DailySport catches up up with journeyman extraordinaire, Robin Deakin, now trained by world acclaimed boxer Michael Jennings, as he is looking to leave the losing trail behind him and start a winning streak from his next fight onwards.
PZ: I interviewed Vinny Mitchell yesterday who said he would be up for a third fight. How do you think a third fight with Vinny would go?
RD: First things first, I need to say that I get on with Vinny and Kevin (Mitchell) really well, and love them to bits as people and boxers, but if there was a third I think I would be in with a better chance because I am now training with Michael Jennings and he is bringing me back to basics. That said, I would check with Michael if he thinks I should take the fight as he is rebuilding me as a boxer. The first fight I knocked him down and thought I won the fight, but I’m not taking anything away from Vinny.
We had some great banter on Twitter, and we were joking around saying what would happen in a third fight, but as I say, outside of that fight happenings I have nothing but respect and friendship for Vinny and the Mitchell family.
PZ: Let’s talk about your boxing career. You’ve had more fights than most pros have in their entire lifetime, and in less than 6 years. After winning your first fight, you then went on to lose your next 49, but as opposed to many other journeyman, against some very decent opponents such as Anthony Crolla. Do you think if you were to slow down the frequency of fights, spend more time in your training camp, you could go further, or are you happy being a journeyman?
RD: The board have suspended me at the moment and I have my appeal in the next couple of weeks, so if that goes well I feel that with Michael (Jennings) in my corner, I can start to win. I’ve had offers from good fighters looking to further their career, but I rarely get offers from crap fighters wanting to face me. Michael is now giving me good advice and steering me clear of fights which are either not good for me, or if I haven’t had a good enough training camp. This is something I have never done before, and I feel more confident than I ever have, and more focused. I know that the next fight that Michael agrees to I will win. Doesn’t matter if it’s a good prospect or not, if he thinks I can win and I get a good training camp in, I know I can win.
I know I have said I would change my act before, but I never had somebody like Michael to turn it around. Come on – look at the man, he’s a legend. He put up a good fight against Miguel Cotto, won a world title and has an incredible record. I couldn’t have dreamed of having a better person in my corner.
Michael started straight away concentrating on improving my footwork, as it has always been pretty bad and also working on my defence. He spotted my ability and asked why I was not in a regular training routine. He thinks I have potential so I want to prove him right. Michael also has a very strong discipline, which somebody like myself needs. I know when to have some banter with him, but when it’s down to business he works you very very hard, and it’s his way or the highway.
PZ: Do you think you’ve had bad decisions in any of your fightsand should have been your victory?
RD: Definitely Paul. I should have had at least 15 of those decisions my way. I respect the judges, but it’s not a true reflection of my ability.
PZ: Any other rematches you would like apart from Vinny Mitchell?
RD: I would like to box Eddie Hyland and Jason Hastie again in a rematch.
PZ: Tell us about the team you work with?
RD: At the moment it’s mainly Mike and another great guy called Dave.
PZ: At what age did you get into boxing and who inspired you?
RD: I was six years old. I went initially to strengthen my feet, because I have no Achilles tendon on my left foot. After a short while I really started to enjoy the training more and more and never looked back. Can’t think of one person who inspired me back then, but Michael inspires me now and makes me feel like I could be a champion at some level. Doesn’t matter at what level to me.
PZ: If there is a fighter reading this article in your weight division that you would like to call out, who would it be?
RD: Nobody I’d like to call out to be honest. But I’d also like to say I don’t know what weight I am! (PZ laughs!).
PZ: What’s the two closest fights you have fight in succession in terms of number of days?
RD: I fought two fights in week, and four fights in four weeks. Again, this shows how busy I was, but also shows that I was not guided properly in terms of who and when I was fighting. Boxing is not a joke, you can get seriously hurt, but if you want to put food on the table you take the next fight.
PZ: Where did the nickname Rockin come from?
RD: When I turned pro, I did so with Frank Warren and I had a fight in Jersey where I could choose my music. I came out to Rockin Robin by the Jackson Five and then people started using this as my nickname from there on. The name stuck from then on!
PZ: What’s your day job?
RD: I did have a day job, but I found after working all day I would be too tired to train properly. So now I have decided to dedicate myself 100% to my boxing. It’s more than just a salary for me it’s my life. Boxing helped me to walk, got me fit and made a good name for myself.
PZ: Do you model your boxing style on any other fighters?
RD: I used to love watching Prince Naseem, but if I have to be honest I wouldn’t say I mimic and boxer in particular. I’m my own fighter with my own style.
PZ: Tell the readers one thing about yourself that not many people know.
RD: Everybody knows me! Not much more to add.
Robin Deakin calls over his trainer and top World champion boxer Michael to answer a few questions
PZ: What aspects of Robin’s game are you trying to tune at the moment?
MJ: Starting with the basics really. You’ve probably seen Robin’s record and he probably has the worst record in the country, if not THE worst record in the country, but it’s really not representative of the fighter he is. The first time I saw him train I couldn’t believe how good he was and really couldn’t believe his record because it does not reflect this. He’s taken on some of the best in the UK and fighters who are now at National and European and possibly world level. He seems to have skipped taking fights of his own level or lower, and if he had, he would have a mass of wins on his record.
He’s far from the worst boxer in the country and I want everybody to see this now.
The first question I asked Robin when I saw him was “why don’t you train for your fights?” I mean properly train. I told him he could win fights, and he was like a little kid all of a sudden, excited at the prospect of becoming a polished fighter. I don’t think anybody had taken the time to give him the opportunity to train correctly and it’s been a massive confidence booster for him. Despite the fact that he is very chatty guy and is constantly bouncing around, he does actually lack a bit of confidence and I’m looking to give him that booster.
PZ: If he slows the frequency of his fights down, has a better training camp and perhaps looks at fighting guys who are not using him as canon feed, do you think he could start to win fights?
MJ: Robin already has the basics covered, but he needs to polish them, work on his defence and get into the habit of having disciplined training. That’s what I am working with him at the moment. If he gets his ban removed, for his next fight I want him to have a proper six week training camp. I will then turn round to the promoters and say he is ready for a fight. I want him to turn away from what he did in the past which was to accept a fight with a few days notice as he can’t prepare himself. He needs to steer clear of the top prospects and get back in there with fighters of a similar level or some lad who has only had a few fights.
PZ: I was chatting with Robin earlier about the prospect of a third fight with Vinny Mitchell. Do you think that would be a sensible fight for him to take?
MJ: No. Vinny is a prospect, and again an example of the kind of guys Robin has accepted to fight in the past with only two or three days notice. I think he needs to start at a lower level with crowds of about 500 – 600 people and build his way up from there. There’s no point in sticking him on a Frank Warren promotion with a big crowd. That will defeat the purpose of what we are aiming for now.
PZ: In terms of Mike Jennings the boxer, will we see you back in the ring again?
MJ: I do want to fight again, but I’ve had a bad injury on my shoulder. I‘ve been battered from pillar to post by one physio to the next, I’ve had it x-rayed, MRI scanned etc, and I’m hoping to get an explanation soon as to what the current state of it is as I really want to fight again soon.
PZ: On the training side of things, is this something you see yourself getting involved in long term?
MJ: Definitely. I love training the lads. I get a real kick when I see some of the younger amateurs walk through the door never having boxed and then only eight or nine weeks after showing great skills, improved fitness, change of attitude. It’s magical to witness.
PZ: Big thanks for taking the time out of training.
MJ: No problem mate.
(Mike walks straight back to training the lads….)