'Scott Harrison' gym can spark Commonwealth Games gold rush

IN unveiling the Scott Harrison School of Boxing, Peter Harrison has revealed his belief that the new state-of-the-art facility, named after his former world champion son, will inspire Scotland to a record-breaking haul of five gold medals at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Harrison, recognised as one of the best boxing coaches Scotland has produced, is adamant having the name of his controversial offspring on the door of the new £300,000 gym in the east end of Glasgow will inspire rather than repel a new generation of fighting talent as "boys will want to punch the same bag that a champion has punched."

Harrison's son Scott – under his father's tutelage – won the WBO world featherweight championship in 2002 but has seen both his professional and personal life unravel in recent years as he struggles to cope with depression and alcohol addiction, leading to spells behind bars, including the 30-month sentence he is currently serving in Spain.

Despite this, his talents in the ring were seldom in doubt and Harrison Snr hopes to welcome a raft of similarly skilled young talent to his gym in order to launch a home-based assault on the medal tables come 2014. His Glasgow Phoenix Amateur Boxing Club, which has been and will continue to be based in the city's east end, has built up a great reputation, and, as someone who has boxed for Scotland in the Commonwealth Games himself – in Edinburgh in 1970 – he believes that these new premises, located in Glasgow's French Street, will allow Scotland to target as many as five gold medals at the Glasgow Games.

Harrison said: "My job as development coach is to help produce and train talent for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, and this move will be a massive step forward. People think this is just a gym, but it's not until they go into it that they realise what it will actually do. The group I'm concentrating on will be eligible for the 2014 Commonwealth Games and that's the people I'm trying to produce training camps for and get prepared. I honestly believe we're talking about five gold medals in 2014, which we've never won before."

Speaking about how the gym will be open to members of the public from all walks of life and break down accessibility barriers for people who have disabilities, he added: "I don't think the people involved in making this club happen, like Gateway and Glasgow City Council realise just what they've done, they've actually created a gym that's open to everybody. We've got facilities for women, men, and people in wheelchairs. There's nothing to stop people who are in wheelchairs from coming to the gym and punching a bag."

These new facilities will also boast the only 20ft ring in Scotland, and the former Commonwealth Games quarter-finalist said that will be of a great advantage.

"A good thing for the amateur boxers who are competing just now is that we're going to have a 20ft ring – that's the only ring that size in Scotland. The biggest problem Scottish boxers have got is they box in a 16ft ring, 18ft if they're lucky, and then they go abroad to box in international tournaments and they're in 20ft rings. It's a big difference. You need facilities, and our boxers will have these and benefit from it," said Harrison.

As well as the achievements he has made through coaching, Harrison also had an illustrious career as a boxer, and credits his roots and family for his interest in the sport. He said: "I first got involved in boxing when my grandfather gave me a pair of boxing gloves when I was very young. This got me interested in the sport because it meant that I could spar with people and it just grew from there.

My first amateur club was the Glasgow Transport Club and I started there when I was 15 years old. I stayed there for a couple of years and that's where I spent most of my early boxing life."

From there, his love for boxing grew and he participated in the 1970 Commonwealth Games, getting to the quarter-finals and also took part in the European Championships before that. Despite this success, the one thing that sticks out in his mind is the loss in the Commonwealth Games, because it was in Edinburgh and he was tipped to win gold. Remembering the devastating feeling of defeat, he said: "After the Commonwealth Games, it took me a long time to get over losing and this was made worse because I didn't fight for a few months after it."

When Harrison eventually hung up his gloves, he was approached by a British coach and asked to help promote the sport in schools and youth clubs, and that's when he realised that he wanted to assist youngsters in achieving their potential.

He stated: "I love boxing and there's something in a coach that wants to connect people and coach the best. I had a successful amateur club from 1970-1980 and produced good boxers. I started training Tommy Gilmour's fighters such as Stevie Boyle, British lightweight champion, and a few other champions. I also trained Paul Weir – world light-flyweight champion – and took him to two world titles. In 1992-1993 I started training my son, Scott."

Despite his long association with boxing, Harrison is not content to step back from the ring at the moment because he thrives on training people. He said: "I train everybody. I'm probably recognised as the most successful trainer in the history of Scottish boxing; no other trainer has trained as many boxers for title fights as I have and been successful. I train children at schools, everybody, that's the way a trainer should be."