Leading trainer Gary Lockett has experienced more highs and lows than most. One of British boxing’s unsung heroes, he spoke to Oliver Fennell about everything from being lucky to death in the ring
MY social media feeds swell with mentions of Tyson and Jones Jnr; of bareknuckle brawls and boxing basketball players. Celebrity sells. Beef begets box office. Middle-aged men can charge pay-per-view for an exhibition. Pugilistic novices can create cults of online personality, and seemingly every big fight comes packaged with some potty-mouthed push-and-shove.
There seems little mainstream appetite for the story of a humble, hard-working and honest man, and certainly not for a self-proclaimed “realist”. Realism is irrelevant in an age when Jake Paul is calling out Canelo Alvarez and Mike Tyson does bigger numbers than Tyson Fury. But for me, a meeting with Gary Lockett offers a timely antidote to the madness.