About.... Wayne Elcock was always a fighter destined to make it to the top of the sport, with his sheer skill and determination from which he had to call upon to overcome some of the toughest times in his life. He came through those adversities strongly, capturing the British Middleweight and WBU Middleweight titles while also challenging for the IBF title against Arthur Abraham along the way. Wayne was born in Birmingham on the 12th February and grew up with hopes of being a professional football player, due to his talent for the game, but after one of his friends talked him into going to a local boxing gym he fell in love with the sport and it wasn’t long before he was thinking more about a career in boxing than one which involved turning out for his hometown club Birmingham City. His amateur career was a stop start event and one which would see him leave the sport for months at a time while getting into trouble away from it, hence the nickname “Mad Dog”. The year of 1995 was one that changed Wayne's attitude and turned his life around. His closest friend Leroy Wright was sadly found hanging from a tree after committing suicide at the age of just nineteen years old. He was the man who always told Wayne to take his boxing more seriously and with that in mind he decided that an A.B.A title would be a great dedication to his friends memory. Wayne took a few months away from boxing to grieve and returned for a run at the A.B.A Title, At the time many expected Wayne to come up short and gave him little chance but that just served as way to prove people wrong and that’s exactly what he did, climbing his way to the final, losing to a fighter named John Pierce in a very controversial decision. Wayne was again left with a sour taste in his mouth and decided again to turn his back on boxing, this time for a long three year stint. The three years away from the sport saw Wayne get a full time job and the birth of his daughter and throughout that time he confessed to not lacing his gloves even once, enjoying his time away. In 1998 his world was again to be torn apart, this time with the news that his father had passed away after a car accident in Barbados. Wayne was left devastated with one of the most influential figures now gone he was left to search his soul for some peace. The answer he came back to was the sport he walked away from, boxing where his heart surely belongs. After talking to one of his trainers he decided to dip his toe into the professional ranks which has led him to become one of the most influential figures in UK boxing. Wayne is currently preparing for his 28th November match up which will see him face the unbeaten Darren Barker in a fight that promises to be a brilliant one. We caught up with “Mad Dog” last week where he took some time out from training to give us here at TopClassBoxing an exclusive Interview.
Interview....
What is your Favorite Car? My Range Rover Sport What is your Favorite Movie? Man I love comedy, anything with Adam Saddler or Eddie Murphy in What is your Favorite Meal? Mexican Who is your Favorite Current Fighter? Floyd Mayweather Jr Who is your Favorite Fighter of All time? Sugar Ray Robinson What is your Favorite Fight of all-time? Hagler / Hearns At what age did you start to box and what was the reasons you got started in boxing Wayne? I started boxing at 14, I was very hot headed and constantly getting into fights when I was younger, so one day a lad at school who boxed for a number of years said to me that I might be hard on the playground but he would teach me a lesson in the boxing ring, I took him up on the challenge and he was has good as his word and gave me a boxing lesson, but I enjoyed it, not the hammering I took though ha ha but the whole boxing set up which kept me coming back for more and training harder than ever to eventually get my own back ha ha I was a very good footballer and played at a high level but as in everything I do I always give 150%, so no matter how hard I tried to win in football sometimes my team mates did not have the same attitude so as I have always been driven to winning, boxing appealed to me more because I could control the outcome and it was down to me and no one else if I failed My father who died in 1998, he pushed me perhaps looking back, too much as an amateur and took the fun out of the game for me so eventually I walked away from the sport. I realize now my dad could see my potential and just wanted me to reach the pinnacle in my career, but it was only after his funeral I sat there and made a decision that in his memory I was going to start back up in boxing and see if I was as good as what he and many others said, I was just gutted I never got the chance to say you were right and he never got to see any of my pro career but knew he would have been proud of what i have so far achieved I see myself as a box fighter and comfortably on the back foot or going forward, I would say my best punch has to be my right hand which has been the main weapon used in my 9 inside the distance fights The gym I train at is in Birmingham and is joined onto by my trainers Paddy and Tommy Lynch's business, Lyndon scaffolding. To be honest it is the best gym I have worked out of in terms of facilities and really does have it all to help you get prepared. The gym is fairly quiet theses days to be honest with the recent departure of commonwealth champion Don Broadhurst and former British champion Roy Rutherford, but we still have a few up and coming lads just starting out, I mainly train alongside ex British title challenger Anthony Maynard who like myself has been there for a number of years. My sessions are usually one on one with my trainer's which suits me fine, to be honest as this is a sport for strong individuals and not a team event I'm there to get fit and never struggle to motivate myself and still enjoy the work I do I am in the gym at 6 every weekday morning to do cardio and weights and then home for a rest and a bite to eat, mainly porridge and a poached egg, I will then have something light to eat before my next session at two like