A goodbye to a friend I never met, but really knew

A goodbye to a friend I never met, but really knew
August 18, 2014

This afternoon, while at work (a job which, among many other things, encompasses monitoring Twitter), I came across the heart-stopping news that Glyn Leach, the longtime editor of well-regarded print publication Boxing Monthly, passed away.

Photo courtesy of @ZombieSquasher.@ZombieSquasher

The loss was met by unrelenting sorrow by those in the boxing community. A vast majority of these people never were lucky enough to interact with Glyn but were still fortunate enough to enjoy his blood, sweat, and tears, as the magazine arrived in their hands a number of ways. For me, I lost someone who could only be referred to as a mentor of sorts.

It is unbelievably tough in the dog-eat-dog world of trying to make a living on the written word. While working full-time on the graveyard shift at a retail job, stocking shelves and trying not to fall asleep, Glyn Leach gave me my first opportunity to showcase my work someplace I considered well out of reach at the time. Boxing writing was something that was still far off from paying my bills, but Glyn got in touch with me about ideas for the magazine after coming across my work on Twitter. Despite being half the world away and having never met, Glyn saw something in my writing (which was extremely rough at the time) to give me a shout. This even though I was writing for a small, lightly regarded blog at the time.


For years, I had been kicking around the idea to do a story on boxing journeyman Darnell Boone. Boone is a well-regarded gatekeeper who wins as much as he loses, often times controversially, while always giving a good account of himself. It was a story I had been wanting to do for years but wanted to wait until I had an opportunity to put it somewhere it wouldn't get lost in the shuffle. Glyn provided that opportunity, and at a point in time I would say I certainly didn't deserve one.

It was a piece I poured my heart and soul into and am still very proud of to this day. It fit perfectly into an issue of the magazine that centered on the super middleweight division. Andre Ward, the top man in the weight, had been dropped by Boone in an early career fight and barely made it to the finish line. That became the focus of the story that allowed me to shine the light on one of boxing's most underappreciated warriors.

That story was honestly the beginning of me thinking I had any possible future making a living in sports journalism. It was a huge moment in my life and one that I'll always hold dear.

Sometimes when making a living as a freelance writer, you can feel like your efforts aren't fully appreciated by those who are benefiting from them. With Glyn, that was never the case. Not only did he appreciate the work you did but he went above and beyond to try and help you improve at your craft. One thing you could always count on, he was never going to sugarcoat anything. That made it even more gratifying when he gave you especially high marks.

One story I did for Glyn was one on James Page, a former champion who'd gone to prison for a decade, only to make a comeback upon parole. Page was in against a suspected hapless opponent on a small club show near his hometown. I sold Glyn on a pitch about his comeback and how he never gave up on the dream while in prison.

Page was knocked out in the second round. I e-mailed Glyn the result but told him I thought there was still a story worth telling there.

"Hard sell now Mark, but willing to listen," Glyn wrote me back in one of his e-mails. "Convince me. How do you see a piece going now?"

After giving sending a paragraph on what I thought could be done, he gave me the green light.

"Sounds challenging but intriguing mate, give it a go if you think you can make it work. Interested to read what you come up with Mark, looking forward to it."

It was one of the toughest pieces I've written, but it was something I put my heart and soul into. I anxiously awaited Glyn's thoughts on the final submission.

His first impression was that it looks good, but to leave it with him a few days and he'd get back to me. Time stretched as four days later, he hit me back. "More I read it more I like it Mark, really good work mate, be proud."

When the issue was about ready to be printed, I got this hilarious (and quite inspiring) e-mail.

If only more women were as easy to make happy as you are boy! But seriously, it's been a pleasure working with you Mark. I get more pissed off than anyone by boring, badly written articles because I see more of them than anyone else, so it's been very refreshing to have 'discovered' you out there in Twatterland - a place that I no longer frequent due to the legions of talentless clowns sending me their illiterate fucking garbage and asking if I'd be interested in publishing it!!  

Jesus Christ, NO you deluded fucking cunts!!! Anyway, your ideas are always interesting and well thought through, their execution is always of a high level, and I actually enjoy reading your work and turning it from an email into a spread. It's an honour to be sent really good articles by a talented young writer like yourself and given the opportunity to turn them into magazine features. I'll never get bored of that feeling, proper little buzz.

This e-mail came at a very key time for me. I was barely getting by, living in Las Vegas, trying to stretch as few dollars that I had at the time. On top of giving me a good laugh when I needed one, it gave me a huge boost to keep on trucking when it was starting to get hard to do so. This e-mail from Glyn has come in handy on a few other occasions.

I wrote three stories for Boxing Monthly. I never submitted an idea unless it was something I really could invest some real time in and could deliver the goods on. When there was a gap in communication, Glyn would pop in with the occasional message, telling me to get off my ass and shoot some ideas his way.

From Glyn

Hello mate
Just laying out the prospects piece, thought I'd give you a shout to say how much I enjoyed reading it - it shows that you've enjoyed yourself writing it. Anyway, give some thought to other articles, always interested in what you're doing Mark.
 Cheers

From Glyn

When you gonna write something for me motherfucker?! Get your typing shoes on son, it's time!

I'm really sad I never actually got to meet Glyn in person. I'd go as far as to say there is nobody in this world that I didn't meet in person that had as much of an impact on me as he did. In this crazy world, it feels as though almost everybody you know is trying to get something for themselves out of any friendship or arrangement. I am not sure what Glyn got out of our friendship except for maybe the kick that he had given another hopeless longshot their first real chance. I know I'm one of many over the years.

About a month ago, I got the job I currently have working for NFL.com. It was something that a few years ago I would have considered well out of my reach. I simply wouldn't be here if it weren't for Glyn Leach. When I told him about the gig, we exchanged a few messages of congrats and thanks. Glyn is from the UK and shared with me a story about his one real big lasting memory of the NFL. It's the last real thing I got to share with Glyn.

it did provide one of the very greatest sporting moments I've ever seen even as one who didn't get it. Must have been in the 90s, dunno why I was watching it it the middle of the night, probably stoned, but it was a Superbowl with the Broncos. Elway had like a minute to make three moves to win the game and he did it! The tension was fucking unreal! Even as someone who doesn't getthe game at all, I knew I was watching something insane. When he did it, I was just up and yelling at 4am London time. Sport eh! Awesome

Sport, eh, indeed. Thank you Glyn. For everything.