God bless, Brendan
Farewell to a great boxing man who gave EVERY young hopeful his precious time and attention
BRENDAN INGLE was celebrated as a great trainer.
And that he was. But boxing was only part of his contribution to the Sheffield community.
He was also a great trainer in life. He cared about more than just boxing. He knew that most of the kids that passed through the doors of St Thomas’s Gym were not going to be professional fighters let alone champions.
But he still gave them that most precious of things – his attention, his time, making them feel important and providing a positive framework for making sense of the world.
Of course he will be remembered for the terrific champions he produced and for the unique style he fashioned.
He came from a boxing family. His brother, Jimmy, was Ireland’s first European amateur champion and Brendan had 30-odd fights as a pro. Like all of us he was much taken with Muhammad Ali and it was that kind of elusive style that underpinned his teachings.
When his fighters sparred they didn’t hit to the head. I remember thinking at the time that’s not really sparring, but it worked.
The idea was to hit and not be hit using the reflexes to sway out of range. Starting with Herol ‘Bomber’ Graham in the Eighties he brought through a host of brilliant champions, all of them switch hitters.
As good as ‘Bomber’ was he never did win a world title, losing twice in world championship bouts, first to a split decision against Mike McCallum and by KO to Julian Jackson when well on top.
Arguably Brendan’s greatest creation was Naseem Hamed, one of the hardest hitting featherweights in the history of boxing.
Naz transformed the British boxing landscape bringing a real sense of showmanship to the ring with his somersault entrances and extravagant style.
Johnny Nelson, Ryan Rhodes, Junior Witter all rolled off Brendan’s production line, enjoying outstanding careers.
He sprinkled his fighters with a bit of that old Dublin brio.
They could be cocky but as fighters you need that. Right to this day Kell Brook carries the Ingle stamp, trained by Brendan’s son Dominic in Sheffield.
Brendan and I were never particularly close. Our paths didn’t really cross, but as an Irishman and a boxer I was a huge admirer of his work and remain proud of his achievements.
His contribution to the community will be recognised with a funeral service next week at Sheffield Cathedral before his family and friends say their final goodbyes at the City Road Crematorium. God Bless you, Brendan. You will be sadly missed, but not forgotten.