a salad with tuna or chicken and a jacket potato to carb up, then in the afternoon it's back to gym and its all boxing, shadow boxing ,bags ,pad work and skipping and some technical work, I will also sit down and watch tapes with my trainers of my next opponent after each session and run through plus and negatives I can use to my advantage I get home and usually have a bit of fish and depending on my weight if it's light I will treat myself to some boiled potatoes and veg and if I'm heavy, just veg and fish but plenty of it, on to the night it's either back to the gym for sparring or a steady 6 mile run, on Saturday I just go for a long 8 mile run and Sunday is my day off. Capturing the lonsdale belt and also being the first European fighter to beat the legendary Howard Eastman. Hardly anyone gave me a chance going into this fight and no other Middleweight this side of the water fancied the job of taking him on My nickname came about from a mixture of two things really, my misspent time away from the sport where I was forever getting into trouble, and secondly my passion for a man's best friend as many years ago I used to breed Bull Mastiffs. It was gave to me by my former manager Frank Maloney and at the time I was not that struck on it but to be honest love the nickname now and no fighter is complete without one ha ha First off keep your feet on the ground and never forget those who helped you progress, its a short career so make the most of it while you can and don't let yourself go in between fights. Keep focused and ticking over in case a great opportunity arises like the one I got against Farnell, with only 5 weeks notice I was able to complete my first twelve round fight and win my first belt in only fight number 10 you only get out what you put in
Some fighters say that they get very nervous before fights, even the great Mike Tyson confessed to some butterflies while others can relax and take it all in. Can you tell us about your first Amateur fight and your feelings going into it? At the time I was doing both football and Boxing so I thought I was more than fit enough to cope, and If I'm honest I was not really nervous as I loved fighting and did not feel anyone my age could beat me ha ha, the butterflies came later on in my career when the level's stepped up. the one thing that does stand out though is coming back after every round knackered, it learnt me a valuable lesson and helped me realize that football and boxing fitness are completely different so I began to concentrate more on the gym work than the footy Much like my pro career, I had a stop start amateur career which lasted ten years and in that time i only racked up 37 fights and lost only 5, I never really applied myself fully to the amateur game and it was only at the very start and end I actually really put the proper effort in, I reached the Junior ABA semi's in only fight number 8 then went off the rails for a while still winning but not if I'm honest putting the work in, then after the death of my best friend and a break of 4 years I returned in his honour and knuckled down and with no warm up bouts surprised many by reaching the 1996 Senior Finals of the ABA's losing on a controversial three standing count's to commonwealth Gold medallist John Pierce, feeling I had let my pal down I walked again and had no thoughts of returning till a chance meeting at work, where I was an engineer for BT discussing boxing with a colleague, who did not know I used to box. This led me to meet up with my first trainer Jez Brogan and eventually led to my pro debut in 99
You started your professional career back in 1999 where you decisioned William Webster over six rounds, after that fight you went on a tear winning ten straight and I remember back at that time thinking "This guy has got the skills to pay the bills. What Awesome I came out of nowhere really after been away from the sport for such a while and then all of a sudden I was been thrust on sky, radio and in magazines and papers as a hot prospect to lookout for. At the time I was working for BT in my trade as a telephone engineer and the response I got from some customers who had watched me on sky was amazing and they could not believe I was in there living room fixing there phone line after been on sky sports that weekend Before the Eastman fight that was the most proudest moment without a doubt, I had over 500 brummies follow me down to his backyard and to be honest, although I was away from home when I walked out it felt like I was the home fighter, they made that much noise for me and I remember afterwards going up to them all and trying to shake all there hands for coming down to support me as I have always put the boxing fans first and foremost and it is them that have given the will to bounce back after any set backs in my career, I hope they have enjoyed watching me as much as I have enjoyed them being there. The fight itself was a great chance for me to showcase the other side to my skills and show I could box as well as fight after knocking him down in round 5, I felt more and more confident I was going to go on and win but in the back of my mind I desperately wanted to show and prove I could do 12 rounds so never had any thought of a early night as much as my corner where willing me to go and end proceedings early, I stuck with my original game plan and enjoyed the whole 36 minutes i was in there and full credit to Farnell who I still have a lot of time for, he showed the heart of a champion and made sure I kept alert throughout, to be honest words can not describe the feeling when Jimmy lennon Jnr said "and the new" still gives me a buzz thinking about it even today I took the Abraham's fight straight after the Eastman fight and it was a tough camp, after preparing for 12 weeks for Howard and doing 12 hard rounds, the fact that i was much older I didnt really have enough time to fully recuperate. I hated every day I trained, as I was in pain constantly but it was a chance I wanted to take to fight for such a prestigious belt against one of the best out there, I had to cancel