An interview with Johnny Garton, professional boxer and current holder of the British Southern Area Championship Welterweight Division title. Published in the Fisher FC official matchday programme 11-04-15.

1. PEXICAN WAVE
Boxing chcmp Johnny Gorton tolks to
Nodim Lilani on his recent visit to the Fish
lf Flsher mahtaln their SCEFL sbtus "l went hto the dressing room before the
beyond thls season, they wont be the *match and had a good chat wlth Dean and
onty [oca[ heroes. Professlonat boxer 'the pbyers. Everyone was very frlendty
Johnny Garton - born and ralsed ln and I thoutht Fisher played well unttl I
Peckham - witl also be abte to reflect en a left I said to Dean that it's been ages slnce
successful yean
ln December 2014, the wetteruelght won
the Brltlsh Southern Area Champlonship
bel.t by knocklng out the prevlousty
unbeaten Adam Battle in round & He then
retalned the tltte just under a month ago,
when he defeated Nick Wiese at York
HaU on l4th March 2015. And the Z8-year-
o[d, an avld MlttwaLl fan, took some time
out tast weekend to watch his [ea[ side
Fisher tock horns wlth Dea[ Town. Garton
was impressed with what he sawi
"Unfortunately I had to teave 3t hatf-time,"
he said. "But the frst hatf was reauy good
- there was a gr€t atmosphere and the
fans seemed to be enloying themsetves. "
l've come down to watch Flsher, l'm gaing
to try and come a lot more often. I woutd
llke to come when MiLtwatl arent ptaylng
at home - it! Just diffcutt to find the tlme
wlth my he€tlc schedute."
lndeed, the llfe of a pro boxer ls not easy
When Garton exptalns hls lntense datly
routine, lt makes his achlevements sound
a[[ the more impresslve. The fghth8 ace
works as a mechanlc by day and t.ains by
nlght - which often means Sundays are
the onty tlme he has for rest.
"l'4y worklng hours are 6am untl[ spm." he
said. "Then I have to 8et to the 8ym fo.
6pm. And after tralning we usually go for
a 5 mi[e run. 5o by the tlme I get
So what ls the secret behlnd his succ€ss?
"Having a good routlne defnltely hetpsJ
he sald. 'And the fact that I've got a great
team around mq too. My coaches - Atan
smlth and Eddie Lrmm - are both top
cLass. I've ats got an lncredible strength
coach, Gavln Lander. My stable mates
obvlousty help me out a lot in the gym
as we[I. Weve got Brad[ey Skeete, Ltoyd
Eltett. Adam Dtngsdate, Lewis Pettitt ?nd
Darrytl Wiuiams. Three of tho* guys are
unbeaten, so ltb a great thint to be a part
of-"
"ln terms of a sponsor, l're had a few
pmpte phone me up. l've got to ta[k to
them and sort out the nltty grltty of lt
aLt. I think if I keep winnlnt and puttinS in
good performances, something witl come
uP."
"You hove to
get behind
your local
te o m.tt
Garton recoSnizes that tower lsgue
footba[ clubs such as Fisher atso fase
fnancial diffcutties. l-le betleves that l.ocat
residents must give the slde a hel,ping
hand - and thlnks that they wltl succeed
a$ lonS as they hare young, hungry p[ayers
at their disposat.
"You have to get behlnd your [oc[ team."
he said. "lt's difficult for sldes in this
division because of the lack of funds,
so they need heh. I think managers and
scouts from the Footbalt League need
to look at leagues the SCEFL a blt more.
That! where you're gqlng to find the
hungriest players - the ones that give lt
thelr atl and dqnt stop runnin& "
"lt's great to see youn8 ptayers glven a
chance -at the end of the day, they are the
future and hav€ to be glven an opportunity
at some polnt. They're the ones who want
to prove themsetves and make sure they
get a ptace in the fFt team."
'!ust took at what has happened at
Ml[twatl, slnce Nel[ Harris was put ln
charge last month. I feel a bit sorry for
him because he has t3ken over a sinking
ship but as a team we [ook a lot better
because he's given debuts to some of the
academy tads, "
"Mst of our older ptayere are on loan
from other ctubs and they arent galng
to have the same deslre as the boys who
have come up through the youth ranks
and supported Mlttwat[ slne they were
very young "
"lf ya're a reserv€ team player and you're
pushed up to the frst team, youte Boing
to run your heart out and try and wln
every ba[t. ltb refreshing to see youth
beinS glven a chance at both Millwaf[ and
Fishef,"
And lf any young sportspeEon is tacklng
inspiratlon, thq/ need took no further
than Garton. His rise to the top shows
that hard work, perslstence and a Sreat
attitude can go a !on8 way. Leaming from
those who have alredy hit the helghts ls
Just as important, he lnsists.
"lf youte starting out ln any sport and
want to do welt, you have to listen to the
peopte around you and take theh advlce.
They're the ones who have been there,
seen it and done lt. 5o you need to take on
board what they tetl you and try and put
it Into practice. You hae to Sive it your
a[[ - not iust during the tlme that youte in
the rlng, or the 90 minutes youte out on
the footbaLl. pitch, but in training as wett."
As stated qrtler h thts artlcLe, Johnny ls
Looktng fq sponsorehtp so he can spend
more tlme wkh hls family. lf you are able
to hetp Johvly out, please alt htm on
a7$4 029752.home lt's between l0 and llpm. Al.[ I want
to do then is go to bed, blt the adrenatlne
frcm the exerclse ls stltt pumpinS throu8h
me - making it hard to steep until aaound
mldnight."
"l'm up agaln between 6 and 7am for work
the n€xt day, lt's Just the same routlne and
sometlmes lt reatly does take it out of
you. Sundays are 1rcur onty break, the day
when you try to meet up with family and
friends. "
"5o what l'm hoping to do is get a sponsor
ln order to cut my working hours down.
That'd atlow me to spend more tlme wlth
my famlty and glve my bedy a rest - and
that way I coutd lmprove as a boxer. too."
The thought of a bigger, better Garton
must send shlvere down the spines of his
rivats. Thls ls a man who, siqce maklnS hls
professionat bow in 2011, has lostjust once
in l5 professlonat fights.