‘SAFETY IS EVERYTHING’
Glenn Mccrory talks to Paul Wheeler about a serious subject that is very close to his heart
GLENN MCCRORY went through hell in order to make weight for his March 1990 IBF cruiserweight title defence against Jeff Lampkin. The intense strain of boiling his body down to 190lbs – the cruiser limit at the time – left the man from Annfield Plain in County Durham dangerously dehydrated going into the fight. Although he lost via third-round KO, the outcome could have been far, far worse, as he was fortunate not to have suffered grave physical damage. After witnessing other boxers in a similar position not be so lucky in subsequent years, the serious issue of dehydration in boxing is one that Mccrory is extremely passionate about. You are an ambassador for Totum Sport and believe that it can play a vital role in helping boxers to avoid dehydration. What exactly is the product?
Totum Sport is a nutrient-rich solution from sea water, harvested below huge plankton blooms in the Bay of Biscay. It’s a 100 per cent natural supplement that contains the complete 78 electrolytes that your body cells need to function effectively. There’s nothing else out there like it. This is all scientifically proven – it’s not just me babbling on! It’s not going to make you run 100 metres in 10 seconds, but it’s going to keep you hydrated, which can only be a good thing for your performance and, more importantly, your health.
I’ll be honest, I was a bit pessimistic when I first heard about Totum Sport, because I’ve heard a lot of people say a lot of things over the years about this supplement and that supplement. I’m currently training to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, so I thought to myself, in a typical crazy way that people from the North East often do, ‘I’ll get my big boots on, my big backpack, and walk 15 miles today. But I’ll take no water. I’ll just take a Totum Sport sachet.’ I wanted to test the product myself. All I had was this little sachet, but after having it, I wasn’t thirsty!
Obviously, I still should’ve taken the water with me, as you need that intake of water – it’s such an important thing. But so many boxers and trainers think that if you’re dehydrated, you just need water. The reality is, though, that water takes a little bit longer [than Totum Sport] to enter your cells, as it’s a drip-feed system. So, if you’re in a fight, only having water is not going to help you. You need something that’s going to quickly provide your body with the essential minerals and electrolytes – that’s what Totum Sport does. All you need is one sachet before the fight, then one after to aid recovery and replace the fluids that you’ve lost. As we have sadly seen in the past, the consequences of being severely dehydrated during a boxing match can be tragic.
This obviously isn’t tragic, but I saw two people lose their titles in May – Lee Selby and Jamie Mcdonnell – and dehydration may have been a factor in both instances. Jamie could well have been pulled out at the weigh-in he looked so bad. In a way, it was fortunate that he lost early on in the fight, in the same way that I did against Lampkin. Had we both been in tough 12-round fights instead, we could easily have ended up in hospital. Nobody would let a kid go in the ring without a gumshield, so why on earth do we let them go in the ring dehydrated? This is awful, but I knew what was going to happen to Paul Ingle [who suffered a blood clot on his brain against Mbulelo Botile in December 2000]. I’d been there when the same thing happened to Spencer Oliver [against Sergey Devakov in May 1998]. After seeing how Paul looked at the weighin, I remember saying to [fellow boxing commentator] Ian Darke, ‘This fight shouldn’t happen. This isn’t going to end well.’ Paul looked ill and had dips in his temple. The only time I’d seen that before was with me, when I fought Lampkin. When you have dips in your temple, it shows that you’ve lost fluid from your brain. As soon as you lose that protective coating, you’re in danger of suffering brain damage. But I had no dietician, no nutritional advice, nothing. I just used to eat rubbish when I was outside of camp, and then when it came to having to make weight for a fight, I’d train hard and not eat! It was crazy.
I was ringside commentating on Scott Westgarth’s fight against Dec Spelman in February [after which Westgarth tragically died from injuries sustained in the ring]. It was a tough, gruelling fight. In the post-fight interview, Scott seemed to be scratching his head and blinking quite a bit, but no one thought much of it. He was having photos taken and whatnot after winning the decision. Then the next minute, he’s being rushed off to hospital. ³
ALL I DID BEFORE THE FIGHT WAS SKIPPING AND SWEATING IN FRONT OF HEATERS”
I know Scott’s dad, John Westgarth. I fought him a long time ago [in September 1985] and he’s my pal. At Scott’s funeral, he told me that after the fight, Scott had vomited, and the vomit stunk of energy drinks. I’ll never forget that. A lot of people think that these high-sugar energy drinks help you rehydrate, but they don’t do anything of the sort. They may give you a little energy-kick, but that’s about it.
