Mal Gates’ champion dream
BIG HOPES ... boxer David Lake with manager Mal Gates.
MAL Gates is the first to admit he didn’t make a great fist of things as a boxer.
But having first come into the fight game as a fan, Gates’s love affair with the sport where he has carved out a career, shows no sign of waning.
The 49-year-old boxing manager and trainer is passionate about his boxing, chasing the so far elusive dream of having a champion fighter under his wing at his Harton and Westoe Gymn.
He said: “I’m not in it for the money, I’m in it for the love of the sport.
“I love to win. I don’t mind when I get beat, but I really love winning.
“All I want is to have a British champion, that would make my day.
“I put the work, and all of the boys put the work in, it’s sometimes just about getting the right break.”
Gates fell into boxing almost by accident, and while he hasn’t told him, his passion for the sport was kick-started by a man he now calls a friend.
“I started off in the sport as more of a fan,” he explained. “A lot of people say you see your heroes on the TV, but mine was a lot closer to home. My hero was a South Shields boxer called Graeme Ahmed (a successful middleweight who once fought Nigel Benn).
“I started going to his fights and I got the bug from there.
“He’s now a good friend of mine, and doesn’t even know that he used to be my hero when I first started watching fights.”
Having caught the bug, Gates decided to give boxing a go, but soon found that going toe-to-toe in the ring wasn’t for him.
He added: “I joined my local club at Boldon, and had a few fights for them.
“I soon realised that I wasn’t that good a boxer, and that training was more of my forte.
“I started working with Gordon French, who ran Boldon ABC, as his assistant and really enjoyed it. It was great to work with all of the young fighters.”
During his time at Boldon, Gates realised that the training side of the game was where he really wanted to be, and in 1993, he got his training licence.
While he loved his time on the amateur side of the sport, he was persuaded to change corners and move into the professional game.
“We had a lot of good lads at Boldon,” he said. “One them, David Johnson, had fought for England. He decided he wanted to go pro and I went with him.
Shields boxer Nelson turns pro
“Tommy Conroy (Sunderland-based boxing promoter and trainer) was David’s manager, and I trained him as Tommy’s assistant.
“We had a few fights together, but eventually David dropped out of the sport and retired in 1996.
“I stayed with Tommy and helped to train his lads.
“I was there five days a week, and loved it.
“Once you get in a boxing gym and smell that aroma, you just can’t leave.”
Gates stayed with Conroy until 2001, after which he drifted out of the sport for a number of years.
Fate would literally come calling, as a knock on the door led to him renewing his love affair with the art of pugilism.
“A couple of Shields lads – Dean Nicholas and Eddie Haley came to the door looking for a trainer.
“They were managed by Tommy (Conroy) and he was happy for me to train them, so I worked with them for a while.
“After that, I took my professional boxing licence out in 2005, and my first signing was a lad called David Pinkney.
“He was a good lad, and had a few fights for me, before he had to retire because he had injured his hand.
“I then signed up a couple of other South Shields lads – Chris Mullen and Billy Bell, but as happens in the game they drifted out of the sport.”
Far from a one-man band, Gates has support from Phil Jeffries (father of Olympic boxer and now professional fighter Tony) and one of the sport’s biggest names, Frank Maloney.
He said: “It’s great to have the backing of Frank and Phil. Frank acts as the promoter for my lads, which is great because it means I’m not scratching around trying to get them fights.
“It has worked well so far and long may it continue.”
Gates is positive by nature, and is hoping for a bright future, with his current crop of fighters
“At the minute, I’ve got John Watson and David Lake at the gym and I’ve just signed two new pro fighters,
“Lee Mould, from Sunderland, and Anthony Nelson, a South Shields lad who boxed out of Horsley Hill ABC, are both good prospects.”
Gates hopes his current prospects have a bright future ahead of them in the sport, and if they can go all the way and win a British championship, then that would really be a dream come true.
Twitter: @shieldsgazsport
WHEN it comes to recruiting new talent, Mal Gates always fights fair.
Underhand tactics or poaching boxers in the hope of landing the next big thing is not for him.
Instead, the South Tynesider prefers to play it straight when it comes to bringing fighters into the professional ranks.
“Although I’m a professional boxing manager I spend a lot of my time around the amateur scene,” he said.
“I go to lots of shows, and lads get to know you. I go and ask lads do you want to turn professional with me, they have always come to me.
“The only one I have approached is my new signing Lee Mould.
“I’d seen him fight a couple of times and thought he had something about him, and I just couldn’t let it go.
“I heard he was turning professional, so I went and knocked on his door to ask him if he’d consider signing with me.
“He said there were a few other gyms after him, so I said just come and have a look and if you don’t fancy it no hard feelings.
“On the other side of things I won’t hold a boxer back if he wants to leave.
“I don’t bear grudges. If a lad doesn’t want to be here, then there’s no point in hanging on to him.
“You have to be dedicated in this game, and if their heart’s not in it, it doesn’t do you or them any favours to keep them to their contract.
“I had lad called Gary Fox, and it was too much for him to keep travelling in from Fishburn every day, so we shook hands on it and he moved on.”
Over the years Gates has built up a lot of good relationships in both the amateur and professional games, which have brought rewards.
He added: “I have a great relationship with Steve Winter from Horsley Hill Amateur Boxing Club (ABC), and three of the lads I have signed in my time have come from his gym.
“I know what I’m getting with the lads from Horsley Hill, because I know they have been trained to a very good standard.
“It’s a big step up from amateur to pro, so it helps that they have had such a good start.”
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