Birmingham's Richie Woodhall drafted in to boost hunt for boxing glory in London 2012

Feb 4 2009 by Ian Johnson, Birmingham Mail

BIRMINGHAM professional coach Richie Woodhall has been drafted into the British ABA backroom squad with the specific purpose of producing as many 2012 Olympic medal winners as possible.

It is a fantastic role for the former Olympic bronze medallist from Telford, who went on to become the WBC super-middleweight champion of the world.

He will have a flexible consultancy role under the guidance of Kevin Hickey, the new performance director and coach to Woodhall when he won his bronze.

And, important for the future of Birmingham boxing, Woodhall will be able to continue his love of coaching at his growing professional gym at the Aston Arena.

Clearly delighted with his new appointment, he told me: “I have been waiting for an opportunity to help talented up-and-coming boxers in the GB squad.

“I relish the prospect of getting involved as part of the GB team and I am delighted to do my bit to help us achieve great success.

“Our basic target is to produce as many medal winners as possible for the London Olympics. The bottom line is that we want to be the best in the world.

“It is great to be working with Kevin Hickey again. We met up and I made it clear that I was not interested in a full-time position and so I was never offered one.

“I have my TV commitments and my responsibilities to the pro boxers at my gym at the Aston Arena, where I am working with some good lads along with my dad Len.

“I have been doing that for four years now and coaching has become a passion.

“My role with the amateurs will be very flexible in terms of time and responsibility and it’s very exciting,” he added.

Woodhall did have a short skirmish about five years ago coaching with the GB Team but was unable to “get on” with head coach Terry Edwards and the venture came to an abrupt end.

Edwards has now gone and Woodhall added: “We did quite well at the Beijing Olympics and seven of the eight representatives have turned professional.

“The one remaining is Khalid Yafai from the Birmingham City club and hopefully I can help him to stay in the team and go on to be a medal winner.

“Hopefully I can do the same for the rest of the lads who will be named in the GB squad in due course.

“But I hope to have an influence in three basic but general areas. One: bringing the professional and amateur sports closer together. It is getting better but there is still a long way to go.

‘Two: work on the new three, three-minute rounds rule.

‘‘Three: encourage club coaches to have a bigger say in the development of their charges.

 “I want to see the pros coming in and training with the amateurs. My heroes were Muhammad Ali and Marvin Hagler. What I would have done to have met them.

“The same applies to today’s young boxers and I hope to introduce them to the likes of Ricky Hatton, Joe Calzaghe and Amir Khan. What an experience that would be.

“The return to the three rounds of three minutes duration is a major step in the right direction, but it is going to take time and change for boxers and coaches alike.

“The difference doesn’t look much but it’s the difference between a sprint and a marathon.

‘‘The third minute of each round will become massively critical and boxers and coaches need to be re-educated about the different demands of tactics and stamina. I can be a big help there.

“And the role of club coaches is also key. At the moment, once a star boxer joins the international scene and moves to Sheffield for full-time training, the coach no longer has a say in the development of his charge.

“That is a nonsense. Who knows more about the boxer than his coach? The involvement and development must continue.

“When I was 16 years old I was a decent club boxer nothing more.

‘‘Four years later I was on the Olympic podium collecting a bronze medal. Clearly I have the experience for what it takes and I want to pass that on.

“The London Olympics are over three years away which is not a lot of time but I am going to do everything I can to win as many gold medals as possible.’’