McCrory shows he's got real clout

Mar 26 2007 By Alastair Gilmour, The Journal

Big man, big heart. Alastair Gilmour talks to a sporting legend who is making an impact on the North-East business scene.

The tattooist got the wrong body part. The words that former world boxing champion Glenn McCrory whas etched into his right arm should have been across his heart.

Perhaps they are. The phrase borrowed from Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara, his boyhood hero, reads, Hasta la Victoria Siempre (Until Victory Always) and he only has to glance at it to feel inspiration coursing through his 6ft 4in frame.

Glenn McCrory, 42, was International Boxing Federation (IBF) world cruiserweight champion in 1989 and British heavyweight title-holder and Commonwealth champion who traded punches with the likes of Lennox Lewis. He even sparred for more than 100 rounds with the fearsome Mike Tyson. But the business challenge he now faces is nothing compared to his still-handsome face being used as target practice for "Iron" Mike. He has set up The Glenn McCrory Foundation to help youngsters, particularly in the Newbiggin Hall area of Newcastle, to realise their potential and to fulfil their dreams via an innovative boxing academy. His burning desire is to get a handful of young people from the North-East to reach such a pitch of athleticism they will represent Great Britain at the London Olympics in 2012.

"Getting in the ring and running a business like this are exactly the same," he says. "It's all about drive and commitment and not giving up.

"That attitude got me to be the only boxing world champion from the North-East and I did it myself. I looked after myself and had rubbish facilities and no sponsorship, so what can I do if everyone gets behind me now with the best coaches and the best facilities?"

The Glenn McCrory International School of Boxing set up in the grounds of Chevyside School at the West End council estate is only the start - Seconds Out, Round One, so to speak. Glenn went to Cuba last year and persuaded - despite several closed doors - two of the country's best boxing coaches to spend a year in the North-East coaching, training and inspiring youngsters, most of whom had never pulled on a boxing glove in their lives. Alberto Perez and Alberto Gonzalez have coached five world-beating fighters - three Olympic champions from Moscow 1980 in Andras Aldama, Jose Gomez and Armando Martinez - and world champions Juan Torres and Pedro Orlando Reyes.

Some cleverly-orchestrated international publicity for the boxing academy and the charity started rolling on Friday evening with The Contender, a head-to-head boxing match between Britain and the US - a team managed by the legendary Sugar Ray Leonard - at Newcastle Arena. Glenn's boxing academy was the venue for the daily training that will result in huge television exposure on both sides of the Atlantic. The build-up to the contest was filmed for six one-hour shows to be shown each week on ITV and on ESPN in America.

"I think we've got the best coaching facilities in the North-East," says Glenn. "We're geared up to be a success, we're geared up to produce Olympians for the 2012 Games. It's a great business prospect for the North-East for boxing teams to be based here with the best coaches from the best boxing nation in the world.

"We've got British coach Micky Duncan and a bunch of backroom staff like Tejan Massaly on board as well. Malcolm Dix from Sport England, Gwilym Williams from Northern Rock and Claire Finn are all part of the Glenn McCrory Foundation, all doing it for nothing to make this into a business that works big-time. And people like David Faulkner, Tony McKenna and John Shipley at Newcastle City Council have been a great help and seen the benefits from what we do.

"It's going to benefit all businesses in the North-East - tourism for instance - and we're at the forefront and it's really really exciting for us, trying for a gold medal. I'm one that aims high.

"The whole of Newcastle needs dreams and role models, but it's particularly hard to do it all yourself. I've had no backing to bring these two Cubans here. It would be nice to even get a sponsor for a car or a minibus. I'm going to have to pick up Alberto Perez from Darlington station - and he's a medal-winning coach. We're hoping to bring so much to business in the region, but this is far harder than sparring with Tyson - that was easy compared to this.

"I don't want the North-East to be sitting watching the 2012 Olympics on television and saying `we wish we'd done something'. It's going to be the biggest sports spectacle of our lifetimes and the North-East can play a massive part in that - and I for one certainly want to be there. We've only been going seven months at the gym and already we've got Nigel Wright boxing for England against Sweden. We've got 18 months to get him ready for the Beijing Olympics - that's really possible, but I want three or four at 2012. We're also spreading the word to Las Vegas. Our Northumbria team is going over there in August to fight the USA. It's all booked and we're going to try and take a plane-load of fans. We've gone to Cuba to get the best coaches; we've got the best facilities; we're in the North-East, the best region in the country, so we're going to do it.

"We want to make a difference for the kids who don't have the opportunities that others have. Crime is quite high in this part of Newcastle. The Foundation will help them and give them a chance. Football has given other ones the best coaches and the best facilities and we set up the Foundation to do exactly that.

