A visit to the famous Fight Factory by Kevin Taylor Jan 12th 2005

Set amidst a lot of new flats in Deptford, South East London, stands the Lord Clyde pub, little would you know from the outside, apart from a small sign on the wall, that above is where World champions, British champions and a host of up and coming youngsters are put through their paces at Maloney's Fight Factory. BritishBoxing.net were invited to the gym today to watch the boxer's training. On finally getting into the pub, don't ever let me play Russian roulette there are three doors to the pub, two were locked guess who got in on his third attempt! I was told the gym was upstairs to the right. And there it was, the heart of the Maloney Empire, a real throw back to the old days of boxing, sponsored by the sports nutrition's MaxiMuscle whose logos adorn most of the walls, the rest of the space on the walls is taken up with boxing posters and pictures, but then would I expect anything else from the boxing brothers who have done so much for British Boxing over the years. Alan Smith, one of the trainers started putting the boys through their paces, Rob Jeffries, Gary Woolcombe, Jake Guntert and Lee Cook all shadow boxing in the ring, before Gary and Jake donned the head gear to get down to a sparring session. You can tell Alan is proud of his boys, “Gary is like a long lost son, one I would love to lose” joked Alan as he got him ready for the ring, but Alan has been with Gary from the start and Gary has definitely got a big future, now 11-0, and like many of the other boys at the gym, 2005 will be a big year for him. Alan also said that when these two get in the ring they have some good battles, even though it is only sparring, and after watching them go at it for a couple of rounds, you can see why this is called the ‘Fight Factory'. Jake is fast becoming one of my favourite boxers, and also as I have said before is one of the most polite boxers I've ever spoken too, but then this could be said of any of the boys in Maloney's camp as they all found time to chat and pose for pictures today. Jake is really looking forward to getting back in the ring again and when asked how he sees 2005 going. “All I want is to carry on winning, and winning in good style”. Jake is due to box on the next Maloney show at Portsmouth on the 12th of February and also two weeks later at the ‘Elephant and Castle', “I had my first fight with three minute rounds last time out and the next is likely to be a 4x3, before I move up to 6x3's hopefully. Frank Maloney took the stage next to explain a bit about Maloney promotions and the fight factory. Maloney Promotions as the name suggests is run by Eugene Maloney, an ex-pro fighter and he is advised by brother Frank. “The backroom team is the best in British boxing today, and is as good as any professional football”, said Frank, “You can tell Maloney Promotions mean business, just by the backroom team”. Of course Maloney promotions all have strong ties with Sports Network and Danny Hunt, who is managed by Frank, and Kevin Mitchell also both train here. The flagship boxer of the Fight Factory is of course, ‘The Bedford Banger', Matt Skelton, current British and Commonwealth heavyweight champ. ‘Of course you know that we tried to get Roman Greenberg for Matt's next fight”, Frank continued, “but he's more interested in fighting at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York, never heard of the place myself, but if he would rather fight in front of one thousand people instead of on television against Matt”. “We are in the process of matching Matt in a big international fight that will take place on the 25th February at Wembley.” One name being touted is Georgian Georgi Kandelaki who last visited these shores in May 2002, when he beat Derek McCafferty on the undercard of the title fight between Tony Oakey and Neil Simpson in Portsmouth, it is hoped that an announcement can be made next week. “Chief support for Matt will be Graham Earl, who will defend against Kevin Bennett, before we try and get him a shot at a World title later in year.” continued Frank. Skelton then stepped into the ring for a few rounds of sparring, including a couple of rounds with Lewisham cruiserweight Junior MacDonald who will make his pro debut on the Portsmouth card in a month's time. Babatunde Ajayi trainer of Junior is hoping for big things from Junior “He really is a big prospect, he always gives 100% in training, some on train hard where they have a fight coming up, but Junior is always training hard, he can't wait to get in the ring, he's been chomping at the bit for a long time waiting for this one.” “Frank actually tried to get him to move over from the amateur's a couple of years back, but I didn't think the time was right, Junior also had a very good job as a senior engineer at Hewlett Packard, so it was a tough decision for him and as Junior is not one to do things by half, it took him a while to make the decision. Now he has I am going to go to William Hill and put a bet on him becoming a World Champion one day" Looking around the gym while Matt was sparring, it was amazing to see all the boxer's going through their routines; Elvis M, Kevin Mitchell and Chas Symonds were all going through their paces on a variety of different bags, while others were skipping and doing stretches. Dagenham featherweight Kevin Mitchell, the lad who is already building himself a ‘love/hate' relationship with the boxing fans around the country, took time out from his routine to have a quick chat with me. “I've had two weeks off over Christmas and now I am getting back to full fitness again, it's been a hectic time as I am moving into a new flat and also my girlfriend is about to have a baby at any time. I have been rushing around for the past four months, going running, then taking my girlfriend to work, then to the gym , then back to pick my girlfriend up, but things will be easier once the baby is born”. I did warn Kevin that his troubles are only just starting! “I'm fighting next on Matt's undercard at Wembley, can't wait to get back in the ring”. The one thing that stands out when you're talking to the boxer's is that they are all unbeaten and most of them are looking to win titles this year, just goes to prove what a good squad of boxers they are putting together at the Fight Factory. I got to chat with Chas Symonds next, Chas was involved in my fight of the year in 2004, his epic battle with Brett James at Bethnal Green, and he certainly had a very good 2004. He fights a six rounder in February before a sky debut against fellow contender Ross Minter in March or April. He would then like to take on Matthew Hatton for a belt of some form, probably an intercontinental title of some sorts. Unbeaten lightweight Rob Jeffries was next on my list to speak to, Rob is currently 7-0 and trained by Ernie Rutherford, and has a busy year ahead of him, if he is to achieve his goals, he has an eight-rounder in March, and then would like to fight for the Southern Area, then English title, before going for the British title or one of the intercontinental titles before the year is up. “I'm afraid of no-one in the lightweight division, I am very strong at the weight, and one way or another I will end up with some form of title this year” said a confident Jeffries. After watching Kevin Mitchell doing a few more exercises under the direction of Tunde (Just a mild workout according to Tunde, I'd hate to see the real thing), it was time to retreat to the bar for a couple of pints, courtesy of Eugene, and to watch the “Unofficial Maloney Promotions Pool contest”, which saw Matt Skelton beat Eugene Maloney before Matt departed back to Bedford. I'd like to thank Eugene, Frank and James for inviting me, and to all the boxers and trainers for taking the time to talk to me, A great day out, I was only sorry that I couldn't stay a bit longer, but I hope to pay a lot more visits to the gym in the future, as Maloney Promotions go from strength to strength and hopefully to watch their boxers capture more titles through 2005. The next Maloney show will be on the 12th February, and sees the return of Tony Oakey, at the Mountbatten Centre, Portsmouth and features many of the Maloney boys in action. Pictures on this page by Eric Guy and Kevin Taylor, the good ones are of course Eric's!

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