Jerry’s gems: Jermiah Mitchell with club founder Ron Hagland backed up by the ABC squad

Published: 4 December, 2014
by MARC GATFORD

FROM cheating death to personally nurturing a future Olympian, Jermiah “Jerry” Mitchell, is more than just a respected boxing trainer. 

A life-changing accident prematurely ended his promising amateur career. But as a result, he focused his talents on influencing the lives of young boxers from across Camden and Islington – inside and outside the ring. 

It’s Wednesday evening at Islington ABC. Above our heads, the rumble of the junior group on the second floor is intensifying as their session reaches a crescendo. 

The seniors on the ground floor begin to filter in to the club in Hazellville Road, Holloway, for a familiar evening of fitness and hard sparring. 

Jerry begins to bark orders at a dozen or so fighters who respond explicitly to his instructions. He knows what he wants from his boxers – after all, he’s been in their boots himself. “I was 20 bouts into my amateur career when I lost to a fighter who would go on to challenge for the British title. That’s the last fight I felt myself in the ring,” said Jerry, who would soon suffer a near-death experience. 

A qualified toolmaker by day and boxer by night, Jerry would hit the road each day for a 5am run, and then head straight to work. 

His finely tuned regime was key to balancing his job and the sport which demanded so much. But what happened next was far from routine. 

“I was working on a milling machine when my overalls got caught, and it began to pull me in,” recalled the 55-year-old. 

“My colleague stopped the machine just in time. 

“I was lucky to only suffer a dislocated shoulder, and end up with a scar – I could have been killed.”

He competed on a further two occasions before deciding to retire. He then turned his attention to coaching, and quickly settled into a new role outside the ring. 

It was a decision that Jerry describes as “the best thing to ever happen to him.” 

Employing tough training methods, which have seen him dubbed the “crazy trainer”, he explained he will “go on all night” until the boxers meet his tough demands. 

But for the young fighters who make the grade, Jerry and his tough training drills can certainly pay off. Just ask Olympian Courtney Fry.

“He was brought to the gym by his parents in an attempt to focus his rebellious energy on something positive,” recalled Jerry. 

“The club helped instill the discipline and skills which set him on the road to the Sydney Olympics in 2000, and to becoming a pro fighter.”