Getting to know...Wayne Elcock by James Howard Sep 16th 2007

Few could argue after Howard Eastman's previous two defences of his title that the middleweight division's British gong needs a metaphorical boxing boot up the behind. Hard in training, and hoping to be the stimulant to revitalise the division's top domestic honour, Brummie switch hitter Wayne Elcock spoke to BritishBoxing.net about the upcoming fight, and his life in and out of the ring. With his date with Eastman fast closing in, Elcock is happy to report things are shaping up much as he would like. “I'm feeling good and looking forward to the fight! My preparations have gone well, there is still more to do but I am well on track.” Sky's decision not to broadcast the fight, made on the basis of Eastman's recent form, means this fight will not be broadcast to the television public, resulting in the resubmitting of purse bids. Have the events been a distraction for ‘Mad Dog'? “No, I never let it worry me. I just stayed focused after my trainer Paddy Lynch assured me he would do his best to make sure we won the re-submitted purse bids, thankfully he did, so it caused little disruption. It would have been nice to have got a TV date and gone out to a bigger audience, but once they made their choice not to broadcast the fight, there was nothing I could do to change their mind. I saw no point losing any sleep over it and just got on with the task at hand.” This professional attitude is typical of Elcock, who is expecting a rocky ride in his quest to be Britain's number one middleweight. “I'm expecting a very tough night's work. My trainer has worked on a good game plan and I'm confident.” He added that he hopes to “prove that Sky TV were wrong not to broadcast a very good fight.” Wayne, who is a real local favourite with loyal support, is from Shard End which he describes as being “not far from the outskirts of Birmingham”. He began boxing at 13 as a “hot headed” youth who was an enthusiastic scrapper before eventually settling down with the sport that would become his career. “Boxing seemed a natural step and really turned my life around and was much more rewarding.” The boxing bug had been contracted much earlier though, as the former WBU champion explains, “When I was 8 a friend of the family boxed for a local boxing club, he took me along with him to his club's boxing show… I got such a buzz! I knew it was what I wanted to do, even though I was still too young to do anything about it [laughing].” Heroes for the Birmingham man were Mike Tyson and Sugar Ray Leonard. “Mike Tyson was awesome and was a big inspiration when I was growing up. God knows what he could have done if he had stayed on track. “I also used to like the silky skills of Sugar Ray Leonard, I would try and put some of his moves into practise every time I went to the gym. I was always more of a boxer and I liked to throw flash combinations and be on the move, so his style and ring skills really appealed to me. I was lucky to have grown up in an era which saw some great fighters who all appealed to me in one way or another the likes of Hagler, Duran Hearns and closer to home our very own Dark Destroyer Nigel Benn was always exciting to watch.” Describing his amateur career as “staggered”, Elcock says he never fulfilled his potential in the non paid ranks. “I had a staggered amateur career and never really fulfilled my potential. I had started off great. I stayed unbeaten in my first nine fights, and I won the Birmingham and Midland counties titles on the way to reaching the Junior ABA semi-final in my debut season. “After suffering my first loss I drifted away for a bit. I did little or no training, I moved from club to club but still continued to win on local club shows but I never boxed often, and I was never in the gym enough for any of my trainers to consider entering me into ABAs again.” A dark period in his life became the source of new inspiration for ‘Mad Dog'. “The death of a close friend got me back on track and after a two-year break, I finally started to take the sport serious and wanted to again enter and win the ABA's to honour his memory. With no warm up fights, I moved to another new club, Erdington ABC who were in their maiden season. They saw enough in the gym to grant my wish and enter me into the senior championships. “I repaid their faith by capturing the Birmingham and Midlands titles once more en route to the final, where I was controversially stopped on the three standing count rule. The referee who halted the contest was brought before board after the championships and struck off for a five year period. By then it was no consolation to me, I felt I had failed my mate so again I walked away form the sport for close on three years this time.” In a cruel twist, boxing would only re-emerge for Elcock following further tragedy. “I only came back when my father died in 98. I started training to help ease my grief, well at least for the time I was in gym. A chance meeting at work led me to trainer Jez Brogan in Leicester, who at the time trained middleweight Neil Linford. I became Neil's main sparring partner for his tilt at the British title against Starie. “Another trainer Kevin Sanders was involved with Neil and came to watch us spar and was impressed enough for him to recommend me to Frank Maloney. After meeting Frank, I was offered pro terms. I did not want to leave the amateurs on a loss but I could not get a club show fight, so I entered ABA's just to get a bout and won Birmingham title in 1999 before pulling out, and trading the vest in to start my pro career. I ended my amateur career with 37 fights and 32 wins." Having completed his amateur story Wayne, who is a naturally vibrant conversationalist, quipped that his answer was “turning into war and peace” and wondered to both our humour if I had regretted asking the question. Now trained by the veteran duo, brothers Paddy and Tommy Lynch, Elcock is pleased with their relationship. “Our relationship is very good. It's relaxed and fun when we are ticking over, but all business when we have a fight on the cards… they really know how to get the best out of me. “I