Toby fighting back against sickness thanks to boxing

The 11-year-old from Dudley will become the first boxer with cystic fibrosis (CF) to ever fight on a bout licensed by England Boxing.

It is the latest step in a remarkable journey for Totney, who has seen his life and health transformed since first taking up the sport three years ago.

Diagnosed with CF, a genetic condition which affects the lungs and digestive system at just seven weeks old, sport had never been straightforward.

Then, after one day being taken to Priory Park ABC by mum Gwyneth, everything changed.

“We were told by Toby’s doctors boxing might be a good way of improving his fitness but to be honest, I hated the thought of him getting hit,” she explained

“We’d already been turned down by a couple of clubs but when I spoke to (chairman) Paul Gough he just shrugged and said: ‘Bring him’.

“We had already tried football and kickboxing and I never thought he would stick to it. With Toby, there was always something which stopped him. With football if it was cold or damp he couldn’t go because he picks up colds so easily.

“I remember he first went to Priory Park on a Saturday, then the Tuesday and Thursday. Now he trains six days a week and we have to force him to take a day off.

“He had no interest in boxing before taking it up. It was purely about fitness. He tried it and loved it so we got his own gloves and that spurred him on a bit more. He made friends and that made him want to go back.”

Even those doctors who suggested boxing as a means of improving fitness could not have envisioned the positive impact it would have. From requiring an average of two to three hospital stays a year, he has been admitted just once since taking up the sport, for a routine check up following the first lockdown last year.

Of almost equal benefit has been the impact on his social life. Totney’s condition requires him to take daily medication, from antibiotics to vitamins and nebulisers.

“If Toby has a glass of milk or a chocolate bar, he has to take tablets,” explains Gwyneth. “It makes going out a bit more complicated than for a normal 11-year-old boy.

“Now he does everything himself, all his own medication so he can go on day trips with the gym. There are no reasons why he can’t do anything.”

Gywneth is full of praise for Paul Gough and his staff, who have gone “above and beyond” in how they have cared for Toby.

“Taking him to boxing for the first time was completely out of my comfort zone,” she says. “When Toby was first diagnosed I wouldn’t let his brothers or sisters have their friends in the house, just in case they had a cold and made him ill.

“It is a gym and there are a lot of germs and smells. No-one had ever looked after him apart from me and his dad before and leaving him with total strangers was scary.

“But the coaches have been brilliant. No-one who isn’t family has ever made such allowances for him.”

Totney has previously boxed on the club’s exhibition shows and shortly before the outbreak of the pandemic raised more than £1,500 at one event for the nurses who care for him at Birmingham Children’s Hospital.

Boxing has almost become a family affair, with Gwyneth herself taking part in a charity match on that show, while Toby’s older sister Abigail also boxes at Priory Park and has been carded for amateur fights.

“There isn’t a day when someone from the family isn’t at the club,” says Gwyneth. “I train and box because it is enjoyable.

“Toby told all his nurses he was going to become a boxer and they’ve taken a real interest. They all came to his first show before the pandemic.”

Like all other carded fighters, Toby had to pass a medical examination carried out by England Boxing doctors.

Friday’s bout fight will be a skills contest, controlled by the referee, with the emphasis on improving technique and giving young fighters a gradual introduction to competitive boxing. After building experience, he will then be eligible to enter competitions including the Midlands Schools championship.

Gough, the driving force behind Priory Park for nearly three decades, describes Totney’s achievement as a “landmark” and the youngster looks set to become a trailblazer. In recent months the club has seen an increasing number of enquires from parents with children diagnosed with CF, eager to give boxing a go.

That will prove tricky in some respects, as people with CF must stay two metres away from each other, to avoid spreading dangerous infections. But it is precisely the kind of logistical headache Gough and his team relish solving.

“It won’t be easy but we’ll find a way. We always do,” he says. “It has been amazing to see the transformation in Toby since he first came to the gym three years ago.

“It just shows the good boxing can do. People are too quick to dismiss it as a violent sport but that is simply not the case.

“I have been teaching people with disabilities how to box for years. Right now at the gym we have members with autism, muscular dystrophy, ADHD, multiple sclerosis. They are all benefiting from boxing.

“I think Toby’s story shows how you can be whatever you want. Sometimes you just have to take a slightly different path.”