"It was the best right-hand I ever threw"
Wednesday 6 May 2020 11:43, UK
Twenty years after Glenn Catley shocked the boxing world, he recalls the finest moment of his career in Frankfurt.
"Where on earth has the time gone?" Glenn Catley remarks as he is informed it is almost 20 years since he realised his dream and became WBC super-middleweight champion. That said, the retired Bristolian boxer, who now works as a hypnotherapist and sports psychotherapist, is not too quick to wax lyrical about his pugilistic talents.
"I'm not going to put myself down, but I wasn't the best, I wasn't even a fully blown super-middleweight. More a short, strong, come-forward middleweight."
However, through the desire, confidence and enthusiasm that Catley possessed, as well as with the hypnotherapy he first utilised when becoming British middleweight champion, he climbed the summit of world boxing one famous evening in Germany.
It was all nearly so very different back in the summer of 1998.
"For reasons I still do not know to this day, I never got to defend my British middleweight strap. I was skint as had not fought for over seven months and was having to balance boxing with a security guard job at a sweet shop. I called my trainer and manager Chris Sanigar to tell him I was packing it all in. In my eyes boxing had become a joke. This was on the Friday and he did not answer my call. I wanted to give the British title belt back.
"On the Monday he called me back to tell me I could step up in weight to fight Richie Woodhall for the WBC title at 11 days' notice. Chris told me I would not win, but would get £30,000 and would not get hurt. As good as Richie was, he was not a big puncher."
In what was an ongoing trend in Catley's career, he was written off straight away. While he dropped a dubious decision to Woodhall, a fight the champion admitted he felt he lost, the 'Catman' had elevated his reputation. He went about putting himself back in the mandatory position and within 15 months he had achieved it. By this point Woodhall had lost his title to the unbeaten German, Markus Beyer.
"Now I was Beyer's mandatory and I went to watch his first defence. He battered the guy from pillar to post and stopped him in three rounds. His next fight had to be me."
The date was set for May 6 2000 in Frankfurt.
"Once again, the writers, the critics and the pundits all wrote me off as merely having a puncher's chance."
The difference for Catley in his second attempt at world honours was the fact he had 12 weeks to prepare unlike the 11 days he had before taking on Woodhall.
"We trained unbelievably hard. Starting off in Bristol, we then had two weeks in Jersey before heading out to Germany 11 days before the fight. I had trained in Jersey before as I was a sparring partner for Steve Collins when he was in camp for Neville Brown and his two fights with Nigel Benn. A fantastic place to train, no distractions. In the build up to the Beyer fight I was sparring Steve Bendall and Sam Soliman. Gary Simkiss was there, and I have a lot to thank him for."
This was the most seriously Catley had ever taken a fight but there were obvious downsides to that. "I hadn't seen my wife and two kids for a month by the time the fight came around. I even missed my daughter's first steps. That is a consequence of the sport, but it was certainly worth it on this occasion."
On the night, commentator Ian Darke described the conditions as "Death Valley like temperatures" but Catley felt confident and at ease in the surroundings.
"I was not overawed by the atmosphere at all. There were only 87 Brits in the whole arena, which were family and friends. They were louder than the German crowd and it certainly was not daunting being the away fighter. The Germans are so hospitable it is almost eery. It is just silent because they are so respectful, I was in no way fazed. I think I won the first round."
Despite the confidence things were to be far from plain sailing. "In the second round I remember him hitting me so hard I cannot properly remember rounds three, four or five. I had no peripheral vision and it was a total blur. I was boxing on co-pilot."
However, one thing that could never be doubted in Catley's career was his heart and resolve, much of which he attributes to the therapy he received. "I flew my hypnotherapist, David Newton, out there with me. I was just so confident, as confident as you are of waking up in the morning. I felt like I could knock out three Mike Tysons. Whenever I got into trouble, I just weathered the storm."
As the fight went on it became apparent it was going to be a close affair. After watching the fight back only recently, Catley feels both fighters may have made a mistake. "The fight was not a thriller as we both knew we could take each other out with one punch. He was a strong powerful southpaw and we both showed each other too much respect. Although it was competitive, it was no barn-stormer."
He repeatedly screamed 'Do not stop throwing punches' and I certainly got the message.
