Neil Fannan is winding down his coaching career after almost two decades at the top.
The legendary North-East fight figure who has trained a succession of champions in his Hartlepool gym has dramatically scaled back his commitments.
Fannan will continue to work with British title holder, Tommy Ward, while the unbeaten super-bantamweight’s elder brother, Martin, builds towards his trainer’s licence.
It will be a move which shocks boxing given the 58-year-old passion for the sport.
“I didn’t just wake up one morning and think ‘that’s it, I am stopping’, it’s something that’s been on my mind a while,” said Fannan, who coached the Wards, the Cope brothers Adam and Peter, Gary Fox and Terry Tyers at the gym in the grounds of his home .
“It’s not that I don’t enjoy the training, I like that, but I am sick of the politics in the sport and I fell out of love with boxing.
“When no-one came in the gym over Christmas that helped make my mind up, that made my decision easier.
“Tommy was the first one I told and he was very understanding, saying ‘I wouldn’t want you to do it if you didn’t want to’.
“Martin has been doing quite a bit of coaching since he came back in the gym after his European title fight.
“But he said that he didn’t think he was quite ready yet, so would I give him a hand? Of course I am going to help and I’m still there most days.”
Tommy Ward became his latest champ last year when he defeated Jazza Dickens to lift the British crown.
The 23-year-old looks destined for a world title shot so it would be prudent for Fannan to guide the younger Ward through that challenge while the elder Ward gets to grips with the coaching reins.
Fannan’s record is an impressive one with 14 championship victories and two draws from 27 contests.
He has taken Kevin Bennett, Michael Hunter, Martin and Tommy Ward plus Argie Ward (no relation) to major titles, while he has coached top Hartlepool fighters such as Ian Cooper, Craig Denton and James Rooney, plus Sunderland’s David Dolan, who all left the pro game sporting winning records.
He will, however, be best known for his glory days with Hunter, the double ABA champ he guided throughout his pro career, with Dave Garside as the super-bantamweight’s influential manager.
Hunter ruled the British and then the Commonwealth and European division from 2004-06 before losing in a challenge for the IBF world title against Steve Molitor at the Borough Hall.
“I’ve had a great time,” said Fannan. “I am sick of the politics and, to tell the truth, I felt a weight off my shoulders when I did it.”
Hartlepool lightweight Peter Cope, part of the Fannan team for the last 18 months, will be coached now by Stockton trainer, Imran Naeem.
Words: Roy Kelly
