Jameel McCline called Jimmy Glenn’s phone Wednesday, hoping that his longtime trainer and father figure would be healthy enough to answer it.
The retired heavyweight contender spent much of Thursday on the phone with numerous people that wish they, too, could speak to the treasured Glenn again. Glenn, 89, died early Thursday morning from complications caused by COVID-19 (https://www.boxingscene.com/jimmy-glenn-longtime-trainer-cut-man-owner-popular-bar-dies-from-covid-19--148735).
McCline reflected during an interview with BoxingScene.com on the immense impact Glenn had on him both in and out of the ring.
“Jimmy was such a sure hand in the corner,” McCline said. “He was always very calm. He was an amazing human being. He really, really taught me a lot as a man and as a fighter. I didn’t realize how lucky I was to have Jimmy in my corner back when I was starting.”
Glenn and McCline began working together in 1999. McCline spent five years in prison and had no amateur experience, but Glenn guided the 6-feet-6, 260-pound contender to four heavyweight world title shots in a five-year span from 2002-2007.
McCline came closest to winning a heavyweight championship when he lost a 12-round split decision to Chris Byrd, then the IBF champion, in November 2004 at Madison Square Garden.
Glenn is well known for owning Jimmy’s Corner, an iconic Times Square bar beloved by boxing fans far and wide. McCline can’t stress enough, though, that Glenn’s capabilities as a trainer were exceptional.
“He was known as a cut man, but Jimmy never really got credit as a trainer,” McCline said. “He was so smart. He was a kind man, but what people don’t know is his boxing IQ was through the roof because he saw so much and was able to convey that to me. He was able to get me to trust him and he did that by giving me his soul.”
McCline remembers Glenn instructing him to completely change their game plan following a difficult first round against Shannon Briggs in April 2002. Rather than walking down the hard-hitting Briggs, as they had prepared to do during training camp, Glenn convinced McCline to box Briggs in a 10-round fight HBO broadcast from The Theater at Madison Square Garden.
McCline completely out-boxed Briggs thereafter, won by wide margins on all three scorecards and earned a shot at Wladimir Klitschko’s WBO title in his following fight.
Two fights earlier, Glenn instructed McCline to hit Michael Grant with a left hook as soon as their HBO bout began because Glenn noticed Grant’s legs shaking from nervousness just before their fight started. McCline’s left hook knocked down Grant just three seconds into their bout and caused him to land awkwardly on his right ankle, an injury that led to McCline winning by first-round technical knockout.
That huge upset completely changed the course of McCline’s career.
“When I say he taught me patience, it wasn’t just in the ring,” McCline said. “He taught me patience in training, in my relationship with my wife at the time. He always said, ‘Don’t be in such a rush to get things. Take your time. Get a goal. Focus on it.’ He was always asking me about my spending, because I was a big spender. Jimmy was always saying to me, ‘Son, save some money. You’re not gonna be able to save all of it, but save some of your money.’ And I never forgot that. And I did. He was a very, very significant figure in my life. At that time, life was going so fast for me. I had just gotten out of prison a couple years before I met him. I met Jimmy when I was still in my twenties, and he and Allan Wartski were father figures to me. We were all very, very close. We were family.
“Once you do what we did together – and even though I didn’t win a world title, we did great, great, great things together in my career – once you do that, you’re bonded for life. Jimmy Glenn and I, [adviser] Mike Borao and I, [manager] Allan Wartski and I, we’re bonded for life. Jimmy had more experience than anyone, but Alan, Mike and I, we were brand new. We didn’t know what we were doing. Jimmy was like our guide. Jimmy was always so calm. I’ll never forget when we went to Vegas for the [Grant] fight. We’re running around like school children, asking everybody things [related to the fight] about what to do, where to go. I remember Jimmy was so calm. He said to me, Alan and Mike, ‘I know we ain’t been here before, but let’s pretend we have. Let’s act like we’ve been here before.’ We were all so excited and he just told us to calm down. And it worked. I’ll never forget that.”
Borao also remains thankful for the influence Glenn had on them personally and professionally.
“I believe people like Jimmy Glenn are God’s gift to humanity,” Borao said. “Jimmy was one of the best men I have ever known.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.