Influential boxing trainer
Born: June 19, 1940;
Died: May 25, 2018
BRENDAN Ingle, who has died aged 77, was a boxing trainer who became one of the British fight scene's most influential figures, training four world champions, including Naseem Hamed and Johnny Nelson. He was also an effective champion of boxing's ability to transform sometimes troubled lives for the better.
Irishman Ingle initially established the Ingle Gym in Wincobank, Sheffield, to provide a place for young people to train, and was made an MBE in 1998 for his services and contributions to British boxing and for his work with young people in the city.
His success and that of his fighters owed much to his unique methods - he would get fighters to sing the colours of the rainbow while they practised their footwork to improve their co-ordination.
If not the highest profile, Nelson perhaps represents Ingle's biggest success in the way he was transformed into a world champion having lost his first three fights.
Ingle told the story of spotting a seven-year-old 'Prince Naseem' evading bullies from the top deck of a bus. He would later teach him how to fight and under his guidance Hamed became featherweight champion of the world and one of the most dominant fighters on the planet.
The two would split, acrimoniously, and Hamed's career tailed off. He has spoken of failed attempts to reconcile with his former mentor.
Kell Brook and Junior Witter also came through Ingle's gym. It remains active today under the guidance of his sons, Dominic and John, but it was Brendan Ingle who was the undoubted mastermind of the operation.
Ryan Rhodes won British and European crowns under Ingle and said the trainer played a massive part in his life. "No-one was bigger than the gym," he said. "No-one was above the gym. It was Brendan's way or the highway. That was the good thing about it - everybody trained together and everybody helped each other along."
Brendan Ingle was born in Dublin but it was in Sheffield where he truly made his mark. He had moved from Ireland to South Yorkshire when he was 18 and as a professional middleweight had 33 fights, winning 19.
It was in Wincobank that a local vicar asked Ingle to contribute to some community work to help youths, and it was his organisation of a weekly dance at St Thomas' church hall that led to the opening of his highly-respected gym.
"All the nutcases were coming in," he said in 1999. "After the Sunday dance people would turn out on to the street and start fighting down Newman Road. So after 11pm we'd lock the doors, I'd fetch the gloves out, which thinking about it now was crazy. I would referee. Nobody ever got hurt." The sign at the gym famously read: "Boxing can seriously damage your health, but teaches self-discipline and gets you fit. Smoking, drinking and drugs just damage your health."
Ingle led Nelson to his world tile in 1999, four years after Hamed began his reign at featherweight. Hamed proved to be the finest fighter the Irishman ever worked with while establishing himself as one of Britain's greats, but they parted ways in 1998 and their once-close relationship never recovered.
There are others Ingle influenced, including Dave Coldwell and reformed convict Richard Towers, who continue to pass on his lessons and methods as trainers in gyms elsewhere.
Ingle is survived by his wife Alma and five children.
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