Alex Florey - the pro coach who is just 19

Alex Florey and Jahfieus Faure. Picture: BCB Promotions

BOXING is a young man’s game, coaching is for those whose fighting days are over. That’s the way of our sport.

But one young man has broken the rule – and become a record-breaker in the process.

Alex Foley, just 19, is Britain’s youngest qualified boxing coach. And the Sedgley teenager admits: “Some boxers, a good 10 years older than me, look at me and you know their thinking, ‘what are you going to tell me?’, but most are sound.”

A trainee plumber by day, Alex is learning his craft as part of the ever-growing Black Country Boxing Promotions stable.

October 25 marked a milestone for the teenage trainer. At Wolverhampton’s Hangar venue, he took charge of a corner for the first time: before that, his role had been to pass the water, carry the bucket, rinse the gumshield…He was a mere assistant.

But last month Alex was the main man for Jahfieus Faure’s six rounder with unbeaten local favourite Brandon Bethell.

He gave advice and had the chance to try out little tricks learned along the way. “One of them was rubbing Vaseline on the top of his head as well as over his eyes,” Alex said.

He evidently issued the correct instructions to his boxer. Faure scored an upset win.

The Florey family have an “outside the ropes” boxing tradition. Alex’s grandfather Martin was the former head of the Midlands Boxing Board of Control.

“I’ve been around boxing since I was a kid,” Alex said. “I had a couple of amateur fights, but I wasn’t that good and Errol Johnson (head of BCB) suggested going down the coaching route.

“To be a pro coach, I was interviewed by the Boxing Board of Control. A lot of people told me, ‘that is going to be the toughest interview you are ever going to get’.

“Grandad had told me some of the questions that might be asked and when they came up, I thought, ‘I know this one’.”

Alex made his debut at Birmingham’s Eastside Rooms on April 12 on a show headlined by Cliff Henry’s Midlands light-heavyweight title victory over Michael Stephenson.

He’s been an ever-present at BCB bills ever since.

“I’m not in this for the money,” he said. “I want to train world champions. I think every coach wants a world champion.

“I’m learning something new every day – different ways to wrap hands, dealing with cuts…And I’m learning from the best – Errol Johnson, Paul Mann, Matt Sturgess, Ben Wilkes.

“My mum thinks it’s brilliant, my dad isn’t into boxing but he’s really enjoying it.

“I haven’t worked a big arena show yet, but, hopefully, that will happen by early next year.”

Alex is still finding his feet in the business, but has ambitions to blossom into a big name trainer. One thing’s on his side – he started the journey a lot earlier than the sport’s established legends.