Frankie Firing On All Cylinders

By Aidan Begley

March 2006 saw one of the best month’s in the life of little Frankie Gavin when the local lad went to Melbourne and secured a Gold in the Lightweight division of the boxing tournament.
He and the other Gold medallists returned to the country and then followed a manic few months where Frankie was in the papers, giving interviews and attending charity events.
Some eight months since that glorious Sunday in Melbourne, the dust has settled and now Frankie is back in the ring letting his hands do the talking, and they are talking very loudly as his quest for superiority in amateur circles show no sign of abating.
Recently The Harp caught up with Frankie’s trainer, Tommy Chaney of Hall Green Boxing Club to see what the latest is with him and how the next year of Frankie’s career is shaping.
The Harp: So what has Frankie been up to recently?
Tommy Chaney: It has been the start of the senior ABA’s (Amateur Boxing Association Champion-ships) in recent weeks. His first fight was towards the end of October where he started fighting in the Midlands category.
First of all, the opponent he had lined up for the first round fractured his hand, so they got a replacement in but he didn’t even show up so they gave Frankie a bye through to the next round, which ended up being the area final.
He fought last night and won 15-0 against a lad from Tamworth and secured the title in the Lighweight catagory. From here, he progresses into the pre-quarter final where he will take on Steven Watson from Liverpool. This is due to take place in Coventry on November 12.
A victory from here would see Frankie progress into the latter stages of the competition and hopefully he will go all the way to take part in the finals being held at York Hall, the spiritual home of Amateur Boxing in this country at Bethnell Green in London.
What was it like when he came back from Melbourne?
When he came back from the Commonwealth Games it was mental for him, he was in high demand, not just with the press but with people wanting to speak to him regarding turning professional.
After everything had died down, he had a break and went away with his friends for a holiday to relax after and unwind. When he came back from his break, he was refreshed and got straight back into training to get ready for the Senior ABA’s.
After the ABA’s, we have a plan for almost the next 18 months really of where he’s going to box. Once the ABA’s are out of the way, he’ll be focusing on taking part some international bouts where he will represent Great Britain.
This will enable him to keep himself ticking over before he starts the intensive training when he targets the World Amateut Boxing Championships which are being held in Moscow in July 2007.
If Frankie can finish within the top eight of his section, then this will automatically qualify for him for the Boxing tournaments at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, where he will be looking to add to his Gold in Melbourne with another one from China.
When Frankie returned from the Commonwealth Games, there was talk of him turning his back on the amateur world to turn professional. He has obviously decided against this now.
He was offered the chance to go professional and there were deals put on the table including one from Frank Warren, but if he’d turned pro, then that would’ve left unfinished business in the amateur ranks, which included the World Championships and also the Olympics.
Had he turned pro then he might have been kicking himself at the fact that he never got the chance to take part in these events. We’re hoping that after the Beijing Olympics, then it would be the right step and the right time in his career to turn a pro boxer.
Recently, he’s been asked to be an ambassador for the England team in the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi. This was mainly thanks to his performance and the way he handled himself in Melbourne, which is a great honour for him.
The things this involves include publicity around the Games, going around gyms as he was made the ambassador for Boxing, drumming up support for people to aim to participate in the Games.
How has he progressed as a boxer since competing in the Commonwealth Games?
Since then everything has levelled out, including his weight which has started to stay the same for sometime now. He’s 21 years old, he’s stopped growing and he is developing the physique of a man, which is what you would expect at this time in his career.
His boxing has come on ten-fold since he won Gold, it really has improved. The experience of travelling the world is helping him in more ways than one. Not only is he seeing the world, but by fighting across the globe, he is able to take on boxers from here, there and everywhere which means he can come up against different styles of boxers, with different strengths and weaknesses and this will help him to develop, which it is has done as he is now ranked eight in the world in the Lightweight amateur category and he’s keeping up the good form and doesn’t intend to let it drop.
Are there any more emerging talents coming from the Hall Green Boxing Club stables?
We could have another three potential Midland champions to go alongside the title that Frankie has just won. Nathan Tallan is in the semi finals of the National Amateur Boxing Championships. Jacob Graten and James Kerr are also in the running for some honour so we could have.
Four Midlands champs by Christmas which is testament to the talent that we have within in the club at the moment, and not just Frankie.
Anyone who is interested in joining the Hall Green Boxing Club, or require more information, please call Tommy Chaney on 07811 277 262.