Via a quiet, yet not entirely tranquil walk down an alley shadowed by council flats in a poverty-stricken part of Tower Hamlets, lies an ancient bath house on Cheshire Street.
As the door creaks open, voices louden. The door slams clamorously behind you and you hear the sounds of leather smashing against the bags, skipping ropes working and coaches shouting ‘use your jab’ and ‘good boy,’ all mixed with the smell of blood, sweat and tears.
You look around to see hundreds of hungry youths with the ‘eye of the tiger’. They are dripping with sweat, mostly due to a colossal heater striking hot air down from the ceiling. As you make your presence noticed, edging out of the hallway, you sense the intimidating feeling of being unwelcome. As the coaches set their fierce eyes on you, the consciousness of feeling as though you stick out like a sore thumb becomes more obvious.
You are at the Repton boxing club.
Spit and Sawdust
The most historic boxing club in Britain, the Repton Amateur Boxing Club (formerly Repton Boys Club) could not define the old boxing term ‘Spit and Sawdust’ any more accurately. With paint peeling from the wall, rusty weights and chin up bars, as well as a wall plastered with over a century’s worth of memories, Repton really is old-school.
But this is how they target the right types of characters. With hundreds of national champions having come out of the gym over the years, it is clear that an average faint-hearted ‘keep-fitter’ would much prefer a more modern, friendly gym.
One of Repton’s top senior boxers, Tom Bennet, has gone from strength to strength this season, winning a London title on his way to the national semi-finals. The university student, originally from Bournemouth, found that Repton improved and moulded him as a fighter.
“Coming from a much smaller gym, I was fully expecting to receive much less one-on-one time with the head coach than in the way that I had been back home,” Bennet said. “However, the experience gained from sparring with a wide range of styles allowed me to improve drastically in a short amount of time. With Bournemouth having a fairly small boxing community in comparison to London, the increase in top training partners was a welcome change.”
Respect over ego
In a club with so many tough guys and teenagers with aggression to burn, ego-management stands out as one of the most important areas of discipline that must be drilled into the pugilists.
The only type of person capable of managing the egos of these fighters is the coaches who have been there themselves and know how to show who is boss. Respect between fighters and the coaches could not be more noticeable at Repton, with senior coaches Lionel Omer, Robert Beck, Gary Cooke and Dominic Bergonzi in control. These coaches have been at the club for years and have seen champions come in and out of the gym and onto British, European and World titles. They’ve seen it all.
“Training with Bobby Beck has definitely allowed me to improve on my footwork,” Bennet said.
“But above anything I would say that I have learned to relax and cope with pressure far better than I could before. I put this down to the intensity and competition level that is felt within the gym, whether it be in sparring or just working out.”
In an article for Vice written by Charlie Glimour, ‘Gangsters and Boxers in London’s East End’, famous actor and former Repton boxer Ray Winstone spoke on how the club brings a sense of unity that is hard to find in other organizations.
“The thing about Repton,” Winstone said, “and probably boxing in general, is that there was no colour bar. Everyone was equal and you learnt that, because they were your teammates. And you got to meet people that you wouldn’t necessarily meet on the street because everyone kept themselves to themselves. You learn something about morality, about respect and discipline, and that will stand you in good stead for the rest of your life. I learnt my basics, and my thoughts on life in this gym. Everything I learnt was in this gaff here. And that’s why probably I can never forget about this club.”