I t was a 20-minute drive from my home to a boxing gym in Easterhouse, which is a tough suburb of Glasgow, Scotland. How tough? It’s the kind of place where the police walk around in pairs – and that’s inside the station. In early January, during mid- winter, the weather is equally tough, well below freezing. A thin layer of pure white frost covers the pavement outside the gym, with an uneven, icy path toward the doorway particularly perilous. Making it inside without slipping and breaking my neck was a relief. The gym is like any other. It’s a place of work full of genuine boxing people – trainers and professional fighters – going about their business. I introduce myself and engage in some
BIG, SKILLFUL, PACKS A SERIOUS PUNCH … WHAT DOES HEAVYWEIGHT BOXING’S NO. 1 DANGER MAN HAVE TO DO TO GET A WORLD
TITLE FIGHT? By Tom Gray
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Photography by SHABBA SHAFIQ | SWTSCNC
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