Brian Butler on training camps, progression of Moloney brothers

 
BRIAN Butler knows a thing or two about boxing.

 
The well-travelled trainer, who runs the highly successful East End Boxing – a boxing haven tucked away in the eastern suburb of Croydon – is a riding a wave of success alongside his star pupils, Andrew and Jason Moloney.

 
Tonight his unbeaten twins will feature in a regional title doubleheader at the Malvern Town Hall.

 
We caught up with the highly personable coach to get his thoughts on the twins latest training camp.

 
“We didn’t go away this camp for these fights,” said Butler to Aus-Boxing. “We would have loved to have gone over to the US or back to the Philippines again but that will be on the cards further on in the year.”

 
Butler and the Moloney brothers ventured abroad twice last year, travelling to the US to train in the iconic surroundings of the Wildcard Boxing Club, as well as an equally informative trip to the ALA Gym in the Philippines.

 
While they were unable to travel for their aforementioned camp, Butler still values their past experience.

 
“Sparring the likes of Evgeny Gradovich and Vasyl Lomachenko in America last year was absolutely brilliant,” he added. “Although the travelling as well as the time away from home makes it very testing,”

 
“Lynden Hosking was instrumental in getting that trip organised. It was fantastic but a costly thing to do.”

 
“I’ve been coaching for a long time but I’m an open book. The moment you stop absorbing information is the moment you dry up. The old school thought is you can’t beat the hard work in training in training camps.”

 
“We’ve had a good camp this time though; the boys have done excellent work in the gym. We’ve been able to get some sparring with Will Tomlinson, Qamil Balla and more so with Ibby Balla, which has been great,”

 
“It’s been fantastic and helped the boys. We’ve been lucky the timing has suited with Ibby having a fight coming up at the same time and get sparring in. The boys have all done a lot of rounds together,”

 
“It’s been great to help both camps.”

 
Butler admits it can often be difficult to find sparring for lighter weight fighters like Andrew and Jason. But in the case of two-division Australian titleholder Ibrahim Balla, the timing was just right.

 
“It’s generally hard having sparring with a group of fighters and none of them have any fights coming up,” Butler continued. “They don’t have the same testosterone level I think, they don’t seem to push as hard.”

 
“But when you have both groups on the same path with fights on nearby dates, it’s great to watch the boys rise from that first couple of weeks to the sparring stage six weeks out from a fight and start putting it all together.”

 
“We can’t obviously afford to go to camps and can’t afford to be away from home and families all the time. We do have to make the best of it on the domestic level.”

 
Between both Jason (5-0, 5 KOs) and Andrew (5-0, 3 KOs), the pair have only faced one domestic opponent. This is something Butler noted, admitting that the fights will be made, but when the timing suits all parties.

 
“There are a few local names that have called the boys out here and there,” he explained.

 
“It’s quite unfortunate that at their weight level that there isn’t that many fighters around,”

 
“There are some names of Australian fighters who we would like to fight down the track.”

 
“But they will make bigger fights with both boys growing in stature as the community gets to know who they are. There are a few boxers out there that would like to fight down the track whether it’s this year or next year.”

 
In both Junior Bajawa and Ryohei Takahashi, the Moloney twins are facing seasoned fighters who have more experience and against better opposition. Butler believes these fights are crucial for their development.

 
“It’s really important to bring quality opposition from overseas. We are given a list of fighters and pick some out, some aren’t available and some are. We obviously want the boys to both be stepping up a level all the time,”

 
“It’s all about learning from my point of view from a trainer,” he concluded.

 
“I like to see a mix and see them fight different styles because as you go up the ladder, the quality gets better.”

 
 
Photo: Justin Gan/East End Boxing