Ramsey brothers -Brum boxing royalty

Paul Ramsey poses next to TV sports presenter Dickie Davies

THEY are Birmingham boxing royalty – and, make no mistake, the Ramsey brothers, Paul and Mark, are among the very best amateurs spawned by the Second City.

Some say the pair were the best.

Leading lights at the mighty Small Heath gym, both mopped up at schoolboy and junior level, gained senior ABA lightweight titles – Mark in 1989, Paul in 1990, represented their country on scores of occasions and gained medals in multi-nations tournaments around the world.

Mark mixed it with such iron as future pro world champs Kostya Tszyu and Andreas Kotelnik.

There was an uncanny symmetry in the success the brothers, who remain incredibly close, enjoyed as top-notch amateurs.

And there’s a symmetry in the disappointments they endured as pros. Both seemed destined for very big things, yet ended their days with Nobby Nobbs, a man whose gym – and journeymen within its sweating walls – was dubbed “Losers Unlimited”.

The gifted Ramseys deserve better. They had the talent and credentials to end their careers financially secure, comfortable and celebrated.

How they failed to gain major professional honours is, frankly, beyond this writer. They were something special.

From my perspective, the Ramsey story is a vivid example of how careers can become derailed without real structure or when a “Plan B” has not been drawn-up should setbacks occur.

Mark (front) and Paul are re-united with common foe Hatton

“Mark’s a bit more bitter than me, I think,” Paul, now aged 53 and a Network Rail employee, told me. “I tell him, ‘it is what it is, you can’t change the past’.”

The bitterness harboured by Mark, 55 and working on the bins, is understandable. Initially managed by Frank Maloney, he was matched tough from the get-go. He twice took Ricky Hatton the distance, stopped Mark Elliott in a British title eliminator, yet, rather than nurturing and protecting that victory at domestic level, was sent to Germany for his next fight and knocked out.

He ended his career with 19 wins in 66 contests (six draws).

Paul, who began his career with Brendan Ingle, was also given very few favours. He also faced Hatton, Wayne Alexander, Michael Jennings, Jamie Moore and even fellow old-boy Matt Macklin. The man, a natural light-welter, yo-yoed between weight divisions.

He ended his career with 11 wins in 48 contests (two draws).

We should remember the pair for the world class amateurs they were and not allow their legacy to be tainted by professional defeats.

“I was actually a football player,” said Paul, father to two girls. “Mark always loved the boxing. When I was 11 or 12, I went to the gym and didn’t really like it. Mark said, ‘let’s do it together’ and that’s what we did.

“We were always close with the boxing, no rivalry. We trained and sparred together. If he got beat, I’d cry. If I got beat, he’d cry. There was no animosity, we were in it together.

“Mark was fit as a fiddle, I could’ve been fitter, but I was a bit lazy. I relied on my power, I could knock ‘em out. It was only later I realised I had to train harder like my brother.

“The Small Heath gym was a family, everyone looked after each other. If there was a problem outside the gym, we were all there.”

It’s fair to say the sense of belonging, the belief in brotherhood, was lacking during Paul’s pro journey.

He boxed under his mother’s maiden name, Denton: “Brendan Ingle said, ‘we can’t get you any fights, can we change your name?’”

He won his debut, but the unbeaten run ended in Paul’s fourth outing. In Germany, where few favours are given to away fighters, Youssef Bakhouche gained a points decision.

The dye had been cast. Paul would win spectacularly and lose spectacularly before slipping into journeyman mode.

“Looking back, I got thrown in the deep end,” he said. “I was fighting opponents who were so experienced. I don’t really look back at my pro career because it was one of them. I look back and think I could’ve made it, but there was no-one there to push you.

“When I beat Ross Hale (1996 cuts stoppage), that put me at number two in the British rankings. I thought, I’m going to fight the number one now, then I got a call saying I’m fighting in Denmark. I thought, why am I going to Denmark, I should be staying in England fighting the next contender. I had no knowledge of the person I was going to fight (Frank Olsen) and got stopped in four rounds.

“I know the fight was made at light-middle, but I never saw him weigh-in. He looked huge, he hit me and hurt me and I thought, that’s someone a lot bigger than me. I went back to my corner, didn’t say anything, but thought, ‘I’ve been thrown in the deep end again’.

“I sparred Gary Jacobs and let him have his way for the first two days. I rang Mark and said, ‘Gary Jacob’s is taking the p***’, he told me, ‘you’ve just got to let loose’. So I did and they sent me home.

“After that they sent me to France to fight Patrick Charpentier (1995, fourth round loss). He went on to beat Jacobs for the European title and you end up thinking, ‘was I used just for that?’

“The Ricky Hatton fight was made at 10st 2lbs, but just before the weigh-in I was told, ‘it’s got to be 10st, there’s a sauna room waiting for you’, as if it had been planned. After three or four rounds I said, ‘just pull me out, I’m knackered’.”

The 2003, six round points loss to Macklin – a man who also fought in Small Heath’s colours – came during the remnants of Paul’s paid career under Nobby Nobbs.

Mark Ramsey battles it out with Hatton

At the time, Macklin commented on how strange it felt to face a man he idolised.

“It was mad, really,” Paul agreed. “They asked me to do sparring with Macklin because we knew each other, we were friends. I said I’d help him out.

“Then Nobby said, ‘I’ve got a fight for you, it’s Matt Mackin’. I was, like, ‘are you sure, he’s my friend?’ It was one of them, but it turned out to be a good fight.”

As professionals, the Ramseys will be filed in the bulging “what might have been” cabinet. Paul certainly isn’t losing sleep over it.

“Arv Mittoo (fellow former Birmingham pro) told me Robert McCracken thought I should’ve been a world champion. I just think I was a bit broken after Brendon Ingle.

“Maybe I shouldn’t have gone with Nobby, but I followed Mark. I know I beat some of those home guys and didn’t get the decision because I was classed as a journeyman, but what can you do?

“I still train and Mark does a bit. I watch boxing on TV, but some of the decisions p*** me off, although that’s nothing new. Lomachenko-Haney’s one. As a boxer, I’m thinking, the guys outclassed him and you’ve given it to the other guy!”

Paul and Mark entered the pro game with talent to burn. They pro game, they insist, extinguished that fire.