Recently retired Derry Mathews on his new goal – “The aim now is to make disability boxing bigger”

If retirement is hitting Derry Mathews hard, the Liverpool boxer is hiding it well.

At the gym he runs on the edge of the city centre, the former WBU featherweight champion is now training others with the enthusiasm that he once trained himself. Some respond better than others to the rigorous routines, as evidenced by one of the participants sprinting to a nearby toilet to vomit midway through a session before returning to complete his workout as if nothing had happened.

This is boxing as it should be – as tough and as testing as it is invigorating and addictive. Mathews' only demand of those who train under his guidance is that they give their all regardless of ability. In his eyes, the sport has an ability to inspire and improve anyone and everyone whether it is those who, like he did, go on to scale the heights as a professional, or those, like the gentleman who made an emergency dash to the toilet, who just want to improve their fitness in a competitive but enjoyable environment.

Mathews' belief has always been that anyone who can pull on a pair of gloves should be given the opportunity to do so and that philosophy has now led to the 33-year-old to hold boxing classes specifically for people with disabilities.

Every Thursday afternoon, Derry’s gym hums with activity just as it does throughout the week with those present being put through their paces like everyone else who attends with no quarter being asked and none being given. If equality in sport is to be found in a single place at a certain time, Derry’s gym on Thursday afternoons would take some beating.

“They do a proper warm up, they work on the heavy bags, they do a circuit, they throw medicine balls and slam balls, they use kettle bells; all of the standard training routines that you’d get in any boxing gym anywhere in the world are there for them to do and they do them,” Mathews says.

“Obviously, there are certain situations in which you have to tailor training to suit an individual’s particular needs, it might be that someone can’t do hurdles so we’ll make that station burpees, but these are just minor adjustments; there’s been no need for me to revolutionise the basics of how we train at a boxing gym.”

In this case, the “they” have various disabilities. “There are lads and girls with cerebral palsy, ones who have suffered brain injuries, others who have autism or mental health issues; we cover all disabilities,” Mathews adds, “It’s too easy in sport for people to decide for others what they can and can’t do, our attitude is that we should let them find out for themselves. You hear boxing experts say ‘This fighter can’t do this and that fighter can’t do that” but if this sport should teach us anything it’s that if people are given the right opportunities at the right time they can surprise everyone, sometimes even themselves. And it’s not all about winning titles, it’s about being the best that you can be whatever that means.”

As combative out of the ring as he was in it, Mathews' journey into disability boxing began with a social media spat almost five years ago at a time when he was preparing to face Anthony Crolla in a British lightweight title fight at Oldham Sports Centre. “It all started on Twitter,” he recalls. “I met a girl called Zoe Robinson on there ahead of my first fight with Crolla. Zoe is an Olympic gold and bronze medallist at boccia but she’s also from Manchester and a big Crolla fan so she was just giving me endless stick.

“Obviously, I responded in kind and we became Twitter rivals, arguing all the time, and when I had the weigh in for the fight I found out Zoe was there and went over and introduced myself. Beforehand I’d tweeted her to say if she was there I was going to let the tyres down on her wheelchair because she’s given me such a hard time, it was obviously just a bit of banter and she loved it and we hit it off from there. She was at ringside for the fight wearing all the Crolla gear and afterwards I gave her the gloves that I’d beaten him with and since then we’ve become pals.

“One day she came to my gym and I was training her on the pads and I told her that I was thinking of starting a disability boxing class. That was where the idea really started and from there I spoke to Mark Horlick, who runs disability football classes for Liverpool County FA, and he brought his players down for a boxing session and it went that well, the lads absolutely loved it, that we realised it was something that could be built upon. We advertised a free class and at first we only had two people but now we’ve got 40 and it’s going from strength to strength.”

A 52-fight career means Mathews is no stranger to boxing gyms buzzing with activity as those pounding the pads grow in confidence and develop their fitness and their talent, but his latest venture has strengthened his view that the sport he has devoted his entire adult life to can make a positive difference in ways that he hadn’t previously recognised. “What’s clear from the way that they train is that these kids haven’t previously been given the chance to show what they can do in this kind of environment,” he says. “We are giving them that and they are responding to having an opportunity.

