Despite the wind slapping entire rows of Coatbridge housing and the rain forcing intricate head movement of its own accord, a fighter’s roadwork cannot wait. Spring in Glasgow is very grey this year, with hailstones tormenting the windscreens of vehicles, just desperate to make their way back to the comfort of a local parking space. But feet must continue pounding the tarmac; there’s weight to lose and promoters to entice.
Ben McGivern hasn’t made his professional debut yet. It’s something that could have happened 15 years ago, under the tutelage of Barn ABC’s legendary Rab Bannan, the man who literally showed Scotland’s only three-weight world champion, Ricky Burns, the ropes.
But it didn’t. A life of minor legal infractions and paternal commitments derailed his progress and, at that time, indiscipline was rife – but it isn’t anymore.
McGivern, a proponent of boxing’s uncomfortable white-collar scene and a previous BIBA license-holder, spoke to Boxing Social about making up for lost time: “I’m just a man trying to get an opportunity in the boxing game; that’s all this is. I’m not in this game to be a journeyman; I want to fight the best guys that I can and I don’t care if I get paid or if I don’t get paid – I’m not in it for the money. I just want to get in there and fight top-quality fighters, so that I know my level. I’m not scared to lose, I just want to know my level and be able to say: ‘I done it, I tried’. Rather than beat myself up for the mistakes I’ve made in my life.”
Growing up in Coatbridge, McGivern suffered what he described as a “traumatic childhood”. His mother – now a recovering alcoholic – was in the throes of her addiction after suffering the loss of a young child (Ben’s older sibling, who passed two years before he was born). As life often goes in Glasgow’s poorer council estates, the support for people affected with similar trauma was limited, and the young McGivern was entrusted to a loving aunt and uncle, whilst completely incapable of helping his mum at such a young age.
“My family life was a bit up and down. My auntie that brought me up, she passed away with a brain tumour and my uncle was left alone. That’s when I went off the rails. My auntie and uncle were close with Rab [Bannan], so they had an agreement when I left school: my uncle would take me to the boxing and Rab would take me home. I look back at that and I can see why they done it. I wasn’t brought up with a silver spoon up my arse; I know right from wrong, and I was brought up well, but I never listened.
“It’s something I look back on and say, ‘I’ve caused a lot of trouble for people who have tried to look out for me,’” McGivern continued. “I can’t blame my mum because she was an alcoholic; she had her own problems. I was just drifting away from boxing and hanging about with my pals, drinking. They’d start fights and people would know that I was boxing, so I’d end up using my hands and getting into trouble; one charge with the police turned into five.
“I’d never had a criminal charge until the age of 18, next thing you’re sitting in court and you’re thinking, ‘Hold on, I had a boxing career. I’ve blown it here’.”
That amateur career was sterling, and Ben was holding court with Ricky Burns amidst multiple talented, unpaid national-level fighters. He finished up with a career of 83-17, fighting most weekends and beating Scottish talents such as Paul Appleby, capturing podium finishes in the British championships and the Four Nations.
The talent was always there – it was never in doubt. But that was then, and this now.
“I got to the age of 15 or 16 and I went down the wrong path. I slipped away and I can’t remember why I slipped away exactly, but I think I had this fear of going back because I hadn’t been for a week. It was probably thinking about how angry Rab would have been that I’d let him down; so, you hold it back, and hold it back. To cut a long story short, I never went back. After years, Rab said to me, ‘You’re stupid. You’ve got great potential; you should have come back to the gym. You could have gone far’.
“I went down that road of mixing with the wrong crowd,” admitted the father of four, ahead of a prospective debut. “I got myself in a bit of bother [trouble] and I let myself down, badly. I saw Rab again in the street one day and he said to me: ‘Listen, I’m not one for giving third chances. You’ve let me down and I believed in you. Why don’t you come back?’ I was disappointed in myself that I’d let him down again because Rab and I had this great bond. I never believed in myself when he believed in me.”
It’s tricky to explain the lure of trouble for the tough, especially in a working-class city like Glasgow. From a young age, the best fighters in local schools are heralded as those with the most potential, because blood spilt is thicker than education.
McGivern – who personally gives no indication as to whether he was the hardest boy in Coatbridge – would be tagged with that label anyway. His saviour, time and time again, was Rab Bannan, who sadly passed away in the summer of 2020. His death affected Ben, but it also affected an entire community, often desperate for slim symbols of hope or escape. Thankfully, the Barn Boxing Club lives on, providing sanctuary for the next generation.
“I’m always the first to hold my hands up; I’ll never hide away from what I’ve done. But I’ve went down the wrong path like everybody else. I owed it to Rab, and I wanted to get back fit, so that I could back to him and say that I was ready for us to make a go of it together. I started boxing at the age of five at the Barn Boxing Club, but if I had the head on my shoulders back then that I’ve got now, I’d never have gotten myself into those situations. I’ve got the right frame of mind. I don’t blame anybody for not believing in me, because I’ve let people down, but I know I can do it.”
Life as a father and a self-employed man with three jobs has offered McGivern the jolt he needed. With or without boxing, the world continues spinning, so you can take it or leave it.
Boxing Social was approached to feature McGivern’s story by a fan of Matchroom’s new super-middleweight signing, John Hedges. Hedges and McGivern have been in contact and, when asked about the potential of an April 10 showdown, the Scot remained somewhat coy: “I’m not one for calling people out; but I’m not getting any younger. John Hedges is the fight, a great amateur. That’s how it all came about. He’s 1-0 as a pro and I’m trying to get him on the Eddie Hearn show.”
But how would it feel, after years of walking out to half-empty arenas and fighting aged, former professionals or muscular fashion-boxers for oversized leather trinkets?
“I’m not gonnae say that I won’t be nervous – because I definitely will be. I don’t want guys that have loads of losses; I want to fight somebody who’s 1-0 or 2-0, maybe 3-1. I know what level I should be at, and it’s those fights that get me up in the morning. I’ve not got long left – three, maybe four years? I want to fight the best.
“Success at the minute would be getting to the end of my career, looking back at who I’ve fought, and seeing that I’ve taken their 0 away from them. I’m not gonnae jump about and say that I’ll be a world champion – realistically, that’s not possible. But I’m not gonnae say that if I got fast-tracked somewhere down the line, maybe for a British title, that I wouldn’t take that fight. I’d bite your hand off for it!”
Training with his tight-knit team, consisting mainly of John Wilson and Maximum Strength Scotland, McGivern feels that he can truly make a mark on the super-middleweight division – and, if not, he’ll tackle the light-heavies. He carried mentor Rab Bannan’s coffin and the weight of the promises he made. In his tone, you sense steely determination and, when watching clips of him fighting on lesser shows, his ability is undeniable. But equality and opportunity aren’t often found in our circles.
“If you hit an obstacle like that and you continue with those bumps in the road, you’ll never bounce back from them. I’ve seen people not coming back; I’ve seen them become junkies or alcoholics, putting weight on, and it’s horrible. It’s not a life that I’d wish on anybody. Get yourself fixed; stay on the right path and your dreams can come true. Believe in yourself and your future can be bright…”
Main image: Ben McGivern and Rab Bannan.