Exclusive
video |  | "We've
got a golden opportunity to get in first and invite them here to Newcastle."
Glenn McCrory | Cuban
skills - Tyneside talent |
| |
Our Man in HavanaGlenn
McCrory is the North East's most successful boxer. He's also a man with
an Olympic dream. Glenn wants to bring the cream of world boxing to the
North East of England. Backed by heavyweight sporting names such as Lord
Coe, Alan Shearer, and Jonathan Edwards, we follow him as he sets out from his
gym on Tyneside to travel to Cuba. But will he realise his boxing dream? Golden
opportunityBack in 1989 Glenn McCrory's own personal dream came true when
he won boxing's world championship IBF cruiserweight title. Eighteen years
on he's got another dream - to bring the Cuban boxing team to Newcastle to train
for the next Olympics.  | | Cuban
coach Alberto works out with Tyneside boxers |
He's already
staged a minor coup - by luring two of the best Cuban coaches to his gym in Newbiggin
Hall. Alberto Gonzalez and Alberto Perez are already training in Newcastle.
They may still struggle with the Geordie lingo but they're the real deal
- part of the Cuban boxing miracle that won 48 medals in just seven Olympic games.
Now Glenn wants the rest of the team: "I want the
North East to be the first place in the country to seal a deal for a 2012 training
camp... "We've got a golden opportunity to get in first and invite
them here to Newcastle to train in preparation for the 2012 Olympics."
But
even Glenn's best friends think it's an impossible task. Dream teamGlenn
has enlisted the support of some of sport's biggest names in his mission near-impossible.
Amongst
his supporters is golden boy Jonathan Edwards, who struck gold in the triple jump
at the Sydney Olympics. Alan
Shearer video |  | Sporting
supporter - Alan Shearer Image - PA Images |
| |
Edwards is also a big boost to Glenn's
campaign because he was a key member of the team that brought the Olympics to
London. But if the plan's really going to take off, he needs even more celebrities
to get behind it. So Glenn has signed up Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer
and World Cup winner Jack Charlton.
His final coup has been
to get the unofficial backing of Lord Coe - the head of the Olympic committee.
Boxing clever As
well as his team of sporting icons, Glenn has been busy talking to the movers
and shakers from the worlds of sport, business and economic development. He's
enlisted the support of Sport England, the official body that promotes sport,
as well as One North East who are responsible for steering business opportunities
in the region. If the Cubans accept Glenn's invitation, he'll also need
local councils on board. Newcastle City Council is already in his corner.  | | Total
commitment - Glenn even boasts a Cuban tattoo |
He's also been
to see Derwentside Council whose plans for a sports village could accommodate
the Cuban Olympic team. The plans are starting to fall into place. On
top of his Cuban mission, Glenn still got the gym to run and fighters to bring
on. Mark Clauzel, a welterweight, only just missed out in this year's Amateur
Boxing Association finals - and Glenn believes that he can go all the way. If
anyone can help Mark to develop his skills, it's the Cubans.
The Amateur Boxing Association has seen what a difference
the Cubans are making already. Although they were a bit suspicious at the
start, they're now backing Glenn all the way. Now his biggest challenge
is to persuade the Cubans. Man with a missionWe follow Glenn as
he flies thousands of miles to Havana in Cuba to lobby their boxing team and sporting
bodies. It's his one shot to get the Cuban boxers training in his gym for
2012. The first person he meets is Jose Gomez, an Olympic gold medallist
who was trained by Alberto, who's back at Glenn's gym in Newcastle.  | | Cuban
mission - Glenn McCrory in Havana |
He's impressed by Glenn's
plans for the Cuban boxers.
Next stop is a meeting with Alcides Sagarra,
the man who masterminded Cuba's boxing miracle - and an important person to get
on side. The final round of meetings is at the Sports Ministry where Glenn
meets Jorge Pardo, the man who can make or break his plans for the London Olympics.
He seems impressed by the sporting facilities the North East has to offer,
and Glenn is upbeat about the outcome: "Although he hasn't
yet signed on the dotted line - you know, I think we're winning聟"
Heavyweight
decisions But Glenn's invitation still has to go before the men who run
boxing in Cuba, the real heavyweights - former fighters who were once the best
in the world. They include Savon, who won gold in Barcelona, Atlanta and
Sydney, and Teofilo Stevenson, a gold medallist in Munich, Montreal and Moscow.
 | | Heavyweight
hearing - the Cubans listen to Glenn's bid |
Teofilo isn't just
an icon - he's number two in the Boxing Commission. He's a national hero
who trail-blazed for Cuba, and is acknowledged as the Mohammed Ali of amateur
boxing. Glenn remains confident that he may realise his dream: "I
think I may have cracked it. I probably won't know for sure until next year, after
the Olympics in Beijing. "What I do know is I've done all I can... "I
think it's been a great success."
With Glenn still lobbying
the great and the good, it looks like this fight is going down to the final round. Links
relating to this story:The
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听听Inside
Out - North East and Cumbria: Friday March 23, 2007
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