Bull's Eye On Title

By Andrew Wake: While never quite reaching the top branches of boxing’s title tree, Conisbrough southpaw Stefy Bull is a man respected by all.

The 32-year-old knows he’ll never rival the likes of Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jnr at the top of the pound for pound rankings, but in a career spanning almost 15 years he has built up a reputation as an honest pro who studies the sport religiously.

In January he took the next logical step in his long stint in the sport by co-training Jamie McDonnell for his successful British and Commonwealth bantamweight shot at Ian Napa.

And it’s McDonnell’s victory that has spurred Bull onto believing that he too can still make it at the top level. But he has a further incentive as he hopes to become the first man (to this writer’s knowledge anyway) to win a British title after training someone to the accomplishment.

“Being alongside Jamie McDonnell is inspiring,” said Bull, who outside of the sport works with adults with learning difficulties. “I’ve produced one British champion as a trainer but I’ve never known there to be a British champion as a fighter and a trainer at the same time.

“We’ve all got dreams as fighters, that’s why we’re in boxing. I’ve been around a long time and boxing is my life. I don’t just fight and train fighters, I study the game. I go all over the country as a boxing fan supporting fighters, so all in all I know what my capabilities are and it’s all about doing the best on the day.

“Obviously I’m in the twilight of my boxing career but I’ve got the desire and if things go well who knows what can happen.

“John Murray is moving on the European stage so the British lightweight scene is wide open. There’s nobody in the top ten that I have nightmares about.”

Bull, who keeps busy with a six-rounder against Arek Malek on Friday night, will see his route to the pinnacle of the domestic class accelerated if he can annex the English title from Walsall’s Martin Gethin at the Aston Sports Centre in Birmingham on April 16.

“Gethin is very tough and very durable,” stated Bull, 27 – 6 – 1 (6 KOs).”He’s beat a lot of good kids, like [Nadeem] Siddique and [John] Fewkes and they got him up in the ratings. On the paper he’s one of the best lightweights in the country so it’s a massive challenge for me but I’m not intimidated by anyone and I’m definitely confident I can win.

“Looking at his record, I don’t think he’s even been in with a southpaw. All he can do is get southpaw sparring but no two southpaws are the same. I’m really relishing the fight because I know at almost 33 years of age is it set in the book that this is my time.

“The English title is a major title in boxing now, it’s a TV title. Anyone who wins IT now either gets a shot at the British or becomes number one challenger.

“I had the chance with Scott Lawton a few years ago but I know what went wrong there and I’m taking this opportunity with both hands.”

However he knows that defeat against Gethin will probably bring the curtain down on a long career that has seen him win minor titles in three different weight classes.

He said: “I’m not going to kid anyone, I’ve had this conversation with my wife and my friends. When I lost to Dezzi Higginson I had my closest friends and family saying ‘why don’t you leave it now and maybe your best years are behind you’ but for the Dezzi Higginson fight I’d been out for a year and came straight back into a ten rounder with just eight weeks training.

“I seriously believe I can still win something but if I can’t beat Gethin I will seriously consider packing in. I think I’ll finish the year off with a couple more fights at the Doncaster Dome to say thank you to all the people who have supported me over the years and just to go out with head held high, proud of what I’ve done.”

With a growing stable of fighters under his stewardship at his new gym in Mexborough – including McDonnell as well as unbeaten boxers in Ray Doyle, Stephen Hale and former England International amateur Tom Coward – Bull will undoubtedly be a fixture in the sport for many years to come but according to him the star of the outfit is fellow coach Dave Hulley.

“Dave Hulley busts his balls in the gym. He’s a bit of an unsung hero so it would be nice for him to get appreciated in these articles. He’s been around boxing since he was a teenager and he’s 48 now so he’s very experienced. He co-trained Mark Epton, who won the ABAs three years running in the 1980s and fought in the Olympics. He also worked with Chris Saunders early in his career.”