train at a gym which is attached to my trainer's business, Lyndon Scaffolding, which is in Garretts Green, Birmingham. I train 3 times a week in the gym, and I run on the alternate days with the weekend off when I'm ticking over. I change to six days a week, twice a day in gym and running everyday bar Sunday. Leading up to fight I increase the training again to three times a day in gym for a few weeks before the contest." Enjoying most “the end” of training when he knows he has “worked hard and had a good session”, Elcock names the worst aspect as when you have “being out of gym for a while and having to start back over again. I never enjoy them first few sessions.” Of his sparring, he names light-heavy Champ Tony Oakey as someone he enjoys working with. “My mate from Portsmouth, Tony Oakey, I have sparred 100's of rounds with. I have never come across someone who can work none stop. No matter how many rounds we do, he never seems to tire and really brings the best out of me. “On a learning curve I would say Robin Reid who was brilliant to spar. He has bags of natural ability and he was forever giving me advice during and after sparring, to help me improve my technique and to help me make it a more competitive spar for himself, as well as me." The passionate Brummie, who names Yuri Tsarenko as his toughest opponent, names his best boxing memory as “winning my first professional title [WBU] at Manchester's MEN Arena against Anthony Farnell. I had a good crowd there to support me and the experience, after also completing my first twelve rounds, was unbelievable." Wayne names rates Calzaghe and Mayweather as the best boxers domestically and internationally, and suggests they may both be victorious in the respective end of year bouts. “I think it's a tough call I'm going to go with Mayweather. I just think he may be just a little bit too slick, and Hatton may find it hard to pin him down. I know Ricky though, and he will be determined to make me eat those words, and I hope he does. He is a fantastic fighter and a great ambassador for British boxing, and I will be willing him onto to win and write his name firmly into boxing history. “Calzaghe-Kessler is another big fight but they always bring the best out of Joe, you only have to look at the Lacy fight to see that. I think Joe will again emerge victorious and silence any doubters once more and prove he is a world class fighter.” A dream match up for the confident but personable middleweight, who defeated Vincent Baldassara last year for the vacant WBF International title, would be the man he rates as “without doubt, the best and most naturally talented fighter of my time”, Roy Jones Jnr. Laughing and clearly at ease Wayne joked that Roy “does not share my enthusiasm, avoiding me to move up in weight”, adding more seriously “Joking apart, like Mayweather he had all the tricks in book.” Elcock's ambitions are simply “like any boxer, to win titles and in the long term go on to successfully defend them”. He would love the chance to box at a big venue stateside, “I would love the chance to box in America, at Madison Square or Caesar's Palace. Closer to home it would have to be Birmingham City football ground.” He doesn't relax much, preferring to save that particular pleasure for his later years. “I don't relax much if I'm honest, there is plenty of time for that when I'm older [laughing]. I only really get to relax when I go abroad with my family after my fight. I can switch off and enjoy spending quality time with my family, who I hardly get to see when I'm in training”. As a man who also has a large passion for football, Elcock manages and trains a local Sunday football team, Shard End Royals. I can't see players who have been subbed or not picked having to loud a criticism of the manager's selection! The players made him particularly proud last year by winning the league and cup. He says “it's made up from local youths in the area I grew up in; it gives me the chance to put something back into the area I grew up in”. An all round sports fan, Wayne is a Birmingham City fanatic. “I like all sports but mainly follow football really, I support Birmingham City. I have been fortunate enough to be picked to represent the Birmingham City All Stars in charity games on a number of occasions. It is all the more special for me, as I am the only none ex professional footballer. I have played at a good standard of non league football as a striker, but it's worlds apart and playing alongside the guys I have cheered form the terraces is an experience I can't put into words. They still have so much passion and desire to win as they did in their playing days and although age has made them a little slower now, they still have so much skill and composure on the ball. I find myself stood still at times admiring what they are doing but never long enough to not take advantage of it and have netted on every appearance thus far”. Commendably, charity work plays a big part of life away from the sporting art. “In between fights I do a lot of charity work for Macmillan cancer and children's charity Promise dreams. I also go into local companies to do motivational speeches. “I work with the 18-24 age group who are unemployed to help encourage and motivate them as they try to gain skills and qualifications through Pertemps recruitment. I also talk to the employees of my sponsor, a very successful local Birmingham company called the Amber Sun, who deal with property abroad.  “I make the time to try and visit many local schools youth and boxing clubs, to talk to the kids and promote my sport and share my experiences with them. Aside from that I do one to one personal training”. Should Elcock succeed in his challenge to current middleweight King Howard Eastman, it isn't only the British boxing public who will benefit. TICKETS FOR THE ELCOCK EASTMAN SHOWDOWN ARE AVAILABLE FROM THE FOLLOWING OUTLETS Coventry SKY DOME BOX OFFICE 02476 630693 / Dougie Walton 0797 163 7921 / Pat Cowdell 0794 9100 357 Birmingham LYNDON SCAFFOLDING GARRETTS GREEN 0121 789 7979 / Blue -0783 772 5490 OR 0773 415 2601

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