Earlsfield Amateur Boxing Club sits on Garratt Lane, a long London road that cuts through Tooting, Wands- worth and Earlsfield. You would not know what the large, church-like building was for, unless you passed the side entrance and happened to notice a modest blue sign declaring ‘Earlsfield ABC’.

But every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday the lights will be on, and inside dozens of boxers will be skipping, sparring, shadow boxing and hitting bags, practising their own, south London form of religion. And at the centre of this bustle, like a priest watching his congregation, will stand Sid Kahn.

It’s a Wednesday evening, which means the gym is full of keep fitters and a few Earlsfield boxers who want an extra day’s training. As I greet Sid his attention quickly turns to a large man filling in the register behind me. “Excuse me mate, what the f*** are you doing?”

Clearly unaware who this man is, Sid continues his torrent or abuse. “What would you do if I came into your house and started helping myself to your food?” The poor man looks so ill at ease that if I were to tap him on the shoulder he would crumble to the floor. 

If you were to witness this incident without ever having met Sid Kahn you would be forgiven for thinking this was a very rude man. I myself was introduced to Sid in a similar fashion just over two years ago.

There for my first training session at Earlsfield ABC, I was told by Sid to talk to a lad called David if I had any questions. David quickly disappeared into the changing room and I was left clueless as to what I should do. I then made the mistake of asking Sid

“What the f*** did I just tell you? If you have any questions… Ask David!’

But it didn’t take me long to learn that Sid’s demeanour was not rude, just his own kind of affection. The abruptness, tell-it-straight attitude endears him to his boxers, and as a result he is very well liked.

Bradley Skeete, one of Sid’s longest serving boxers, and regular England International says: “Yeah all the lads at the gym really like him and have got major respect for him. He’s highly rated in the world of Amateur boxing and is very well liked.

Sid himself would never admit to it, though. “Strict. I think they reckon I’m very strict,” he says.

And he’s certainly not exaggerating. You seldom find Earlsfield boxers talking between bags or having a breather before they spar. Discipline plays a key role in the training of his boxers; as he goes on to explain.
 
“At the end of the day I’ve got to be strict. It’s a disciplined sport and there’s no one else in the ring except your boxer and their opponent, and you can’t help once they’re in there. I expect them to do what I tell them to do and there are no, ifs, buts or whatevers”.

This balance between discipline and likeability is perhaps what has made Sid such a successful coach over the years. As I’m sure many coaches would agree, finding that line between being your boxers’ coach and being your boxers’ friend is very difficult. But Sid seems to toe this line with inherent ease and as a consequence has a very healthy and productive relationship with all his boxers.   

Earlsfield ABC, along with the likes of Repton, Fitzroy Lodge and Dale Youth, has been one of the cornerstones of Amateur Boxing in London for many years.

For decades the gym has been churning out Junior, Senior and Schoolboy championships. Sid’s current boxers include Kirk and Robert Garvey (National Champion and European Gold Medallist respectively), Abdul Muhammad and Luke Bates (National Junior Champions) Louis Adolphe (National Junior Finalist) and Sid’s own two sons David and Aaron, both of who have won championships at national level.

Earlsfield is also famously the club in which a young Frank Bruno first learnt his trade. The fact that Sid was a senior whilst Frank was a junior at Earlsfield is a true testament to how long Sid has been involved with the club.

Boxing for the club many times, Sid became a coach at the early age of 19, eventually becoming head coach with Lenny Jackson Junior when Jackson Senior died in 1986.

Although he’s coached for so many years Sid, now 46, still believes he is learning. “As a coach you’re learning all the time. There are things that change, like the size of gloves, the introduction of head guards, scoring. You need to adapt to these things.”

There is one aspect of Sid’s coaching, however, that has not seemed to have changed and that is his philosophy on boxing. Whilst other coaches around England have started to abandon the more British or European style of upright and busy jab boxing in favour of the more American or Cuban in-out style, Sid is still a firm believer of sticking to the basics.

 “My boxers have good defence and stick to the basics. There’s nothing really hard about being a boxer. You don’t have to be a brain surgeon to be able to box.

“You just have to keep it simple and then, if you have a good coach, someone who has sussed out your opponent, you go back to the corner and listen to what they say.”

Article by Stefan Johnson