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Birmingham’s
Frankie Gavin with the gold medal he won at the Commonwealth
Games in Melbourne |
Whisper
it very quietly, but Birmingham City have actually won something
this year.
It’s not the battle to stay up (although by the time the next
Harp comes out, we’ll have a better idea of that), it’s
a medal.
And when I say Birmingham City have won it, I mean Blues fan Frankie
Gavin who is now the proud owner of a gold medal after winning the
Lightweight division title at the Commonwealth Games last month.
Gavin, 20, was one of five boxers from the England team who scooped
gold on the final day of competition. The Yardley lad of Irish parents
is back in Birmingham and is looking forward to getting back to the
gym and returning to some sort of normality after a frantic few weeks.
“Since I got back, all I’ve been doing really is relaxing
and catching up with my friends and family. I went to the gym the day
after I got back to do some work and then it’ll be back to the
real stuff next week when I get back to the Hall Green boxing club,” he
said.
Gavin became the new Commonwealth champion when he defeated Giovanni
Frontin of Mauritius on point’s Down Under in Melbourne. His
success in these Games have been likened to the impact that Amir Khan
had two years ago when he won silver at the Olympic games in Athens.
“I had five fights in total (to win the gold medal) and they
were all quite easy to be honest with you. In all the fights, I actually
had to back off in the final round as I was that much ahead on points
and I could save myself for the later bouts.”
“When I got into the final, although I already had the bronze
medal won, I thought to myself that this was my title and nobody was
going to take it away from me.
“I was 10-1 up in the first round against Frontin, so for the
final three rounds I was coasting. All I had to do was stay out of
trouble and the gold would be mine.”
Those of you with eagle eyes and even better memories will remember
that we spoke to Gavin around 18 months ago just after he had fought
Mario Kindelan, the man who defeated Amir Khan in those Olympic Games.
On that day, Kindelan defeated Gavin on points. However, the experience
of fighting one of the great’s of amateur boxing has put him
in good stead and he knows that come the Olympics in 2008, he will
need to defeat boxers of his ilk in order to claim a gold medal.
Before the Commonwealth Games, Gavin had an injury scare when he damaged
his hand in a bout in Bulgaria, and although this may play on the minds
of certain boxers, Gavin put it to the back of his mind and carried
on with the job he needed to do.
“For two and a half weeks before Melbourne, I had a sore left
hand and up until the games I didn’t punch with it once. A few
minutes before I went into the ring for my first fight I started punching
a pad and it felt ok and I didn’t feel it hurting in that first
fight and it didn’t bother me the rest of the time,” said
the gold medal winner.
The sights and sounds of Melbourne are a far cry from Birmingham. Being
away from home for a long period of time meant that the bond Gavin
had with his team-mates and some of the other athletes grew, while
it also saw him venturing into the world of domestic chores.
“I was out in Melbourne for a month and it was a really good
experience being amongst all the other athletes. I got on well actually
with Mark Lewis-Francis, he made the effort to come and talk to us,
and the fact that we’re both from Birmingham helped too.
“When we first got out there, a lot of the athletes on the England
team were almost looking down on us because they were all in the track
and field events and didn’t really talk to us.
“But as soon as they realised that we were winning a load of
medals (seven in total, five gold, one silver and a bronze), then they
were suddenly finding the time to talk to us.
“After a while being out there, you do start to feel a little
homesick, it’s because you miss the things that you are used
to around you, I even learnt how to you the washing machine for the
first time as I had to do my own cleaning.
“I became really good mates with a lot of the other boxers and
although during the next year I may well be taking them on in the ring,
once I’m inside the ring, all that friendship goes out of the
way so it won’t be strange for me fighting my team-mates again.”
After his performances in Melbourne, there had been talk of Gavin joining
the professional ranks, however, at the moment he says that he will
carry on fighting as an amateur.
“Regarding turning professional, there are a number of options
available to me at the moment and there has been word of pro offers
for me, but I think that I’ll stay as an amateur for the moment,
and I’ll just see how things go.
“Winning the games title is almost like a progression toward
becoming a professional boxer, but at the moment, a lot of us amateurs,
myself included, live our lives as a pro as we are truly dedicated
to winning.
“You won’t see us out the week before a fight, unlike footballers
who are out a few nights before a game,” said the Blues fanatic.
So when he returns to Hall Green Boxing club, does he think the others
in the gym will treat him differently.
“They’ll be no difference with the kids who train down
at the boxing club. It gives some of them something to look at and
aim towards and I can show them that it can be done if they are determined
enough and want success,” Gavin adds.
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