Warwick: new club with big ambitions

Madison Newey with Sean Boyd (left), Sam Newey

THE Midlands has a new amateur boxing club – and Warwick ABC bristles with big ambitions. DEREK FITZPATRICK talks to head coach Sam Newey about the venture.

When was your club founded?

April, 2021, just after lockdown. It wasn’t actually my idea -  I was asked if I would be interested in helping set up a new gym in Warwick along with a couple of other local ex boxers from the area.

 But it didn’t take long for them to realise just what a massive commitment it is and what they had signed up for, so I soon found myself in charge of everything, which wasn’t easy to juggle around running a business.

I saw the positive effect it was having on the local kids and the community, so I stuck with it and the rest is history. Now I couldn’t imagine life without the gym.

Who was the first boxer to represent your club?

My son Rio Newey in a skills contest on the Newdigate Boxing Club show in Coventry against a good kid from Bulkington. It was a good bout as far as skills bouts go. The first person to compete in a proper bout was Johnny English who picked up a unanimous decision win in High Wycombe against a home fighter.

How many active boxers do you currently have competing?

We have about 30 members in the club, all of whom have potential. But, as it stands, we have 10 carded boxers who are competing.

One to watch…young Rio Newey

 Tell us about names to look out for in the future?

That’s a tough question as most of the boxers give 100 per cent. At the moment, judging by the previous season, I’d have to say Rio Newey is number one in the gym. He had a tough first season, with some controversial decisions up and down the country against home boxers. He has shown so much grit and resilience. This season he has only boxed four times due to injury, but he’s picked up the Midlands title in the Schools Championships and only lost one, to Azan Hussain, from Purge Boxing Academy, in the pre quarter-finals of the nationals. It was a good, close fight against the two time national champ who is unbeaten in 18 bouts and is now boxing for England in the Schools European Championships. So Rio is mixing it with the very best of his age group in only his second season and is only getting better and better.

His sister Madison is a close second. She got to 4-0 throughout the season and only recently received her first loss in the Midlands Box Cup final, picking up silver on a split decision in a bout that really could have gone either way. Taylor Harrison has massive potential - he won his first bout and we are hoping to get a few more bouts in the new season and give him a go in the championships. Ciaran Hogan and Finlay Henry, both aged 11, have been racking up some skills bouts between them and working extremely hard in the gym. Both are looking to get their first competitive bouts mid-season and possibly entering the schools championships in the summer, if all goes well.

Bayley Smith and Ciaran Hogan

Our newest boxer, Bayley Smith aged 14, could be something special if he works hard on his fitness over the next few months. He has bags of potential.

How hard has it been to get established?

It’s been extremely difficult to get established, get a good team of dedicated coaches together and find time to fit in all the courses needed to run the gym properly.

We have paid for those courses out of our own pockets, as being new we would rather any money that’s made goes back into the club.

Building a good rapport with other clubs has been important to us as we would like to be thought of as approachable. We started off doing three night a week in the gym, now we are open five nights. We have a great relationship with most of the local clubs and have got to know most of the officials, so it’s definitely getting easier as far as getting established goes.

 Best advice you’ve been given?

 I’ve had so much great advice from local clubs, but one that sticks in my mind the most is: find your system and stick with it. Once you do, stick with it and make sure you and your coaches are all singing from the same sheet.

 My personal advice would be, don’t run before you can walk. Take your time with it and get it right.

Plans for 23/24?

To carry on the way we are, keep learning and trying to be the best we can be. Keep active and keep the kids focused on being better people.

It’s a massive responsibility being a boxing coach and I don’t think you can ever know enough.