Leeds Scene: Batesons on Boxing by Paul Concannon Jun 27th 2006

Leeds' husband and wife team Martin and Anne Bateson are two of the most well-liked figures on the West Yorkshire fight scene. Proprietors of the flourishing Batesons Burley Hill ABC (AKA as Smokeys, after Martin's nickname from his fighting days), with its rising crop of Golden Gloves calibre fighters, Martin and Anne are a couple on a mission. Martin is a former top-level amateur with a solid reputation for coaching to perfection, with dedication and tireless enthusiasm, and Anne, herself an ABA boxing coach, provides support and commitment that is an integral part of what makes the Burley Hill club a success. Be it to the local youth in the community, to relationships in the communities in Burley and the surrounding areas, to woman's involvement in the sport, to closing the gap between the amateur and professional fight game here in the UK, Martin and Anne have passionately built bridges over the last ten years or so, and the future promises more of the same. Britishboxing.net caught up with the Bateson's recently to talk about some exciting developments at the Burley Hill Club and their plans for the future. BB.net: Hi guys – how are things going with you and Batesons Burley Hill ABC just now? Anne: We are due a huge facelift, a full refurb. With respect of what that means for the gym, there will be a complete new weights room, the gym area will be streamlined and we will have new software installed that monitors membership levels, member usage, individual progress etc – the design that we have chosen is still very inner city/warehouse in keeping with the original style of the gym. We are planning to start later in the summer – time and date to be confirmed. It's an exciting time, everyone we have spoken to at Leeds City Council has been fully supportive of what we are looking to achieve because it's nothing but good for the community, we have been working to support the local area for years with community projects. Social Enterprise, which is a government initiative around making positive and healthy changes in peoples lives, is 100 % behind us – there has been no negativity whatsoever. Our sponsors are helping to support us by providing us with equipment and some complementary training, which includes things like programmes for less able-bodied people. BB.net: Martin, how long have you been involved in the sport and where and when did you start? Martin: I have been involved since I was nine, I actually started back in 1971, and no I don't look that old! I'm local to here, originally from Burley. I started off in Burley club, which was actually in nearby Woodhouse. Then from Burley we moved to another club in Meanwood. BB.net: What was your amateur record like? Martin: I had about 70 fights in all, winning about 50 odd. I would say I was a very unlucky, I was scheduled to fight in a few ABA finals; I broke my leg before one fight and my hand before another! What didn't help me in my fighting days is that I should have been a southpaw but my trainer converted me but what he didn't know was that I was left handed and left footed too! Luckily we know better now and realise that southpaws can actually be good technical fighters so we leave them as they are. Anne: He really was unlucky, breaking his leg and hand on consecutive occasions after getting all the way – once that opportunity is gone, you don't get it back! BB.net: Who trained you back then? Martin: My trainers were Harry Pinkney & Vince Flynn, both of whom are alive and well and very much involved in boxing I am pleased to say. Harry is running a gym in Meanwood – and Vince is now in Spain running a pro gym. BB.net: Martin, your brother Mark was another decent amateur and is currently a popular face on the local fight scene. Martin: Yes, he was an amateur trainer for a while and ran his own gym, the Round One Gym, and he has now gone on to training and managing the professionals – he is currently managing rising prospect Danny Reynolds who is a cracking fighter, amongst others, and he promotes about three shows a year at Elland Road. BB.net: Anne, before your involvement in boxing you were a talented ballet dancer; where did your involvement in boxing begin? Anne: Martin is to blame! I was dancing from a very early age, and believe me, ballet training is one of the few things where the training is almost as tough as boxing, I was also a fencing champion and eventually the two things took their toll and I ended up wearing out my knees. I went back to dancing but I only got so far (because of the knee damage). Then I met Martin, and he suggested that I have a go at boxing training. We were both surprised how quickly I picked it up. We realised that we had a good symmetry through the fencing and dancing and I could train as hard without having the same impact on my knees. I absolutely loved it. BB.net: So where did the two of you meet? Anne: We met about 13 years back. I am originally from Cheshire and I was popping over to Leeds for a real night out to escape the pretentiousness of the wine bars of Hale and Altringham. There was a funky club here in Leeds at the time that played 60's and 70's music called The Cooker, and Martin was on the door there, so that's how we met. Martin: (With a smile) She just wanted a real man! BB.net: So, with the working class lad from Leeds and the girl from the suburbs of Cheshire, does that make you the Posh and Becks of Leeds? Martin: Well I'm a few million or so behind him at the moment! Anne: Not sure about that, though I used to be as thin as Posh when I was dancing! BB.net: Right, on a serious note, Anne, you are an ABA level coach – tell me about what was involved in reaching that standard of coaching? Anne: That was tough, and not an experience that I would want to repeat any time soon. First I had to go through the assistant coach course, then the full coach course which was very physically demanding – I'm not quite as strong as the guys, and it was tough going up against the men trainers as they insist that (when on the pads and bags) all shots are delivered with the same speed and power. There are no favours for women, and on top of the physical stuff there's the theory test as well. Martin: You know what? They actually had Anne and I sparring on the day, and they were surprised at how well she did. At that point there were very few women reaching that coaching level, there is a few more now but at that stage it was very rare. Anne: There is an option in the future to go on to Senior Coach level which may be more likely once the gym refurb is complete, I will have a chance to train a lot more and focus a lot more on that, rather than just the day-to-day running of the gym. BB.net: Martin-how long have you owned the gym here and how long have you been coaching? Martin: We have had it about 10 years or so and I have been coaching all that time – the first five years were the toughest, in terms of both time and gaining in experience in being a trainer. It wasn't easy at first and I gradually learned from my mistakes. This game is like anything else, expertise comes with trial, error and experience and I think that has been