By Terence Dooley
Ricky Hatton’s recent revelation that Bob Shannon will be his head trainer should he return to the ring put the spotlight on the veteran coach. Shannon has worked hard and diligently from his Fighting Fit gym for well over a decade now but it was his recent move to the Hatton gym in Hyde that really set the ball rolling for the man dubbed ‘The Last of the Mohicans’.
Bob stepped into the driving seat when Matthew Hatton split with Lee Beard earlier this year, Shannon guided his new charge to a win over Mikheil Khutsishvili and an EBU title win over Gianluca Branco. Prince Arron and Denton Vassell, winners of Prizefighter: the light-middleweights and the Commonwealth 147lb title respectively, brought further success to Shannon’s stable, leaving him delighted with a storming start to 2010.
“Arron is 6’ 3’’ and has quick hands, he is like a sponge and picks up what you show him. Coming back from the [Anthony] Small and [John] Duddy fights [both second round stoppage defeats] is such a testament to him. We had him here for months before giving him a fight, just coaching him, the kid showed so much patience and it is now paying off.”
Arron fought Small, then 12-0, in only his fifth fight, he was then put into the firing line against 21-0 Duddy in fight number thirteen before joining Bob after his trainer, and promoter, Wayne Barker retired from the sport. Shannon feels that this baptism of fire ruined Arron’s budding confidence; the trainer was keen to ensure that Prince was given a full rebuilding period before re-entering the fray.
“Oh yes, a lot of fighters get pushed too soon and unfortunately it holds them back. It is so lucky that we met up. We had a good chat, got his confidence back and I’ve now got a great kid on my books,” enthused Shannon.
“We were underdogs for Prizefighter, we went down there alone and Arron came in a 1lb overweight so people really wrote us off. I steadied him after the weigh in, settled his nerves and told him he had the ability to do it. His nerves were there in the first round but he then sailed into it.
“This is gospel, I said to Karl Ince that we’d meet his man Brett Flournoy in the final and it came to be. It was really great. When I look back, I think of all the fighters to get we had to get a classy southpaw who was getting into his rhythm after a long time out. Arron had taken on two orthodox fighters and had it all to do, he pulled it out the bag.”
Now, though, Bob is keen to ensure that Arron is given the time and space needed to complete the rebuilding job; the recent points win over Max Maxwell, who took away Brian Rose’s ‘0’ last weekend, was the type of fight that Shannon wants for Arron over the next six-months.
“I want to pull him back just slightly, at least three more ten rounders for the experience, so that when he gets to the title level he can stay up there and fight the likes of Small and other fighters. I believe that once you hit the title level you have to be able to stay there,” declared Shannon, who guided Denton Vassell to the Commonwealth win over Lee Purdy despite fears from outside the camp that Denton would be found lacking over the championship distance.
“My reputation is out there for my conditioning work so I did wonder why people thought Denton wouldn’t have the fitness to go the distance,” mused Shannon. “Boxing News didn’t think he’d go the distance but we proved them wrong.
“Denton made a great achievement for himself by going from six-rounders to a title fight on only a little bit of notice. We had a really worthy opponent in Lee Purdy. Denton was the underdog and came back from a hiccup in the seventh to show his worth – he’ll be a great champion.”
Shannon, though, is also ruing one that got away after working the corner for Andy Morris’ British super-featherweight title tilt against Gary Sykes, Morris lost on points after an evenly fought contest. Bob had guided Andy to the British 126lb title back in 2005 before splitting with the boxer earlier this year.
“I’ve known Andy since the amateur days,” sighed Shannon. “His best performance was the first one against [John] Simpson and [Rendall] Munroe [both for the British title and both on points], where he showed textbook boxing. Rendall Munroe is going for world titles now and Andy Morris beat him fair and square. Andy is a great little boxer and unfortunately he can’t commit to training in the evening so he can’t train with me. I am upset, we still had a lot to do together but I wish him the very best. I love the kid and am upset that we didn’t see out his whole career together.
