By Terence Dooley

British boxer Femi Fehintola has switched trainers in a bid to reenergize his boxing career.  The Bradford-based stylist recently joined the ranks of Joe Gallagher’s Denton cult.  Fehintola now hopes to wipe away the memory of his last fight (a devastating third round KO at the hands of Ryan Barrett last October) by having another run at the British scene.

Tough is not a strong enough word to describe the life of Fehintola.  Femi had to watch with horror as his father took drugs on a TV documentary, he then saw other family members fall afoul of addiction, as well as having to come through family bereavement; boxing provided a sanctuary, of sorts, for Femi. 

Fehintola has kept a low profile during the last few months, he hopes that the switch in training regimes will reenergise his career, as he explained: “I spent time out of the gym but have come back to train with Joe and Kerry.  I have known Joe for a long while, I have worked with Kerry Kayes for years, and I know (Matthew) Macklin from the amateurs, so I knew I was coming into a winning team.  It is a new start for me, and I hope to go out and grab a few belts.

“I am not sure what (former trainer) Richard (Poxon) will do next, I think he is having a time out, as he has got stuff going on.  It was a nice time for me to have a clean break.  I did well with Richard but it was time to change.

“Me and Richard go back as more than trainer and boxer, he is a friend as well, but friends don’t always win you belts.  I think he is gone from Fight Academy now, and I am still with them, this is just a change in training camp for me.”

Femi stood up to the then red-hot Carl Johanneson for six-rounds in 2006, before bouncing back in style with a points win over Stevie Bell in 2007.  Femi picked up the English title in that one, handing Foster his first loss over ten tough rounds. 

Femi had entered the contest with Barret in fine form on paper, but the circumstances surrounding the bout were not ideal: “I was promised a Steven Foster fight, then I was fighting Gareth Couch, who is an orthodox fighter, then I ended up fighting Ryan Barrett, who is a big tall southpaw.  I had only done six rounds in twelve months, and I only did a limited number of rounds in sparring, it was a disaster waiting to happen, but I believe that everything happens for a reason, and I will turn it around. 

“I never thought about jacking it in after that defeat.  I can’t do anything else but box.  I needed a break so I could come back refreshed.”

The decision to move had been a long time in the making, Fehintola was a regular face in the old Phoenix camp, when Gallagher took control of the gym Femi decided to give him a call: “I thought about it before my last fight, then I spoke to Joe recently and he said he had always wanted to work with me.  Joe saw me in the amateurs and the pros, he has seen my mistakes, seen what I have done good, and can get me back to my old, slick self, I am looking forward it.”

The win over Bell had been seen as a fresh start, for Femi, though, the torrid contest was a sign of how far he was slipping from the silky skills that had defined his amateur career: “I don’t think I did well in the Bell fight, even though I won it, unless ‘doing well’ means standing there and having a war, which is what I had to do.  I looked back at the tape and don’t think I performed well, I just stood there and fought, and anyone can do that.

“The occasion got to me.  He put me down in the first as well, that made it the fight it was.  Steve can’t punch hard but he is very accurate with the shots, and he caught me clean with them.”

Gallagher likes to mix things up, John Murray is the trainers stamp, the fighter he points to when enticing people to the gym, however, Joe Murray is a slick boxer, and Femi feels that Gallagher can improve his style: “Whatever it is that Joe thinks I am best at is what I will do, I will put my faith in him.

“It feels like coming home really.  I didn’t have that nervousness that you have when first walking into a new gym.  I have been around this place for a few years now.  It is perfect for me.”

I had spoken to Femi in the immediate aftermath of his defeat to Johanneson, although low, Femi had told me that he would come back from that first loss, he did, then the Barrett setback came along. 

In the weeks following the defeat Femi hit a low point, and, once again, his personal life took a turn for the worst, as he explained: “I was just dossing and being depressed, to put it bluntly, my granddad died, my step dad was terminally ill, but life is what you make of it, and I am going to make it in boxing.

“I have been through the mill and back, and I am back, this time next year I will have a belt round my waist again, most definitely.  People have written me off before.  I will keep my mouth shut and let my fists do the talking.

“Joe is the man for me.  I told (promoter) Dennis Hobson that I wanted Joe and wasn’t thinking of anybody else, and Dennis was fine with that.  I knew in the back of my head that Joe was the man to help me.  In a winning environment you cannot do anything but win.  With John and Joe here for sparring I won’t need to go out to other gyms to get my head smashed in!

“I hope to fight around the end of July, I should have a date soon.  Joe Murray fights around that time so I’m looking forward to getting ready with him for a nice comeback fight.  I want to fight anybody, anytime, anywhere.”

Gallagher has long been an admirer of Femi, always hoping against hope that he would one day be given the opportunity to work with the boxer, now the time has come, and Joe could not be happier: “For a long time Femi has been coming in and out of the gym.  I have known Femi since he was a kid.  Femi is a funny kid, a happy kid, and he always had a smile on his face.  In recent times he wasn’t smiling as much as he used to.  I want him to go back to enjoying his boxing, as he has always been a fighter that I’ve admired from afar.

“It is up to Femi Fehintola how far he goes in boxing.  There was no shame in losing to the kids that he lost to.  I see this as a chance to help a very gifted amateur make the most of his professional promise.

“I see this gym as a garage, you get high quality cars in that have a bit of wear-and-tear.  Kerry and me strip the engines down, give them a lick of paint, and put them back on the showroom floor.  It is a case of doing what we did with Macklin, we are not teaching them anything new, we are giving them back that faith in themselves, and showing them how we got John and Joe to the levels they are at.

“Femi and Matthew have been around boxing for a long time, amateur and pro, and you get a bit jaded over time, so being around young, ambitious kids gives them a bit extra.  Femi is not alone here.  When he looks around he sees the Murrays, the Macklins, and the Burtons on the bags around him, and he knows that they are there for him.”

Gallagher paused for breath, I nipped in with a question: how far can Femi go in his second coming?

“Femi?  British champion.  I see him as a future British champion, without a shadow of a doubt.  I look around the division he operated in and I see that they are opening up nicely.  Femi can work his way up to an eliminator and then fight for the British title, and win it.

“Pay no mind to Femi’s first British title fight.  Carl Johanneson is a devil of an opponent.  That loss was no disgrace to Femi, Carl was on a roll.  Femi played him at his own game, hanging with Carl early doors, who knows what Femi could have done if he had a bit more pop in his punches back then?  Femi will be come back fitter, faster, and stronger, there is huge desire and we just have to let him fall in love with the game again.

“An on-form Femi Fehintola is great for the gym.  Joe, Seamus and (ABA winner) Hosea Burton can learn from Femi, he has had his pitfalls…it shows the lads that it is not gold all the way, but Femi will show them what it takes to come all the way back, because Femi has what it takes, and will prove it over the coming year.

“Femi has got all the lads behind him on his comeback, he has got me and Kerry on-hand to help him whenever he needs it, we are 110 percent behind him, there will be direction and supervision in his career, and we will do the best job we can for him.  Femi can concentrate on giving it his best shot, that is all you can ask for in this sport.”

It will be interesting, given his harrowing personal story there will be a lot of support for Femi within the boxing community, and the fighter himself would be buoyed by another winning run, especially if Gallagher’s latest title prediction comes true.