reflected in the results and the lads we have produced over the last five years. BB.net: What sort of results have you been getting? Martin: I train the lads 3-4 nights a week and weekends when they are in competition, and the dedication has paid off; for example Qais Ashfaq and Damon Jones who both won Golden Gloves titles this year, we were the only gym in Yorkshire to have had two winners. In the last four years we have never failed to have a fighter in the national championships and we have had four lads through to semis in the 2006 schoolboy championship. Take that kid there on the bag (pointing too a speedy youngster working combinations), Daven Chopra – he lost out to that kid McGuire. We have championship level fighters like Adil Anwar, both of whom will be turning pro in the next couple of years, and Hisan Yaquob. BB.net: You have both talked before about the corrosion in skills in the UK fight game – tell me what you notice, why these skills are being lost and what can be done at grass roots level to help stop the decline? Martin: In this country our boxers seem to hit and hold much more than say the Americans. Is it a lack of confidence or conditioning that makes them hold? I understand that journeymen might do so to survive and get a payday, that's ok. When it comes to top pros that want to go for big titles they should be discouraged from holding. Anne: You only have to look at Cuba whose boxers are excellent at amateur level to see the gulf in class. Ultimately the amateurs become pro's, that's the idea in most cases, and, no, it's no coincidence that in America amateurs train alongside professionals and just learn so much more, they turn pro at 18 and are already extremely gifted. In this country the amateurs are kept totally separate from the pros, and what's the reason for it? It's not benefiting anyone and is ultimately just a case of old men making decisions for young men. In so many sports, amateurs and professionals train together, why not boxing? Martin: Certain kids coming through have had the exposure to training with the pros, and with very little amateur experience they already have a certain something about them, on a different level completely. Anne: I think what has happened with Amir Khan has helped break down the barriers between amateur and professional, his exposure when turning professional has shed a lot of light on the importance that the amateur game has to the professional game. BB.net: Anne, you coach a particularly gruelling boxersise class here on Tuesday and Thursday nights. What's your ethos and what are you looking to bring to the table for the people that attend? Anne: I want to inspire people and to make a very real and positive change in peoples lives. I have a sense of responsibility that people look to me as a provider of inspiration, for example, some girls here recently had saw me train and brought friends down, and they told me that they had heard so much about me and really wanted me to help them make that positive change for themselves. The class is challenging, sometimes I feel bad, wondering have I worked people almost too hard! BB.net: And what's your ethos on coaching Martin? Martin: It comes down to this; I work the boxers to be competent, focussed and dedicated, we work hard, I expect 100% at all times, I want the best for the fighters and I expect nothing less than 100%. We have a great relationship with the lads here, one minute I will shout and ball and the next we will be back laughing and joking. There is a lot of mutual respect and a great atmosphere at the gym. Anne: When Martin fought he was never once stopped or off his feet in over 70 fights, and that was down to his level of dedication and he expects nothing less from the fighters. Martin's nickname as a fighter was Smokey, after ‘Smoking' Joe Frazier because he never took a backward step. He is very ambitious and wants to prove himself and the way that shows up is through the performance of the fighters and the results they produce. BB.net: Do you have favourite fighters? Martin: Without question, Sugar Ray Robinson. He was phenomenal, always gave 100%; he had the lot, speed, chin, power stamina and to think he boxed at world level into his 40's. Right now, I would have to say, Calzaghe. People criticise him for the postponements and injuries but his left hand is a real and genuine problem. He is very underestimated, a good southpaw, and he throws lovely fast combinations. He would be more devastating if not for the left hand and sometimes you can tell in the way he throws, he slaps a bit as he punches as he cannot always put full power into it. Anne: Oscar De La Hoya, he is awesome, has never ducked anybody and has won world titles at six weights. That's class. BB.net: What does the future hold for you both? Martin: Eventually, I will get to stage where I want to go pro, it might take five years or so but that's the ultimate goal, manage and train the professionals, have our own shows like Mark. Ultimately that will mean another gym, but I love the amateurs and would still always want to be involved in the amateur game as well. Anne: Eventually I would like to manage some of the lads as they turn professional. The lads have confidence in my ability; I spend time in the gym working out with them, working on routines and their diet sheets etc. I definitely want to work with supporting them, as they turn professional. Some of the older fighters are getting to an age where they will not stay amateur for too much longer, and I would love to be a part of that process of getting the very best for them. BB.net. Do you have any final thoughts or words you would like to add? Anne: I would just like to say that we have such a good time here over the last 10 years or so, we have met some lovely people and had so much fun, and we are really exited about the future. This is such a hard sport; I have so much respect and 100% admiration for every single kid that gets in that ring. BB.net: On that positive note Martin and Anne, thanks very much for taking the time to speak with britishboxing.net. Martin: Anytime. Anne: It's been a pleasure. Writers footnote: In a sport filled with genuine people, Martin and Anne Bateson are two of the best. The final word goes to Adil Anwar, one of the rising talents at Batesons Burley Hill ABC. "I had always been a quiet kid, a bit nervous but I was still getting into trouble. Nothing big, just mixing with the wrong people, at the Gym, Mr Bateson not only taught me how to box but how to believe in myself, how to realise my potential and most important of all how to get off the streets and do something worthwhile. I now see a better future for myself. Thanks to my coach, Boxing has taught me self discipline and the ability to listen to people who know better.” For further information on Bateson's Burley Hill ABC, please call 0113 2242800. Photos by Paul Knox - www.om-shantiphotography.co.uk/

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

Friend name: Friend email: Your name: Your email:   Privacy Statement

my gym Jul 3rd 2006, 13:40:36 by killa-kez thats were i box. its an excellent gym, train hard but at the same time hav a little fun too