“The enthusiasm they have is unbelievable. I know myself from my own career that there can be days when you might not really want to train or when you just get the job done and get in and out, everyone who’s ever done any kind of sport has those kind of days, but the lads and girls who attend the classes are getting in half an hour before they’re due to start, they’re setting the equipment up, they’re taking charge and I’ve been able to take a step back and allow them to take the warm up and do the stretching. They all know the drill – they know there’s no swearing and that the equipment gets put away as soon as we’ve finished training – and they buy into it all 100%.

“The most obvious difference I’m seeing is in their confidence. Most of them never knew each other before they came here and at first you obviously have that feeling out period where it might feel a bit strange but from then on everyone has come out of their shells, enjoyed being in one another’s company and really bought into the spirit of the gym. One of the parents told me that their lad is getting the bus for the first time because he’s become a bit more independent and that’s how he wants to get to training. Obviously, improving fitness is a big part of what we do in training but it also helps with these types of social skills that can be used in everyday life so when you hear stories like that it really makes your day because it demonstrates the positive effect that boxing can and does have.

“I was with Matthew Macklin’s Mack The Knife, which was then MGM Liverpool, and they had a show on in Liverpool and they invited everyone in the class to come along. Most of them had never been to a big boxing event and some of them didn’t like being in crowds but we all went along as a team and they all loved it. I could tell how big an impact it had had on them from their reaction the next time we trained at the gym because they were all saying that they wanted to be boxers. It wasn’t just in our environment either, some of them play football and I was told that their confidence on the pitch had improved massively so I went to watch them and it was clear to see the difference that had been made. To me, they’re just normal boys and girls, I don’t see them or treat them any differently to anyone else who comes to the gym and I think that’s what they want.”

To that end, Mathews is now taking his disability classes to the next level by holding a bill at the Broadway Function Rooms in Liverpool on April 15. Although it is primarily a fundraising event aimed at kitting out his stable of disabled fighters and taking them to major boxing events, it is also an opportunity for those who train on Thursday afternoons to display their skills in front of a crowd or else to use their knowledge and expertise to help run the show. But rather than being the end of their journey, Mathews is hoping that it is just the start.

“We’ve got 15-20 who are going to be competing on the day and the ones who won’t be competing will either be judging, acting as timekeepers, warming the fighters up, working on the door, whatever, it’s their show,” he says. “The ones who are competing will be fighting against professional boxers from various gyms in Liverpool. I want them to experience a proper show in the way that I have done, right down to taking part in a media day on Thursday which is already causing a great deal of interest from the local and national media.

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“They have done the training, they’ve put the hours in at the gym and they’ve put themselves in a position in which they’re ready for the next step which is being involved in a competitive bill with everything that that entails. On the day there will be a ring walk, Simon Ross from Radio City will be the MC and the whole event will be run to a professional standard because that is what we are preparing for.

“I know that they are ready. I’ve seen them train and I know what they can and can’t do and I’m in no doubt that they’re ready for the big stage. I know they can do it but what I would say is that just by getting into a boxing ring in front of a crowd they will be achieving because no one would have thought this was possible when we started with this.

“This is what boxing does at all levels – it brings people together and allows them to surpass their expectations. I’ve learned that throughout my career. I’ve fought lads like Tommy Coyle and Curtis Woodhouse and we’ve become pals. A lot of the lads who I trained with when I was eight-years-old are still my mates today. My coach as an amateur is now coaching my son. I could go on and on. Boxing brings people together and it breaks down barriers.

“What we’re doing with the classes for the disabled is just another example of that. The aim now is to make disability boxing bigger, to take it around the country, raise awareness and allow more people to get involved. That’s another reason why we’re doing this show. We want to be able to buy them as much kit as possible and I’m hoping to be able to take them all to Eddie Hearn’s show at the Liverpool Echo Arena on April 22 and then take them to other shows around the country so that they become totally accustomed to being in a boxing environment.”  

Tickets for the bill cost £10 for adults and £5 for children and can be bought in person at Derry’s gym or by contacting Derry Mathews or Mark Horlick on Twitter at @derrymathews23 and @MarkHorlick