THE MEANING OF BOXING
Three-weight world titlist Duke Mckenzie discusses his gym and what boxing means to him, writes John Dennen
Catching up with former three-weight world title-holder Duke Mckenzie
‘YOU’VE GOT TO KNOW WHEN TO SPEAK AND WHEN NOT TO’
IT’S a rare opportunity indeed to be able to stroll into a boxing club and train under the guidance of a three-weight world titlist. But that’s exactly what’s on offer at the Duke Mckenzie Fitness Centre in Crystal Palace. However, after eight years in its location, Duke is being forced out of his premises...
So there’s an issue with the landlord?
Basically, the bottom line is he’s asked me to pay a premium for the insurance on this building. I’ve paid my rent on time for the last eight years… But my argument is he’s asked me to pay insurance on this building, this building’s riddled with damp. You can see it, it’s all on the walls, I’ve got leaks in the ceiling. There’s a hole in the ceiling over there! But it’s served its purpose.
It’s more money than I pay in rent and I’m not having it. So that’s where the fallout’s been. He says if you’re not going to pay it, move on. I’m happy to move on. I’ll move on, I’m pretty close to signing a deal [for a premises] back in my home town of Croydon. Ideally I’d like to stay in Crystal Palace but I just can’t afford the rent. On the high street the rent’s ridiculous. If I’ve got to go back to Croydon, I’ll go back to Croydon. I’m really disappointed, but it’s out of my hands.
But it’s good for this area to have a boxing gym.
There’s absolutely nothing [else]. I’ve got about 80 kids in my gym and I’m getting more all the time. Really for them, not so much the members, more for the kids that are in my gym I’m aggrieved. It’s a proper after school club.
I run it like a proper youth club… I try to educate the kids. The confidence that some of these girls and boys get from this, some of them are a little bit of trouble, some of them but not all of them, and they do a complete 360 [turn around].
I give them hope at the end of the day. Some of them have dropped out of school and one or two other situations and they’ve been looking for an outlet. With all this gang culture and one thing and another, when I was a kid we had like a ‘boxing gang’. Do you know what I mean? It was me, Frank Bruno, all my brothers, cousins, it was like a proper boxing gang but it was all structured. Everything was structured. Everything was positive and everyone was doing so well, except me really but I was just happy to be part of it.
I’ve got a lot of people in my gym that are dependent, not on me, but they’re dependent on my gym. They see it as an outlet, they really do.
When you were an amateur, what did you hope to achieve?
My goals, dreams and aspirations were only to be around where my brothers were. Dudley and Clinton were in the professional game and if I was around my brothers I was happy.
I looked through Mickey Duff’s list of champions many, many times and I had the worst amateur credentials.
Their pedigree was good. Mine was the complete opposite. In the amateurs I never won a national title. The key to going to the next level was the belief that Dudley had given me and experiences that I was experiencing with Mickey Duff, couple that with the coach that I had, Colin [Smith], who was another father figure to me. I was just surrounded by all this love and attention that I never really had before and I suppose I rose to it.
Boxing will strip your soul naked and leave you empty or it can give you the highest highs. Boxing gives you the highest highs or the lowest of the lows. Been around all that I’ve been so lucky.
I just hope I can give back what boxing’s given me to somebody just like me; young, hungry, wide-eyed, starving. I was almost malnourished for the education. So I’m lucky.
What is it you want to pass on to the people that train here?
Everybody comes here for different reasons. Some people come here to lose weight. Some people come here just to get boxing technique, others come to put weight on, others come just because they’re having a bad day.
You’ve just got to know when to speak, when not to speak. Again I’ve been lucky to have been around people like Mickey Duff and Colin my coach who taught me that. What to say, when to say it and how to say it. Because what will motivate you won’t necessarily motivate that guy on the bag.
I’ve had all these different people in my life that influence my life but ultimately all had the same goal, to give me their best.
I picked up certain traits off of them… People like talking to me mainly because I like talking to them.
The structure’s the same [as it was for me] and I’m hoping that will rub off on them and give them the same sort of discipline and morals in their lives as that gave me.