The Gym Rat: 40 Years in the Pocket
I didn't learn boxing from a press seat. I learned it in the thousands of rounds I shared with world champions and British legends in South London's hardest gyms."
Why I started Boxing Only
"I use a lifetime of technical trade knowledge to strip away the hype. If you want to know how to time and slip a right-hand, you listen to the man who’s been in with some of the best."
My name is Andy Farr, and I grew up with a deep love of boxing, first inspired by Muhammad Ali’s legendary fights, which I watched with my father from the age of eight. To this day, I still enjoy watching Ali's fights, I still enjoy listening to the man self-annointed "The Greatest". He transcended boxing and drew people into the sport as no one else could. When Ali departed boxing, Larry Holmes struggled to find favour with the fans. Still, as time passed, he was involved in exciting tussles with the likes of Gerry Cooney, Renaldo Snipes, and Earnie Shavers, all of which were great encounters that boxing fans still talk about today. Then came the Fab Four: Leonard, Hearns, Hagler, and Duran. Already hooked to the game, now I literally couldn’t take my eyes away from these guys. They were four of the greatest ever to do it. Then maybe the most eye-grabbing heavyweight to come along since Muhammad Ali, "Iron" Mike Tyson. I had already dabbled with amateur boxing, but when this guy came along, he created an excitement that I’m not sure I’d ever seen before or since, and it got me thinking, I want to fight again.
A friend of mine had started putting on unlicensed boxing shows in South London, and it was clear from the beginning that I was going to fight on these cards. I didn’t take much persuading, and six weeks after his first event, I was in the ring for the first time in ten years, facing a guy who had been an England international and had far more experience than I did. My side of the deal was that I had had a brief dalliance with amateur boxing and 10 years of working on the doors of some of the most notorious nightclubs and pubs in South London.
After a few more unlicensed bouts, I ended up following some advice from a professional fighter friend to come and spar with his stablemates at the Henry Cooper gym on the Old Kent Road, London. When I got there, Crawford Ashley was in the ring, and it was suggested that I get started with some rounds with him. Crawford was preparing for a world title fight against Australian Jeff Harding, a bout that was later cancelled. It was this sparring session that persuaded Crawford’s manager, Bob Padget, to sign me to a pro contract. The following day, I sparred with James Cook, who was in his second reign as British super middleweight champion. From then on, South London gyms became my second home.
Within months, I had a pro license and sparred practically anyone near my weight, sometimes way above, sometimes moving around with smaller fighters. I had a weightlifting background, which Cook and others felt through my physical strength during sparring sessions. Of course, they wanted to include it in their training regimens. Shapes Gym in Eltham, London, suddenly had a group of well-known pro boxers among its ranks, pumping iron. Brian Lawrence and Micky Duff asked me to help beanpole heavyweight Henry Akinwande build strength and put on some weight. By then, Henry had been over to Germany and received a highly contentious draw with Axel Schulz for the European crown. Three days a week for the following three years, I pushed Henry hard, and he gained around 18lbs of lean muscle. As well as returning to Germany to defeat Schulz and become European champion, he also beat the quality New Zealand heavyweight Jimmy Thunder to win the Commonwealth title. This work continued while Henry defended his European crown and spread his wings in America under the promotional eye of Don King.
I juggled training Akinwande with my own training, sparring anywhere that the work came up, working the doors, and bringing up two kids. Life was tough, but I loved it all the same. When financial gain drew me away from boxing full-time, I was still called in to help in the corners and sometimes to train a fighter for a bout. To this day, my love for the sport is as strong as it was when that 8-year-old boy sat watching Ali.
I have become successful at predicting the outcome of professional boxing matches since starting Boxing Only, and I make my prediction statistics public at all times. View Prediction Stats.