"Steven Miller, the Olympic paraplegic athlete, officially opened the gym last September and he's the sprit that epitomises it. When you box you put yourself in the firing line and come up against the best in the world. Now we've got a lot of people here. My project manager Tejan is from London, the Albertos have got wives and families in Cuba and they're away from them, but we're trying to do something pretty amazing here. We're changing their whole lives to be part of it. It's a huge responsibility for me and them. We'd let a lot of kids down as well so we're making a bold statement."

Glenn, who reckons "shy bairns get nowt", went straight to the top when he set up his dual boxing academy and Foundation businesses.

He says: "Tony Blair said he'd do everything he could to help. Tejan and I met him on a train to London; we were both in the same dining car and I asked the conductor if he could pass on the menu for him to sign to raise money for the kids. He invited us to sit with him, so we went half-way to London with him. He wanted to know all about what we were proposing to do and what could he do to help. This is what's inspiring me, for our kids to be part of it. I want them to cheer from the North-East and I want to be cheering for North-East kids at the games. Seb Coe and Jonathan Edwards are right behind what we're doing as well; they were great athletes and to get the nod of approval from people like that made me realise they're the people I want behind me."

Glenn has appeared in various television series over the years, such as Crocodile Shoes with Jimmy Nail and even as an English policeman in a Bollywood movie, but his celluloid career has taken a surprising turn. He has written - straight from his engraved heart - about the galvanising effect his young brother David had on his life. This is due to be turned into a film later this year. David had been fostered by the McCrory family when he was seven. He always had a smile on his face but was small and walked with a limp - and was therefore unlike the strapping young McCrorys. David had muscular dystrophy.

"I remember carrying him to school on my back," says Glenn. "He was a big influence on me when I won the title - he was my rock. He's dead now, but he was written off to die at 14 and he lived till he was 29. That has totally instilled in me to never give up."

Carrying David is being made by Ipso Facto, formerly based in Newcastle and run by Christine Alderson, who carved out an enviable reputation in the North-East.

"Christine is now in London," says Glenn. "I've been working on it for a couple of years with her and wrote it originally as a play.

"We've got the director and actors and we start filming on September 23, my birthday. Christine calls this her Oscar film - it's her dream. It would be a fantastic tribute - and I'll get best screenplay award."

He then mocks an Oscar presentation: "Although he can't spell and can't punctuate, the Oscar for best screenplay goes to...

"We've put in a lot of hard work - £6m takes time to find - but it really feels like we're getting there."

In 39 fights, Glenn McCrory had 30 wins (with 12 knock-outs), eight losses and one draw. That demonstrates grit, determination and no small amount of dedication. With those words in his heart, it looks like he could make it big in the tough world of business.

The questionnaire

Born: September 23, 1964, Burnhope, County Durham

School attended: St Bedes, Lanchester, County Durham

1981: National boxing champion

1982 and 1983: Represents England

1986: British Champion

1987: British and Commonwealth Champion

1987-1989: Assorted acting roles in television, film and theatre. Several commissioned sporting documentaries.

1988: Chief sparring partner for Mike Tyson.

1989: IBF World Champion

1989-present: Sky Sports boxing analyst, participating in live weekly broadcasts. Duties include fight commentary, interviewing guests, studio co-anchor.

Film projects including Carrying David from a script written by Glenn. Filming will start in September.

The CV

What car do you drive?

Mercedes E300

What's your favourite restaurant?

Per Se in New York City. Definitely one of the best restaurants in the world!

Who or what makes you laugh?

Only Fools and Horses. It never fails to make me laugh!

What's your favourite book?

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. Fantastic book.

What was the last album you bought?

Back to Black by Amy Winehouse. Easy listening.

What's your ideal job, other than the one you've got?

International ambassador

If you had a talking parrot, what's the first thing you would teach it to say?

"Hi Baby, I'm home", so it would be one of the first things I hear when I get home.

What's your greatest fear?

Unemployment. Never being able to work is a horrible thought!

What's the best piece of business advice you have ever received?

Location, location, location.

What's the worst piece of business advice?

Sign here please!

What's your poison?

Red wine, especially French.

What newspapers do you read, other than The Journal?

The Telegraph as much as I can.

How much was your first pay packet and what was it for?

Stanley swimming baths youth community project - £25 a week

How do you keep fit?

I keep fit through my work. I'm always in the gym.

What's your most irritating habit?

Changing my mind until I have sufficient input from those closest to me.

What's your biggest extravagance?

Watches, definitely watches.

Which historical or fictional character do you identify with/admire?

Oscar Wilde and Che Guevara. They are polar opposites but emphasise what I'm about and what is important to me.

Which four famous people would you most like to dine with?

My dinner guests would be Oscar Wilde, Che Guevara for the reason stated above, plus Muhammad Ali and Errol Flynn - both legends.

How would you like to be remembered?

As a person who always gave his best. And on my epitaph, Hasta La Victoria Siempre (Until Victory Always).