Brendán Îngle (19 June 1940 – 25 May 2018) was an Irish

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...

trainer, manager and former professional boxer based in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Ingle trained four world champions in total at his

Wincobank Shiregreen and Brightside ward—which includes the districts of Brightside, Shiregreen, and Wincobank—is one of the 28 electoral wards in City of Sheffield, England. It is located in the northern part of the city and covers an area ...

gym, including

Johnny Nelson Ivanson Ranny "Johnny" Nelson (born 4 January 1967) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1986 to 2005, and has since worked as a boxing analyst. He is currently the longest reigning world cruiserweight champion of all time, ...

, "Prince" Naseem Hamed,

Junior Witter Junior Witter (born 10 March 1974) is a British former world champion professional boxer who competed from 1997 to 2015. He held the World Boxing Council, WBC light welterweight world title from 2006 to 2008 and challenged once for the IBF ligh ...

, and

Kell Brook Ezekiel "Kell" Brook (born 3 May 1986) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 2004 to 2022. He held the IBF welterweight title from 2014 to 2017, and challenged once for a unified middleweight world title in 2016. At regiona ...

Professional career

He had a professional record of 19 wins and 14 losses.

Boxing trainer

While living in

, England, Ingle was asked by a local vicar to carry out some community work because youth in the area were "running wild." He knew nothing but boxing, but he organised a weekly dance at St Thomas' church hall and the boxing gym St Thomas' Boys & Girls Club was opened. Herol "Bomber" Graham, undefeated in ten years is what Ingle would call "the best person to come out of our gym," although perhaps Ingle is best known for being

Naseem Hamed Naseem Hamed (born 12 February 1974), nicknamed Prince Naseem and Naz, is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2002.. Retrieved 25 February 2016. He held multiple featherweight world championships, including the WBO ti ...

's mentor from the age of seven to 25. He has also trained former

IBF The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...

Light Heavyweight titlist

Clinton Woods Clinton Woods (born 1 May 1972) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1994 to 2009, and held the IBF light-heavyweight title from 2005 to 2008. At regional level he held the Commonwealth super-middleweight title from 1997 t ...

and was the trainer of former WBC Light Welterweight titlist

. He also was trainer of former WBO cruiserweight champion

. He lived in Wincobank, Sheffield, just across the road from his gym, St Thomas' Boys and Girls Club. In total he has trained four world champions, six European, 15 British and six Commonwealth champions. Ingle's fighters relied on footwork and reflexes for defence, leaving the hands free for offensive activity. Brendan's sons, Dominic and John, both run the Ingle Gym their father established.

Honours and personal life

He has also lectured at Sheffield Hallam University where he was awarded an honorary doctorate. Ingle was awarded an MBE in 1998 for his services and contributions to British boxing and his work with young people in the Sheffield area. In August 2014, Ingle was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to September's referendum on that issue. Ingle died in May 2018 due to a brain hemorrhage at the age of 77. Upon his death, former student Johnny Nelson paid tribute to Ingle as "the best trainer in the world".

References

External links

Boxers Ingle is managing
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Guardian interview - Ingle gets his gloves on to floor racial divide
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ingle, Brendan 1940 births 2018 deaths Boxing trainers Sport in Sheffield Irish male boxers Honorary Members of the Order of the British Empire Middleweight boxers Sportspeople from Dublin (city)