Legendary North East boxing coach Bobby Bute led generations of young boxers to sporting glory and his brother Michael is putting pen to paper to celebrate his life.

Due to be published in October, The Olympian – The Story Of A Wearside Boxer And His Coach, not only chronicles Bobby's life but also the rise of Tony Jeffries, currently the UK's number one light heavyweight boxer.

Bobby was diagnosed with cancer in 2000 after a tumour was found on his kidney, but the notoriously strict coach continued training boxers at the Sunderland Amateur Boxing Club while receiving treatment for his illness.

Tragically, the tumour returned in 2003 and he became too ill to attend fights after that.

Bobby battled with the disease for another two years before finally losing his biggest fight in 2005.

As a teenager Bobby trained at George Tuckwells Gym in Millfield, but he first learnt his trade as a coach at Hitchin Youth Club in London, where he had relocated as a merchant seaman.

He started as an official coach in 1982 when he also qualified as a boxing judge.

After returning from London he began coaching at Sunderland ABC and continued to do so for 30 years.

When he first started out it was operating at the East End Orphanage before moving to its current location, Barnes Junior School on Mount Road.

This is where he came across young talent Tony Jeffries.

According to Michael, Bobby would be very proud of Olympic hopeful Tony.
He said: "Bobby was a natural trainer – he believed that discipline was what youngsters needed before anything else could be learned.

"He trained Tony for two years before he allowed him to fight.

"He used to tell me that he was training a potential champion and that young Jeffries was one to watch."

As well as working in boxing, Bobby was also an engineer and in 1989 he went to China, ironically the same country where his youngest star Tony is in the running to collect an Olympic medal.

Michael said: "Bobby really liked it over there and it was somewhere he wanted to go back to. If he was alive he would definitely be over there watching Tony.

"He said to Tony 'it's up to you how far you go – the only thing that can stop you is yourself'. He would have been really proud of him.

"So I think its only a case of what colour medal Tony gets, because he will definitely be in the medals.

"I will be watching at home and following his progress closely as I am sure all of his fans will be."

Michael added: "Bobby left behind such an enormous archive of boxing books, programmes and photographs that I felt they needed to be documented.

"I decided that if Tony qualified for the Olympics it would be an ideal opportunity to put the book together about Bobby."

This is not Michael's first book as his previous project, "A Town Like Alices" was published in 1997. It focuses on the life of author Lewis Carroll and his connections to the North East.

Michael said: "The book started as a paper I was writing for the antiquarian society and I realised there were too many North East links which had previously been ignored and marginalised, I brought these links to the centre."

Michael's new book will be completed as soon as Tony Jeffries returns from China, hopefully with a fairytale ending to the story.

A percentage of the proceedings from book sales will be going to the Macmillan Cancer Fund.

'I still think of him every fight'

Everyone knows that Tony Jeffries is heading for the Olympics but Michael Bute's book gives an insight into how far he has come.

Tony has been boxing at Sunderland ABC since he was 10 years old and in a few weeks time the Olympics, the goal he has worked so hard for, will have arrived.

When I met the 23-year-old he told me he had attended several boxing clubs in Sunderland before settling at Sunderland ABC, where the coaching staff including Bobby Bute helped him develop his talent.

He has fond memories of Bobby. He said: "I was 11 when I first met him, he was really strict and disciplined, he was the one that everyone was scared of.

"He was always the first in the club. Forty-five minutes before the session would start Bobby would be there tidying up, so me and some of the other lads would come early to help."

Tony was really close to Bobby. He said: "He took an interest in me straight away, he realised my talent and potential and he really helped me all the way through.

"People always used to say that I was his favourite and I still think about Bobby before I go in the ring.

"He always kept us right. He used to say 'keep believing in yourself', and he would always tell me to keep my hands up."

Tony added: "He gave great advice. The thing that was so good about Bobby was the discipline.

"If anyone messed about in the gym, including me, he would send them home.

"It is what a successful boxing gym needs because you can't just mess about."

Tony has a tattoo in memory of Bobby on his thigh which includes the dates Bobby was born and died.

He said: "I got the tattoo because I wanted something to remember Bobby by. I chose the cross and the gloves because I believe in god and boxing is my life."

Before Tony began training with Bobby his grandad was the one who encouraged him to box.

And as his Uncle, Billy Bryce, was also a professional boxer, it's clear that it runs in the family.

Tony receives huge support from both his family and Bobby's.

"Since I started boxing my Dad has always taken me to the boxing gym every week and supported me 110 per cent," he said.

"Without my dad I would not be where I am now. He has always been there.

He added: "I keep in touch with Bobby's family and they follow all my fights which is always good to know. It is good to win for them."

Tony told me that he stuck at boxing because he was good at it: "The feeling you get when you win is such a high, it is like a drug.

"Winning national titles or being picked to represent Great Britain is a massive achievement I think."

He used to watch the Olympics with his mam when he was younger and even then he thought that it would be great to compete in it.

He said: "I never thought I would be competing at the Olympics. Then I started winning senior and national titles and I thought maybe it was something I could achieve.

"The Olympics is the Premier League of all sports, you can't get any higher than that."

Tony has already competed in the 2006 commonwealth games where he made it to the quarter finals. He said: "I was beaten by the lad who went on to win gold, the Commonwealth Games was a big experience for me and I will take what learned from that and use it in the Olympics."

I found it hard to believe that this calm, laid-back man would be intimidated by anything but he said: "Before a fight I do get nervous but excited at the same time.

"I put in so many hours training in preparation that the fighting is the easy part.

"I think about Bobby when I am getting in the ring and doing well for his family, and mine and for Sunderland.

"In the World Championships in November last year I was knackered in the last round but I had in the back of my mind the amount of people I had supporting me so I just kept thinking 30 seconds left, keep going – I know it sounds cheesy but it worked.

"I get so many messages of support on Facebook and it means a lot to me to think that everyone in Sunderland is behind me."

* Tonys first Olympic bout is Saturday, August 9