Howell is looking to change the face of boxing management

Howell with another new name in boxing, Jaykae

NATHANIEL Howell is a very, very different man from the middleweight who embarked on a brief professional journey.

Since retiring from the ring, he has trained and developed his own intellect and gathered considerable business acumen.

Howell has trained his mind with the same vigour he trained his body: grey matter, not muscle, has been put to the test.

Many Birmingham fans will remember Natty Howell for his 2016 small hall classic scrap with Dan Breeze at Villa Park. He lost that eight rounder on points and never fought again.

Nathaniel Howell is an entirely different character. The rough edges have been smoothed, the boxing boasts replaced by boardroom sentences and words usually encountered in corporate dossiers.

He has, since hanging up the gloves, gained two business based degrees and lived for a year in Helsinki.

During our interview, the 34-year-old tested my shorthand and, more than once, had me reaching for an Oxford English Dictionary.

Howell is now at the steering wheel of MGT management company, a firm trumpeted as providing the new, all inclusive template for sporting stars. The package goes beyond seeking fights for boxers.

Howell seeks out sponsorship, offers investment opportunities and, as the man himself puts it, provides “the golden nugget” – guidance and support when the final bell has tolled on careers. MGT probes alternative cash streams in jobs suited to an ex-boxer’s traits and talents. Howell describes it as “multi based management”.

Howell with his heavyweight, Hosea Stewart

“Boxers are very different to footballers,” Howell told me. “Their next fight could be their last fight.”

Howell, originally from Washwood Heath, Birmingham, is attempting to cross the divide between pin-striped  city suit finance and spit bucket boxing. He doesn’t speak like the fight fraternity, he doesn’t dress like the fight fraternity. The father of one doesn’t even walk like the fight fraternity.

He currently handles two fighters – former amateur sensation Sahil Khan, a young man tipped for very big things who made his debut on Matchroom’s televised Birmingham bill last Saturday, and hulking Wolverhampton heavy Hosea Stewart.

Three more boxers are poised to sign on the dotted line.

“Initially, when I made the decision to stop boxing, I did dwell on a lot of things,” Howell said. “I now think it was the right decision and everything happens for a reason. I found a new passion and studied for the degrees.

“Looking back, I was smart at school, but had no interest in being academic.”

Howell has now grasped academia with both hands. He cut his teeth with a high profile management company, his portfolio including a string of Blues players.

Going it alone, Howell is understandably drawn to boxing.

“When I boxed, there was very much an old-school mindset,” he told me. “I thought, if I can go to university and get some business acumen, I can benefit the sport in a different capacity. I got my apprenticeship in football, but I want to combine boxing with it.

“My outlook is quality over quantity. I’d rather work with five standout boxers than 15 good boxers.”

Howell is – and the man will hate the term – honing his boxing blueprint with Khan and Stewart.

“In Sahil, I think the Black Country has a potential star,” he said. “He’s only 20 and still maturing physically, but with the right fights and solid media, I think he can go a long way.”

“He and Hosea (five fights, lost one, drawn two) are polar opposites. Hosea is more of a rebuilding job, he needs to regain his confidence. When he came to me, he had no plans. I sat him down and said, ‘we need to build your career in the right way’.”

Howell (left) with Sahil Khan after his pro debut last Saturday

Howell maybe something of a newcomer in the professional game, but he stressed his arrival has been welcomed by established players.

“When there is a young manager there can be suspicion and animosity,” he said. “I haven’t found that. Clifton Mitchell, Ambrose Mendy and Jon Pegg have always offered advice and put connections in place. Just because I’m new to this doesn’t mean I’m here to tread on anyone’s toes.”

Howell does believe he can bring something fresh and positive to Birmingham boxing. For starters, he wants to see greater collaboration between gyms, greater unity.

He added: “There is a lot of work to be done in terms of collectiveness – that has been impactful on the sport in the wrong way. Look at Galal Yafai – he is an Olympic gold medallist, he should be a household name, yet not enough people know about him.

“We have the talent in Birmingham, but not the collectiveness, but I think we (boxing’s new breed), people like Jaykae, are looking at things from a different angle, we want to work together.”