For this month’s column I’ve been asked to write about Joe Gallagher because, after a chance meeting, he once gave me what turned out to be a life-changing opportunity.

I was in Liverpool, England, with Buddy McGirt and Isaac Chilemba in 2013 for the first of Chilemba’s two fights with Tony Bellew. Joe asked Buddy if he would wrap Anthony Crolla’s hands for his fight that night with Derry Mathews, and Buddy told him, “If you want someone to wrap your hands you should take this guy”, so Crolla’s hands became the first British fighter’s hands I wrapped, starting a relationship with Joe that’s continued to today. I always tell my British fighters and friends that Crolla was my first fighter from the UK, and that’s because of Joe.

As recently as February I wrapped Mohammed Alakel’s hands for his fight with Engel Gomez on the undercard of Artur Beterbiev-Dmitry Bivol II in Saudi Arabia, where I was with Callum Smith – who I first worked with following an invitation from Joe. 

Joe was the first trainer from the UK to give me those kinds of opportunities, and he’s used me ever since – including on his travels for Liam Smith’s fight with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, Paul Smith’s with Andre Ward, Callum Smith’s with George Groves, and Scott Quigg’s with Carl Frampton. Though Paul and Scott have retired, and Liam and Callum are no longer trained by Joe, I continue to work with Liam and Callum today.

I’ve loved every moment I’ve worked with Joe, and thought we were good together in the corner, where he allowed me to have my say. Every time we’ve spoken about boxing, or discussed its politics, we’ve been pretty much on the same wavelength. 

To work with Joe is to see him handle everything, which is how he likes it. He’s very organised. Being in the corner with him the nights Liam Smith and Crolla won world titles remains particularly memorable, but if I had to pick a highlight it would be Callum Smith beating Groves  for the Ali Trophy – it was about working the corner with Joe, and being there for Callum.

I can remember being with him in a dressing room in Manchester on one of those occasions he had more than one fighter fighting, and crossing paths in there with Paul Smith, who said, “Joe can be a lot of things, but he’s a grafter”. He was trying to say what a hard worker Joe is, and the more I’ve learned about Joe and how long he’s been involved in boxing in Manchester, the more I can see why he’s succeeded. What people see as him being hard-headed is him being focused and passionate about what he’s pursuing for his fighters. He’ll go to battle for those he’s working with – he’s got their backs. 

Joe fights particularly hard for his fighters, even when he’s technically not even their manager, which says a lot about him. A lot of trainers’ attitude is, “It’s not my business” – Joe wouldn’t accept that. He also has a sense of attention to detail that even meant him favouring his fighters wearing white boots to look light on their feet, like Muhammad Ali. If a fighter’s ever said he overstepped his mark, he only did so because of his passion for the sport and his fighters.

I’ve had just as much fun with Joe outside of work, talking about the sport and the industry, enjoying after weigh-in meals, and most of all doing magic for Joe. He loves magic and card tricks, and often asks me to perform on cue like I’m a dancing monkey – and let’s not forget his attempts to get me beaten at snooker or pool, including by Paul Butler, another of his fighters (much to his disappointment, that hasn’t happened yet).

I saw his vision for what he wanted to achieve with his fighters – and I could never fault anything he saw or said, because he always had his finger on the pulse of what was happening. Even if his critics would contend that he’s hard-headed, Joe just wanted to do things his way. He stuck by his guns – and I can’t say I ever experienced that for myself, largely because we were on the same page. 

I don’t think it’s any coincidence that two of his former fighters, Crolla and Stephen Smith – I was also fortunate to work with Joe for Stephen – have since become respected trainers. I think both of them realise how good a teacher he is, and are applying what he taught them in their new careers.

There’s been many trainers who, with the benefit of hindsight, have led me to think, “You should have done this, or that”, but I honestly can’t think of a time I’ve thought that with Joe. He’s always called the right instructions, and the flow in the corner with him was also good. I can name on one hand the number of trainers I’ve gelled with instantly and he’s one of them. He’s a great cornerman – and he’s fully deserved the awards he’s been given. More importantly, he’s a friend.

When I learned he’d got diagnosed with cancer I was gutted – it gave me a lump in my throat. I didn’t want to say anything until I saw him in person – which happened to be at baggage claim at Saudi Arabia in February. He told me the story, which I found quite scary – how can the cancer be as advanced as it is without him having any symptoms? How can it be that aggressive and yet that silent? When something like that happens to someone you know, you also think about life, and your own mortality.

I love the attitude he’s shown. Talking to him, you wouldn’t even know there’s a problem. He’s his same old grumpy, hard-headed self – I just can’t see a difference. 

I’m praying for good news. I’ll always really enjoy working with Joe – and I’m always going to feel a connection to and profound friendship with him.

I’ve loved my time and work in the UK, and the friends and fighters I have met along the way – there have been many enduring friendships over the years. None of those friendships, relationships and memories would have happened had Joe not given me that chance more than a decade ago. 

Thanks, brother. I will never forget that.