellow or upcoming trainer or if you were an administrator, you always remembered your exchanges with the Dublin-born Sheffield maestro.
More than an enigma and maverick combined, Ingle made men out of boys. He changed the direction of dozens of lives.
He sent kids to university instead of jail. He made no-hopers champions. And in one astonishing turnaround he took one young troublemaker and turned him into a prison director. Brian Anderson, by the way, also won the British middleweight title.
He had time for everyone, but not at the expense of his family. Sons Dominic and John, though, were very much on the boxing journey from the start. “When you’re brought up in a certain environment that’s what a normal environment is,” said Dominic. “One of my earliest recollections of there being something a bit different about Brendan, I was about four or five – I didn’t even know he was a boxer – was one Christmas we had a load of presents and there was big pile of Matchbox cars in a triangle, piled up in a pyramid, and I thought, ‘Look at all these cars, they’re all for me.’ And he said, ‘Pick five out of that.’ The rest were for the kids on the block. We lived in a terrace and we got on well with everyone and the other kids came in and they picked five cars and that’s how it was. He always used to share everything out.” The gym became a multi-cultural hub. “Brendan found time for everybody,” Dominic continued. “My mother wouldn’t suffer fools but my dad thought he could turn anyone around. ³
WHEN NELSON STARTED SPARRING, HE WOULD BE IN A CORNER AND BRING HIS LEG UP DEFENSIVELY”
ONE DAY BRENDAN AND NAZ HAD A BIT OF A ROW. THEY GOT IN THE RING AND PUNCHED LUMPS OUT OF EACH OTHER”
“MAY 25 was a very sad day for me, the Ingle family and Sheffield as a whole. It was especially upsetting for me as I spent a large part of early life and formative years guided by Brendan. In fact, during many of those years I spent more time with Brendan than my own family.
“I had an unbelievable and amazing time, created by Brendan, and I will never forget how Brendan laid the foundations for my boxing career, making me the fighter I became. Brendan brought something amazing to the sport of boxing and will be sorely missed by all who have had the pleasure of his company over the years. During my career there were times we were inseparable and I can honestly say that if it were not for Brendan Ingle I would not have achieved all I did in the sport of boxing.
“I hope in the years to come Brendan will be honoured, as I have, in the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Teaching his concept of boxing, hit and don’t get hit, producing five world champions, Brendan was a true innovator putting Sheffield boxing on the map.
“I wish to pass on my respect and condolences to the Ingle family and all Brendan’s friends at this difficult time.”
“He has always had time for people and he’d tell them straight, but he’d give them so many chances. If you went behind his back or anything, if you were a snake, pulled a fast one or double-crossed him then that were it, he’d cut them off. But if they came to him and said, ‘I’d done this, I’d done that, I’ve made a big mistake’ he always had time for them. Some of his greatest successes aren’t the ones who became world champions but who went to college, who went to university or whatever, kids over the years who had no dad in their life or whose dad was missing and that kid could come to the gym and train, spend time with Brendan and they’d be the only one in their family who didn’t end up in prison. These kids found a bit of discipline and motivation with someone they looked up to, who they’d seen on television, who they’d seen turning people round, seen that he’s a genuine guy so they trusted in him and trusted what his opinion was.
“So he had time for people that listened, and he’d say, ‘I can only give you the advice. If you can follow it, I came over from Ireland, I had nothing…’”
Brendan was worldy-wise. He saw a lot and it all registered. He was dyslexic and had learning difficulties as a kid in Dublin but was always looking at ways to improve himself as well as others.
“He learnt to read and then he
always read,” Dominic added. “I would see a book and think, ‘What’s he reading that for?’ But he always read books on psychology, loads of books and you’d never see him without a book.”
The knowledge was shared with family, but also with his willing stable of stars.
“I was six years old, my mum dragged me down to the Ingle Gym and chucked me in front of Brendan and I remember this unusual Dublin accent talking to me, that was my first memory,” recalled Ryan Rhodes.
“One day Naz and Brendan had a bit of a row. Naz turned round to Brendan and said, ‘If you were in your prime and I was in my prime I’d batter ya’. Brendan said, ‘Forget about primes, let’s do it now’. And they got in that ring and Brendan really tried to put it on Naz and they sparred for about 30 minutes non-stop. There was no bell. There was no referee. They just got in the ring and punched lumps out of each other. For 30 minutes. Nobody knew this but Brendan said about two weeks later he’d had to have a hot bath and just soak in it for two hours because he was in that much pain – but he never let anyone know.”
Rhodes is one of the disciples who does not like to think where he would be were it not for Brendan.
“Probably where a lot of my friends
ended up, in prison or just in a dead-end job,” he considered. “Not knowing what to do with my life. Brendan properly put me on the straight and narrow and coming from a massive council estate where not many people excelled in their lives at 16 or 17 I knew exactly what I wanted to do. As soon as I left school I had 18 months to wait to turn professional and as soon as I was 18 I was a professional fighter.
“I learned everything [from Brendan]. I’m the man I am from being around Brendan, being around John, being around Dominic, being around the Ingle Gym and being around everyone in the Ingle Gym.”
When John Keeton first walked through the door at the Wincobank gym, aged 12, he thought Brendan was Mickey Goldmill from the Rocky films.
It was not long before his own Rocky story, which culminated in the British cruiserweight title, was unfolding.
It was a hard journey for ‘Buster’ but there was plenty of fun along the way.
“One day Brendan said I had a fight with Crawford Ashley and everyone was saying I was crazy taking the fight. But I would fight anyone and Brendan said, ‘You’ve been training. You’ll be alright.’ He gave me a pep talk.
“He said to meet him at his house before going down and ‘the Naz fella’ – as he called him – was fighting as well. It was down in Cardiff. I got this fight, booked time off work and we went down on the train. I was with Naz the whole way down and we got down there, big hotel, and everyone was there, all the faces and we talked to a lot of people and it was a really good experience. The night before we were supposed to weigh in and Brendan said to me, ‘Don’t get the face on.’ ‘Why’s what’s up?’
He said, ‘The Board and John Morris [former chairman] won’t let you box the Crawford fella.’ ‘You’re joking, Brendan.’ ‘No, don’t get a face on.’ “I said, ‘I can’t believe it, I booked all this time off work.’ ‘Well, there’s nothing we can do about it. They’ve wrote the rules and that’s it.’
“So I started enjoying myself, was mingling about and ended up staying the night with Naz and Jesus Christ he kept me up all night. All night. He was ordering room service, interviewing himself in the bath, just having a laugh.
“I was shouting, ‘Naz, you’re boxing tomorrow, get some sleep. I was knackered.’
“He was an absolute nightmare. Naz boxed the kid’s head off [Peter Buckley’s], I was absolutely shattered having to babysit Naz all night.
“Anyway, on the way home Brendan said to me. ‘Did you enjoy it?’
‘Yeah, I did.’