McDermott the master by Ronnie McCluskey Oct 28th 2004

In recent months, John McDermott has re-surfaced among the upper echelon of british boxing trainers. McDermott never really left. He was always amongst the top coaches residing on these shores. But his recent success with protege Craig Docherty has once again propelled the 'ringmaster' back into the limelight. McDermott was an excellent boxer himself, representing his country at the 1962 Commonwealth Games. Boxing at featherweight, he triumphed over Kenyan Ali Juma in the final, and many boxing pundits praised his performance, hailing him as the fighter of the competition. Going all the way to Perth, Australlia and coming home with top honours was a feat marvelled upon by everyone within the Scottish boxing establishment. After a brief stint as pro, including a winning comeback fight in 1967 - the year Celtic lifted European cup honours - McDermott retired. It was not to be the last of him, though. McDermott stayed in and around the Scottish boxing scene, and eventually opened Blantyre Miners Gym, shooting to fame once again by guiding Croy flyweight Pat Clinton to the world title in 1992. He has also worked with fighters such as the Townsley brothers (Joe and Jackie), Scott Dixon, and of course Docherty. Only this year, the great man's efforts were rewarded with the prestigious MBE award for services to boxing. It was a long time coming. Today, McDermott has a healthy stable of professionals and amateurs under his command. Among them, Commonwealth king Docherty, unbeaten prospects Craig Dickson, Jamie Coyle and Darren Johnstone, and top welterweight Kevin McIntyre. John also has high hopes for amatuer champion Joe Kelso, whom he predicts can go "all the way".

Go back Comment on this article | Send to a friend | Print

There are no comments. Click here to be the first who comment on this article.