As boxing fans may have read, Manchester’s trainer of champions – and be certain, Joe Gallagher thoroughly deserves the accolade – is right now battling bowel and liver cancer. Gallagher, at just 56 years of age, has been fighting the disease since November, and he is showing real grit and mental strength in doing so.
Vowing to carry on working, but also putting his health first, the way, Joe says, so many people fail to do, the ace-trainer has a number of fine fighters under his wing. And heavyweight contender, former cruiserweight and bridgerweight champ Lawrence Okolie, has vowed to pay tribute to his coach by becoming Joe’s first heavyweight champion.
Gallagher has seen his boxers win world honors at the lower weights – Anthony Crolla, Scott Quigg, Natasha Jonas, Callum, Liam, Paul, and Stephen Smith – but never has the Manchester man had a heavyweight fighter of his crown.
Okolie, who will fight Richard Riakporhe on April 5, aims to change this.
Speaking with The Ring, Okolie said he will give his trainer his first world heavyweight champion. Okolie, 22-1(16) overall and currently 1-0(1) as a heavyweight, will face Richard Riakporhe in April. And Okolie says he will win this fight and then become a world heavyweight champ.
“I found out a few weeks ago [about Joe’s cancer battle] obviously I’ve been in Dubai,” Okolie said. “He didn’t want to do it via phone call, but when we were talking about my next fight, he felt like he had to tell me. I said to him it’s not only about April 5th now, it’s about winning him another world title, he hasn’t had a heavyweight world champion yet, so we’re gonna get one.”
And it really will be tougher than tough to be able to resist the urge to root for Okolie – and, while we’re at it, all of Joe Gallagher’s fighters – as they go on with their careers. It would be great to see Okolie become world heavyweight champion, or at least win a version of the heavyweight crown, in so doing paying tribute to Joe.
But Gallagher ain’t done fighting himself yet, far from it. And here’s hoping Joe makes it to see many, many more of his fighters become world champions over the years ahead.