sparring as my right elbow went and a week before the fight I had to have injections in it to help get me through, but not taking anything away from Abraham's, he is a worthy champ and above all was respectfully before and after the fight, I would have liked to have gone in there without the injury and believing in myself more, after a good fourth round i did start to believe and thought I can do this, this guy isn't so great and after being told by trainers to keep moving I elected to stand a little, it was a mistake i will never forget as in the very next round I stood a few seconds to long and the fight was over after taking a solid right hand flush, thankfully the ref was in quickly as I can honestly say I was in no position to continue, this guy hit harder then anyone before or after I have ever faced but it was a great experience and learnt a lot from it and about myself and have no regrets I would say the Lawrence Murphy return as I proved that night when beating him by a TKO in round 5, how mentally strong I was to take on a fighter who had gave me my first ever KO loss Darren is a good fighter and also a good ambassador for the sport, i met him a couple of times and he came across as a very level headed guy. I have kept a close eye on his progress knowing it would be only a matter of time before we eventually came face to face. Darren has a good boxing brain throws sharp combinations and I feel like myself is more of a box fighter, although not a one punch knockout artist he puts his shots together very well, as for my plans for the fight you will have to see on the night, I leave that all to My trainer's paddy and Tommy Lynch who usually never fail to put a good game plan into place No training as not altered vastly, there are certain things we are working on more which we think will play a big part on the outcome of the fight and sparring has been against fighters who are close to Darren's style of fight
Everyone seems to have an opinion on who they think is the Pound 4 Pound king at the moment. Usually it revolves around two names Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. which of the fighters in today's sport do you think as earned the right to call themselves number one? For me it's Floyd but would not argue with anyone going for Pacquiao they are both fantastic fighters so I guess it can only been truly determined if a proposed match between them ever comes off
The Middleweight division is a strong one both domestically and International. On the British scene we have the likes of yourself, Matthew Macklin, Darren Barker and Craig McEwan. Who do you believe to be the top fighter domestically at the moment and Myself as I still believe if im focused and prepared right I can still beat any of the above or I would have already retired after that last defeat I would go for Pavlik now because Abraham's has moved on Felix Sturm - Felix is underestimated, has a good boxing style and brain to match Anthony Mundine - Good fighter strong and had some great success as a Super Middleweight, I don't think time is on his side to replicate that at Middleweight Winky Wright - If Winky had youth on his side he would be my pick, a fantastic fighter that knows every trick in the book a very smooth operator It would have to be Matthew Macklin, as I did not turn up on the night with something that was out of my hands but I felt I let the fans and Birmingham boxing down and would love the opportunity to give them the fight they should have had and deserved
The Super six tournament got under way a few weeks ago which witnessed Nottingham's Carl Froch beat Andre Dirrell and Arthur Abraham knocking out Jermain Taylor. Did you catch any of the fights and If so what did you think of Froch and Abraham's performances? I thought Froch although in a close one done enough because at the end of the day you have to rip the title from the champ and Dirrell definately did not do that, as for Abraham's I thought he done better than I expected him to, in the earlier rounds I was not surprised when he eventually caught up with Taylor, as Abraham has that knockout power from round one through to twelve, he is one of few that is dangerous in any round I would love to say Abraham's but I'm going for Kessler as I think out of these two he is the fully fledged Super Middleweight and can hold a shot well, i also feel he is the better technically of the two so can pull of a points victory when they meet He is underestimated as sometimes he can be lethargic in his approach but its part of his plan as he lures you in and think's his way through the fight with ease, to time his finish usually with devastating effect Yes noone wants to see any fighter suffer later in life through carrying on past there prime, for me if it was the same result there would be no question in me hanging the gloves up, but I honestly don't like to comment on when another fighter should call it a day and just hope he has the right people around him to help him come to a sensible decision
I know that the only fighter that you are focused on at the moment is Darren Barker but after that fight what are your plans for 2010? I definetly wont look past Darren at the moment, simple as that really I don't know really if I'm honest, im still in love with the sport and all that goes with it, so when that spark goes I will walk away, I don't feel any older and live sensible but the only drawback now is needing a longer rest in between fights It's been a pleasure to have been able to talk on here to the people who keep this sport alive and keep me striving to succeed and its great to have a site that keeps us both in touch, made by the fans for the fans, roll on the 28th for the Mad dogs return to action hope its a great night of entertainment for us both Interview conducted by: Paul Daley Banner designed by: Wayne Wiliams If you are involved in boxing in some way and have an interest in doing an Interview with us at TopClassBoxing. Please email me your name and email address to Paul@TopClassBoxing.co.uk. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