What more needs to be done to educate boxers on the dangers of dehydration?
You just have to look at the people who use Totum Sport. [Jockey] Frankie Dettori was in his dressing room sucking on a sachet before he won the Ascot Gold Cup last month. [Tennis player] Rafael Nadal has it between sets. I played golf at [former athlete] Steve Cram’s charity golf day recently, and in the goody bag for the players was a sachet of Totum Sport. It’s a relatively new product, but word is getting out.
We’re going to speak at the WBC Convention to try to get them on board. We’ve also been speaking to [British Boxing Board of Control General Secretary] Robert Smith about it. I’d be more than happy to speak to the trainers and boxers about it, in order to educate them, because it means so much to me. Anything I can do to help in this campaign, I’ll happily do. Yes, boxers are always taking a little bit of a chance when they get in the ring, but as long as they’re educated on the serious importance of being correctly and sufficiently hydrated, there is a massively better chance that tragic incidents will be avoided. Safety is everything in sport, and education is the key.
Are there other things that you think should be implemented in the sport to prevent dehydration?
Well, the Board have proposed something to the governing bodies that I believe is a great idea. To give title-holders an incentive to move up in weight, and therefore avoid having to potentially cut an unhealthy amount of weight and risk dehydration, you could give them a top four rating at the higher weight, rather than being placed at the bottom of the rankings and having to basically start again.
This system would’ve been great for me when I was the IBF cruiserweight champion. I’d beaten Patrick Lumumba for the title, then successfully defended it against Siza Makathini [both in 1989]. So instead of having to then defend against Lampkin, imagine if the powers that be had said to me, ‘Glenn, if you decide to move up to heavyweight, we’ll put you in the top four.’ Then I would’ve been guaranteed a major payday – which I never really got during my career – and I wouldn’t have had to cut weight. It would’ve definitely provided me with an incentive to sensibly move up in weight.
What are your memories of the Lampkin fight?
All I did before that fight was just stand in front of heaters skipping and sweating in order to make weight. Yes, I did some sparring, but that wasn’t even important in camp. It wasn’t even about the opponent. It was just all about making the weight. After skipping, sparring and shadowboxing, I’d get in a plastic suit and sit in a little cupboard for an hour to sweat some more. I’d been named North East Sports Personality
PULLING OUT WASN’T AN OPTION FOR ME BECAUSE I NEEDED THE MONEY – I WAS ON THE DOLE WHEN I WON THE WORLD TITLE”
of the Year that year, and there’s a picture of me picking up my award where I look absolutely ghastly – completely weight-drained. But pulling out of the fight just wasn’t an option for me, because I needed the money. I was on the dole when I won the world title.
The day before the Lampkin fight, I wrote what was basically a death letter to my then-missus. Remember, I was only 25 years of age at the time. I wrote in the letter, ‘Whatever happens, tell Victoria that Daddy will always love her.’ I wasn’t even thinking straight. After the fight, I hated boxing and never wanted anything to do with it again… until I got a tax bill for 80 grand and needed to earn some money to pay it off!
When I challenged Al Cole [for the IBF cruiserweight title in July 1993], I still wasn’t in love with the game – I was just fighting for the money – but I was in great shape. I’d lost my pride against Lennox Lewis [up at heavyweight in September 1991]. Taking that fight was just a rash, stupid decision to pay off my tax bill. I remember calling him a big, useless Canadian to make him want to fight me, just so I could earn some money! After losing that fight [in two rounds], I was disgusted with myself. I could’ve done so much better against Lennox, if I’d taken the fight for the correct reasons and if my mind had been right. For the Cole fight, I made sure I did everything properly. I went straight out and got a nutritionist and a conditioning coach. I made the weight perfectly and felt as strong as an ox. Obviously, the fight didn’t go my way, as I lost on points. But I proved that I was still good enough to compete at world title level, and that was enough for me. There were just over three years between my fights with Lampkin and Cole. That period really grieves me, as I should’ve still been the champion during that time, but I hadn’t been properly educated on how to make weight safely and remain hydrated. It’s so, so important to make sure that you’ve got the right nutritionist and conditioning coach, and that you take the right supplements. If you want to be the best, that’s what it takes.
AFTER THAT FIGHT I HATED BOXING AND NEVER WANTED TO FIGHT AGAIN”