“His trainer didn’t have his pro badge yet so I was there for him in the Sykes fight – I always will be. I wish Andy all the best and think he can go all the way – I just wish I could have taken him all the way to the top and shared the journey together.”
Bob takes Matthew Hatton into his maiden EBU title defence against Yuriy Nuzhnenko at the Bolton Arena on the 9th of July, with both fighter and trainer insistent that they will prepare for this one as if it were a world title fight. The WBA title holder, Vyacheslav Senchenko, could be next on the slate for Hatton should he overcome Nuzhnenko, who challenged unsuccessfully for the WBA title in April 2009.
“Matthew takes on a guy in his next one who has only lost when fighting for a world title so he has a lot to face. Matt is in a really hard fight but this is what people watch boxing on TV for. It is a great fight and will be settled by skill, desire and fitness, we will tick the boxes and do it,” he predicted.
“I’m a very intense trainer, one-to-one, and I am the boss so a lot of fighters find me very hands on and intense. Matt is used to that now and is getting the benefits of it. When I ask him for more he knows it will pay off so that is good. I was very pleased with his title win. Branco is very experienced and knows the ring inside out. We had a hiccup in the second when Matt stood his ground and took a big right hand, many fighters would have gone down from that but Matthew has got a great chin and can come back after taking a shot.”
He concluded: “Matthew going to the next level will be a great achievement, getting him to the world title would be a dream and I’ll do everything I can to get to that dream. The same goes for Denton, Arron and the other lads.”
Shannon was recently dubbed ‘the secret of British boxing’ by Ricky Hatton, with people now cottoning onto Shannon’s experience and conditioning prowess, the trainer could have his mitts full. Bob, however, is relishing the coming months and believes that he owes a lot to his father, who, along with Phil Martin, laid the founding blocks of Manchester’s recent fistic success.
“My dad brought the body bag in and we passed it onto Billy [Graham] and it has passed on again. I’ve been the quiet man of boxing, the secret, and things are happening now. I’ve done my dues, done my apprenticeship and am ready to shine now – I want to make a name for myself,” admitted Shannon.
“I’ve got great respect for all the local trainers and across the country. We’ve got the two Joes [Gallagher and Pennington], the legend Brian Hughes, Oliver Harrison and young Anthony Farnell. I’m not saying I’m any better than them but I think I am up there with other trainers now. You do have disappointments, you see fighters who you think have it and they just haven’t got it. I’ve got Ricky helping me now, his heart and soul is in promoting and he’ll go from being a great fighter to a great promoter, he has the winning formula. There are great times ahead.”
Unfortunately, Shannon’s father died when Bob was 21, he never got to see his son make his way in the sport and there was further tragedy on the 22nd of June 2003 when Bob’s son and namesake, Robert Shannon Junior, died in a car crash. Robert Junior had created his own piece of history when becoming Britain’s youngest cornerman at the tender age of 17, joining his father on the Shannon family road to success but, sadly, never getting to see that success come to pass. Bob feels that every win posted by one of his charges is a testament to Robert Junior’s faith.
“It all started with my dad – who worked with Phil Martin, Phil went onto great things and died very young – and then went onto me, my dad left a legacy through me,” explained Shannon.
“I wanted to pass the legacy onto Robert but we lost our lovely son on 22nd June seven years ago so the wins are always tinged with a little bit of sadness. We laugh and smile when we’ve won but I go to the dressing room and feel that little bit of sadness that Robert isn’t there to celebrate with me. Robert always said during the bad times that I was good enough to train anybody – he said I just needed that lucky break to come and I sometimes think about those words.
“Robert inspired me to do well because if people remember me then they remember Robert. I don’t just want to be the best trainer – I want to do the best for my family and for my son. Robert was always there for me and his loss is why I call myself the ‘Last of the Mohicans’. I haven’t got Robert to fall back on now so whatever I achieve is for Robert – he is my legacy. I’d have loved to have achieved all this and passed it onto Robert one day and said, ‘There you go, son, you take it to the next level now’. I know that life is short and you only get a few opportunities so I do the best I can for my fighters and try to push them hard.”
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