By Peter Carroll

You wouldn’t stumble across Crumlin Boxing Club if you weren’t looking for it. 

The hall isn’t visible as you make your way up Windmill Road, where it has stood since the 1930s. When you meet the green grass of Willie Pearse Park, you realize that you’ve gone too far. Across from the fields that are used for Gaelic football and soccer, the club’s name presents itself in large italic print. 

Tucked in behind the town’s public swimming pool and the local football team’s dressing room, I find the door of the premises. Two boys—the eldest of them—no more than seven years old, stand guard in an alcove.

“What are you doing here?” one of them says as he examines me. 

“I want to talk to someone about Conor McGregor,” I say.

“He doesn’t train here anymore,” he tells me. 

It’s not surprising that two kids from Crumlin are aware of the latest Irish combat sports icon that hails from the same area. Even on the way up Kildare Road, which connects Dublin’s City Center with the working class town, McGregor’s face is plastered on bus stops urging pedestrians to “believe”. 

As head coach Phil Sutcliffe recalls, it was approximately 15 years when ‘The Notorious’ first strolled through his door. 

Interestingly, the four-time national champion, two-time European bronze medalist and two-time Olympian remembers a much more punctual version of the featherweight champion.  

“Honestly, he didn’t really stick out. But the kids that do what they’re told generally don’t,” the Irish boxing legend laughs. “I never had to get on Conor’s back about anything. He worked very hard and diligently. He was always on time, too. He was a good student.” 

Sutcliffe claims that McGregor left the sport just as he was “beginning to get really good” after winning novice tournaments. 

“Conor competed here on Thursdays. He won a few big novice competitions," Sutcliffe says. "He left to pursue MMA before we could really see how he would do at the senior amateur level. His heart was in grappling and kickboxing when he turned 17. It wasn’t long after that that he left.”

One of the hallmarks of the Irish MMA superstar’s repertoire is his cultured left cross. Sutcliffe is adamant that the Dubliner’s pièce de résistance was formulated in the hallowed halls of the Crumlin gym. 

“We taught him that,” he replies when I ask him about McGregor’s left hand. 

“We spent a lot of time working on his balance, throwing the big backhand, how to wait for it and how to time it. Even when I look at it now, he stills bends both of his knees as he throws it, just like we showed him," he says. "He’s been using it exceptionally, but he did learn it out here in Crumlin.” 

Amateur boxers compete a lot. Defeats are part of life. Sutcliffe knows the value McGregor can find in a loss. But he says losing didn't happen offten in McGregor's boxing days.

“We used to put him a lot of fights, but I think he only ever lost one or two. Every time he boxed, he learned from it, whether he won or lost. That’s important," he says. "You have to be able to learn something regardless of the outcome. As a coach, you’ve got to be able to point out mistakes to the fighter. Conor would always remember what we told him.” 

Although he has no problem admitting his distaste for MMA, Sutcliffe still tunes in to see his former student plying his trade. For him, the dramatic move up in weight on such short notice had a big impact on his UFC 196 contest. Next time around, he hopes to see McGregor use all the pugilistic savvy he has to overcome Nate Diaz. 

“I really don’t like the sport that much, but I always watch Conor. I saw his last fight and I honestly thought he would win," he says. "He definitely won the first round. I thought if he hadn’t tried to rush for the finish he would’ve won. I think he was trying to kill him, and he should have out-boxed him instead. He could have won that way. He’s too smart and too fast on his feet. 

“He might not have the power to knock this guy out. He’s moved up two weight classes, and in MMA, that’s a lot of weight. It was a big ask for Conor to get in with that guy. Diaz is known as a tough guy, he’s known to be able to take a shot. He’s a lot bigger, and I think that made a massive difference when they went to the ground. 

“He’s taking the fight on again and he’ll have more time to grow into that weight. And it’s probably up to John (Kavanagh) to rethink the fight, and I’m positive that he is more than capable of doing that. If the shots come, they come. We all know he has a big wallop in that backhand, but I think we’ll see him take his time a bit more next time.”