There was something of a media circus the day Moss Side Fire Station Boxing Club opened its doors in May 2008. Luminary names such as Ricky Hatton, David Haye and Amir Khan were there, giving their backing to a gym with a vision of providing a beacon of hope in a Manchester district long troubled by gangs and racial tensions.
The event made local and regional press, catching the eye of Diane Tudsbury who decided that this new club may offer an outlet for her hyperactive, mischievous eight-year-old boy, Conner. A few days after opening, mother and son walked through the doors. There to greet them were two men who were both active firefighters and boxing coaches, the late Mike Dillon and Nigel Travis.
“I said straight away that he was too young. I said he wouldn’t have the attention span and if he’s dead naughty, it’s not going to work. Mike then said to Conner, ‘can you do pull-ups?’ There was a wall with a bar – he ran over to it, bounced up the wall and started doing one-armed pull-ups. Then I thought, yeah, he’s old enough!”
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Fast forward 14 years. Nigel smiles at the memory and gives Conner a playful dig in the ribs as the pair lean against the ropes of the ring which sits in the middle of the gym – an area of the fire station long transformed from three rooms into one. Punch bags of all shapes and sizes hang throughout most of the gym with the ring positioned at the top of the room beneath a large sign that reads ‘Respect, Discipline, Courage.’ The walls are adorned with fight posters and pictures of many of the local kids who’ve found a home under this roof. Conner features prominently.
“When I was younger, I was very energetic, very mischievous and always looking for something to do,” he says looking at the photos. “I was a delinquent, messing about on construction sites, throwing stones, up to no good. Then my mum took me to boxing and it was the right place to use my energy. It felt like home, I was good at it, and I felt very comfortable doing it.
“I’d tried football, hated football, couldn’t watch it. I quite like it now sometimes, but as a kid I didn’t understand it. I’ve always supported United, but I don’t really follow it.
“So, boxing started off as a hobby. I wasn’t the best, but I stuck around and eventually went into the championships a couple of times. I put in the work, won the championships, and got invited to an England selection. I went to the Europeans, got beat but I thought, yes, this is for me. I was 14.”
It is a very common tale of how boxing can save a young soul. Plenty of Conner’s contemporaries followed a less than righteous path, and had it not been for Nigel and the other coaches at Moss Side, it could all have turned out very differently. With undiagnosed learning difficulties, school was never going to provide any kind of salvation.
“I always hated school,” Conner says. “My attendance was near 50%. I pretended to be sick. Writing, reading and all that, wasn’t my strongest thing. It wasn’t until I was much older at school that the teachers realised I needed help.”
“He was missed! The system failed him,” Nigel interjects. “He should’ve been statemented [assessed as having special educational needs]. When he was 14, I took him to see a headmaster who lived on my street, and he immediately said he should have a statement. It was a massive failure. I contacted the local MP and eventually they put some extra financial support into him. He got a scribe at school and all that.”
With the right help, Conner completed school before moving on to Bolton College to study a sports BTEC. At the same time, boxing was going well with success at club level, then representing England before he gained the attention of GB Boxing. After working through the selection process, Conner has settled into life on the podium squad in Sheffield and took the opportunity to compete in last year’s World Championships – although at cruiserweight, a division above his natural category. He surpassed expectations and came within a whisker of a medal, losing the tightest of split decisions at the quarter-final stage.
“The time’s moved really fast,” he says as he flicks a jab out at an imaginary opponent. “I’m comfortable there and used to the routine. It’s tough, but it’s something you need, and it moulds you into being a professional athlete. Even when you’re not there, you’re thinking about getting up at 7am and thinking about doing this session and that session.
“Right now, I’ve got tournaments coming up to end the year. Next year, there are a couple of qualifiers for the Olympics. The plan is I get my head down and do what I’ve got to do to achieve that Olympic dream. I visualise what I want, I speak it and envision it into existence.”
Olympic gold is his own personal dream, but the 22-year-old is also committed to helping the next generation find their pathway, be it in the ring or elsewhere. When he is not with the GB squad – from Monday to Friday – he can usually be found back at his home from home.
“I love coming to the gym, even if it’s not to train. I like seeing everyone. The gym is like my family, and I’ll always come down to see everyone. I like to know how the younger ones are doing, how they’re getting on at school, if they’re getting into trouble and stuff. I like to encourage them to do better at school.”
It is the way things are done at Moss Side Fire Station Boxing Club. Conner’s work with kids in the community has progressed to him running his own initiatives with the support of Maverick Stars Trust – a boxing charity for which Conner is an ambassador.
“It’s good for people to watch me and see that, while I’m not up there yet, I’m doing well and without any beef, without any trouble. You don’t need trouble. I know of people who’ve been involved and in trouble and it’s affected their lives deeply. I’ve been very fortunate that I’ve avoided it.
“I like to pass the information I’ve gained from GB down to some people here who might not get the opportunity.”
Conner and his GB colleague and fellow Maverick Stars ambassador Delicious Orie, have delivered holiday coaching programmes to show young people how to train like an Olympian – how to eat, train, rest, and everything else that goes with the disciplined life on the podium squad. Most importantly, it is about giving hope and inspiration.
As Nigel likes to say, the gym is about saving the world one day at a time. Producing elite fighters is not the most important role of any amateur boxing club, and that is certainly true of Moss Side. But Nigel can only see the brightest of futures for Conner.
“He’s miraculously strong. I believe that if he really wanted to do any sport he chose, he’d succeed in it. If he wanted to be a basketballer, sprinter, shot-putter – he’s physically superior to anything we’ve ever seen.
“Physically, he’s better than anyone I’ve ever worked with. Power, strength, fitness. He’s got all the capabilities to become huge.”
Some praise from a man who, alongside Jamie Moore, also trains professional fighters in a busy and successful stable that currently includes undisputed world champion Chantelle Cameron and world title challenger Jack Catterall.
For now, Conner’s focus is very much on his amateur career and that Olympic dream, and while he is determined to become a Mancunian legend, a boxing star with his name in lights, packing out the Manchester Arena like Ricky Hatton and Anthony Crolla before him, what matters most, is closer to home.
“I would just like to represent where I’m from. I hope to be someone that people look at and think of Manchester.”
