Lennox Lewis, Joe Bugner, Henry Cooper, David Haye, Frank Bruno - the roll call of
legendary British boxers evokes memories of some of the greatest sporting moments of all time.
At the Gymbox in Holborn, London, 28 year-old Ian Lewison is hoping to add his name to that illustrious list. If he continues his five-match winning streak, the rankings show, he could get a shot at a top 10 fighter within a year, and from there put up a challenge for the British heavyweight title.
It’s a tall order. Standing in front of him is the intimidating figure of Tyson Fury, the 6’9” man mountain who currently holds the British heavyweight title and has been tipped for a match up with Russian pugilist Vitali Klitschko. It’ll take months of training, endless hours in the gym and a succession of wins to get there. But just as important will be fuelling his 18-stone frame with the right foods to ensure he has the stamina and energy to complete the job.
Personal trainer and Lewison’s conditioning coach, Freddie Osei, pulls no punches when underlining how critical he feels fresh produce is to that objective. He describes fighters coming to him with little understanding of nutrition, thinking a leaf of lettuce in a sandwich represents a portion of veg and even twisting nutritionists’ advice to believe donuts to be better for them than bananas.
“If people had the time, they could get everything they need from fruit and veg,” Osei explains. “The ideal is to plan all your meals down to a tee but in London people are so busy so you have to slowly break them out of their bad habits.”
Both Osei and Lewison concede that bad habits were a feature of the contender’s diet before Osei sorted him out. “Before I just ate whenever I was hungry,” he recalls. “I ate chips, kebabs, whatever. Now my meals are more time-based. If you’re eating when you’re hungry, it’s too late.”
The 48-year-old Osei, whose own career as a competitor included a victory over the pre-celebrity Alex Reid, is pragmatic about how to change a diet, and rejects the notion that an overweight individual can simply cut out food groups overnight and achieve results. Instead, he says, it’s about cutting down portion sizes, substituting the odd unhealthy snack for carrots, celery or humous and then, as the individual notices they are losing weight and becoming more energetic, progressing from there. “Eat like a baby, five or six times a day,” he advises. “It’s about getting the right balance of food you eat. And eat more vegetables to lose weight.”
Osei’s clarion call to the fresh produce industry is to develop new and interesting ways of making vegetables more attractive to both adults and children, and he is full of admiration for the efforts of celebrities like Jamie Oliver who have worked to improve children’s diets. He is also complimentary about the government’s 5 A DAY message, but believes people become intimidated by the thought of eating it all in one go and forget you can have it a bit at a time. “Little by little, I find different coping mechanisms to improve people’s cooking and nutrition,” he explains.
“People are creatures of habit,” agrees Lewison. “You need to instil it at the beginning, when they are young. In food tech in school, kids should be taught how to prepare veg, not bake cakes. It’s like in boxing - when you’re in a tough fight you go back to what you’ve been taught in the beginning. All the efforts [of food marketers] are aimed at the mother, but if they can instil that change in the child they’ll see that difference [in the long-term].”
Both men agree that eating regularly throughout the day is far better than big meals, even more so for sedentary office workers than for fighters in constant training. And Osei is keen to bust the myth that it is harder to stay in shape as you get older. “A couple of years ago, I did some stretching with Watford FC,” he recalls. “There was an older guy about 32 - they were making fun of him and he was talking like a 60-year-old. Ryan Giggs, Teddy Sheringham - those guys train like they’re young.” And, Lewison is keen to point out, the 40-year-old Vitali Klitschko was the lightest weight of his career in his most recent fight.
As we meet, Lewison is having to deal with the disappointment of an upcoming fight being cancelled by his opponent, but at this stage in his career the next bout won’t be far around the corner. Still climbing the career ladder, he is on the lookout for potential sponsors who might be willing to underwrite a few tickets and help him progress forward more quickly.
Like with any sport, below the very top of the game it’s extremely hard work for limited rewards, but that drive and the chance to go for glory keeps many young athletes going. It’s long hours and aching limbs, with the narrowest of margins often proving the difference between success and failure. And if trainers like Freddie Osei believe a fruit and vegetable-rich diet can make that crucial difference, that’s a powerful message to the next generation that a small change in diet can transform their fortunes and make dreams come true.
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