Former world champion Clinton Woods has admitted he 'hated' working as a trainer after deciding to sever his ties with professional boxing. Woods held the IBF light-heavyweight title for over three years before retiring in 2009, but he failed to find the same excitement on fight nights as a trainer and grew disenchanted with the long hours.
The 40-year-old worked with a number of fighters, including middleweight prospect Liam Cameron, who switched allegiances to the Ingles gym this year, but he is now focusing his efforts on box-exercise classes and plans to open an amateur boxing club.
Woods told The Sheffield Star: "I hated it. Every minute of it. I didn't retire from boxing so I could spend even more time in the gym than when I was fighting. I don't know what came over me on fight nights, but I hated them and everybody who saw me thought I was a right miserable so and so.
"The fighters were a bit disappointed but this is my life and I didn't want to work at times of the day that didn't suit me. I don't know why professional training didn't suit me, but bringing kids through does, it's great. It's a much more relaxed atmosphere and that's what I am looking for."