To most observers, Beyer had taken an early lead with Catley coming on strong as the fight wore on. Going into the final round the fight was on a knife-edge and Sanigar gave Catley the talk he required. "Chris told me the it was dead even and that we would not get a decision. I was then told to forget my boxing and go have a fight like on the street. He repeatedly screamed 'Do not stop throwing punches' and I certainly got the message.
"After touching gloves before the 12th, I remember looking at Beyer and thinking that in around three minutes I am going to get carried out of this ring, be it after being knocked out or through exhaustion. If I had those thoughts in the first or second round it might have been a quicker night's work."
Twenty five seconds into that final round, Catley hit Beyer with a thunderous shot and the rest was history.
"It was the best right-hand I ever threw. I did not expect him to get up as I knew I had hit him solidly. It travelled right through to my feet and sometimes you just know it is a good shot. To his credit he did get up, but I just knew looking at him all I needed was little shots. I jumped on him and just hoped the referee would stop it, thankfully he did. If it had gone the distance it is questionable whether I would have got the decision with it being in Germany."
It was at this point Catley had now achieved a lifelong dream, however, what happened shortly afterwards was something that had happened every day in the weeks leading up to the fight.
"For all my big fights I've always had the dream and the vision. The dream was to lift the WBC belt above my head, the vision was to walk into the hotel after-fight party with my wife, two kids, belt around my waist and hear a massive cheer from my family and friends. I had that vision every morning and every night during training and it was so vivid.
"The party was well under way by the time I got to the hotel. I went down the elevator with my wife and kids and everything in reality was just like that vision, even down to the sound of the cheer. Someone took a photo of it and as long as I have a beat in my heart, I will remember that moment, it is something I will take to the grave with me"
Afterwards, thoughts briefly turned to a potential unification fights with the likes of Joe Calzaghe, but he left the next step in the hands of his management team. They decided to make a voluntary defence in South Africa against Dingaan Thobela. On paper the fight was more than winnable for Catley; the ageing South African had experienced plenty of defeats in his long career.
"It's a fight I should have been winning but things were not right. I flew out just 11 days before and was fighting at altitude. It was a show promoted by Rodney Berman. I did not particularly want to be making my first defence in South Africa, I wanted a homecoming in Bristol after becoming the city's first ever world champion."
Despite Catley dominating most of the contest he was knocked out in the final round. However, concerns were immediately voiced regarding Thobela's hand wraps. Catley vented his frustration at the WBC, admitting in the wake of this loss he had "totally fell out of love" with boxing.
"When your main attributes are desire, enthusiasm and confidence, if you take that away there is not much left in the pot. That was the end of Glenn Catley."
Catley did continue to box after the brutal defeat and controversy was never too far way. He even managed to become branded 'Controversial Catley'.
A final world title tilt against former victim Eric Lucas ended with the Canadian prevailing via stoppage. He was then on the wrong end of two disputable decisions against Danilo Haussler. He made a low-key comeback in 2006 but did not feel he was being managed fairly during his two victories.
Entering retirement, he decided to get qualified as a therapist. Catley achieved this in 2007 and now presents lectures nationally for Clifton Practice Hypnotherapy Training.
Sadly, his opponent in Frankfurt is no longer with us. Beyer went on to win the WBC title on two more occasions but died after a short battle with liver cancer in 2018. He was aged just 47.
"It was such sad news about Markus, in the short space of time we were together he always came across as a respectable, honest and decent guy. It was devastating to hear."
For Catley, despite a boxing career that began with financial struggles, included various debatable decisions and saw him lose his world title in hotly disputed circumstances, he remains resolute.
Am I financially stable? No, but I am still grateful. I overachieved.
"Life is good, we just don't say it enough. Being grateful is the healthiest emotion we can have in life. I met my wife from boxing and have super kids. Am I financially stable? No, but I am still grateful. I overachieved."
Catley still harbours ambitions to prove beyond doubt he was dealt a bad set of cards over in South Africa; a book charting his turbulent career is in the offing. But something no one will ever be able to take away from Catley is that night 20 years ago. The night he lifted the WBC belt above his head, the night the dream and the vision became a reality. Not bad for a blown-up middleweight.
