Boxing: Bute's book packs a punch.Byline: Stuart Rayner THE ink is barely dry on Michael Bute's book about Sunderland boxing and already he is thinking about a sequel with a new lead character. Bute has written The Olympian: The Story of a Wearside Boxer and His Coach, part history of local boxing, part life story of Tony Jeffries and part tribute to Michael's late brother, Bobby, Jeffries' former coach. The light-heavyweight claimed a bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics, the first Sunderland boxer to claim an Olympic gong gong, percussion instrument consisting of a disk, usually with upturned edges, 3 ft (91 cm) or more in diameter in the modern orchestra, often made of bronze, and struck with a felt- or leather-covered mallet or drumstick. . "Since people have heard about me writing the book they've been giving me stuff like old bills and posters which if I'd had them earlier, they would have been in," Bute said. "So I've got a wealth of stuff for another book. Also I'm keeping track of the next Olympian who'll come from Sunderland. "Warren Baister from Sunderland ABC is part of the Great Britain Great Britain, officially United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, constitutional monarchy (2005 est. pop. 60,441,000), 94,226 sq mi (244,044 sq km), on the British Isles, off W Europe. The country is often referred to simply as Britain. programme for the next Olympics and I know his father and knew his grandparents. "His father, Ernie, was Sunderland's heavyweight ABA champion in 1976. "There could be a book about Tony on the professional side and Warren on the amateur side." Bobby, who died of cancer in August 2005, inspired the book. "I first met Tony four days before my brother died," Michael said. "He was going to Scotland to box for England. Our Bobby said, 'You're shaking hands with a champion.' That was the last day we both saw my brother alive. "The next time I saw Tony was when I did the eulogy at Bobby's funeral. Tony came down from Scotland and carried my brother's coffin. He fought that night against Tsepang Mohale, who he stopped to reach the final the next day. "When he got some sleep the events caught up with him and he wasn't in a fit state to fight. He wasn't even in a fit state to go on the podium podium In architecture, a pedestal on a large scale. It may be any of various elements that form the base of a structure, such as the platform forming the floor and substructure of a Classical temple, a low wall supporting columns, or the structurally or decoratively to receive his silver, so his best mate Best Mate (bay gelding, 28 January, 1995 - 1 November, 2005. Sire: Un Desperado, Dam: Katday) was a famous English trained racehorse and three-time winner of the Cheltenham Gold Cup. James DeGale collected it for him. "My brother left a big archive of programmes and pictures. He was a very thorough, meticulous me·tic·u·lous adj. 1. Extremely careful and precise. 2. Extremely or excessively concerned with details. [From Latin met bloke and the way everything was in order it looked as though he'd left it in such a way for a book to be written." The Olympian: The Story of a Wearside Boxer and His Coach, published by Bute Publications, is available in the shops now. |
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