Written by: karthikkrishnaswamy
3 min readPuneNov 8, 2011 02:57 AM IST
First published on: Nov 8, 2011 at 02:57 AM IST
The pounding of a dozen pairs of boxing gloves against muscle,bone and an assortment of heavy bags suddenly ceases as a whistle pierces the air. As the boxers towel off,a bespectacled man with a compact,muscular frame that belies his 69 years approaches one of them. “Don’t just stand there and throw punches; keep moving!” he says.
Joe Clough has an enviable CV. Back in the 70s in Tacoma,around 50km south of Seattle,Clough coached Olympic gold medalists Leo Randolph and Sugar Ray Seales and world champions Rocky Lockridge and Johnny Bumphus,among others. Since then,he has spent three decades in Asia,coaching national teams of Thailand,Malaysia,Nepal and the Philippines. Now,Clough is technical director of Mumbai Fighters,India’s only franchise in the World Series of Boxing. The squad,boasting names such as Commonwealth Games medalists Akhil Kumar and Jitender Kumar as well as an assortment of imports,will begin their campaign on November 11 with a clash against Italian outfit Milano Thunder at Balewadi sports complex,where they currently train.
For most of the Mumbai Fighters,WSB is uncharted territory,with professional rules,no headgear,no vests,five rounds and an entirely different scoring system. How will these men cope,especially without headgear?
“Physically,it’s not very different,” says Clough. “There is a bit of a psychological adjustment,but we’re training without headgear and getting used to it. But we do have to take care not to get any cuts before the actual bouts,so we sometimes make sure one boxer wears headgear during training sessions. They are sparring five rounds,which is the WSB format,and training a lot,but they haven’t been tiring. As for the scoring – when you win a round,you win a round,whether it’s computer scoring,or the 10-point must system.” What was Clough’s first impression of Indian boxers? “There’s a lot of talent,but in my opinion,they were lacking basic skills growing up… a good jab,rotation of feet,blocking,things like that. I always wondered why India hadn’t produced more world champions,now I know why,” he says. “You need to have coaching courses for coaches.”
Boxing,Clough says,can attract a diverse range of talents. “Rocky Lockridge was a champion the moment he walked in the door. He just had it. He was a natural. Leo Randolph,on the other hand,had no athletic ability. I could beat him at running,at basketball. But you can”t judge a book by its cover.”
Among Mumbai Fighters,he picks out middleweight Mandeep Jangra as an interesting prospect to work with. “Mandeep has talent… but it’s a puzzle,pieces have to fit together,” he says. “I have to constantly talk to him.”
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