Adam Etches’ Russian trip proves a hostile experience

Sheffield boxing manager Adam Etches couldn't have picked a worse time for his first-ever trip to Russia.

More than three years after Putin's forces invaded Ukraine, Russia has become something of a pariah state to the West.

Boxing took Etches, formerly of Birley, Dronfield and Coal Aston, to the city of Ufa, where he was able to gain an insight into the normal lives of Russians, during a time of economic austerity and military conflict.

He was there to be in the corner of his fight protégé Timmy Baimolda.

And as overseas visits go, it couldn't have gone much worse.

Timmy lost his ten-fight unbeaten record to a second-round knockout.

Adam, aged 34, said: "It wasn't a trip I enjoyed, and am in no big rush to go back.

"It was a crazy place and not the most welcoming."

Adam, currently living in Thailand, explained: "I didn't think the people were friendly to us, or even each other. I don't know if it is the war or the Russian people in general, but it just felt a bit hostile, to say the least.

"Some of them were really abrupt and I know it's only a small thing, you didn't see them smile. At us, or when they were in conversation with each other.

"There was an aura about the place and the people; it wasn't nice. Maybe the war has got something to do with it, why they were so down in the dumps and unfriendly."

The former Henry Fanshawe School pupil said he and Timmy were searched "from head to toe" by armed guards at the entrance to their hotel, every time they returned.

Adam Etches back in the day. (Photo by Leigh Dawney/Getty Images)

Even the fast food outlets had a different feel about them, he said.

After the invasion, companies like Starbucks and McDonald’s suspended their operations in Russia.

Many of the former KFC outlets reopened under the new name Rostic’s.

"They weren't allowed to use the old brand but the menu and food was all the same. It was weird."

This year is 15 years since Adam turned professional, whe he was managed by Richard Poxon and trained by the Ingles and Andy Marlow.

He began his career by knocking Lester Walsh out in four rounds on a show promoted by Ricky Hatton in Bolton in October 2010.

"I remember it as though it was last week, it's frightening," he said.

His ring career (20-2-0) ended with a loss to John Ryder in 2017 at the Olympia, Kensington.

"Anyone who knows me, I was out of shape, heavy, and I had been waiting on a date.

"I crashed loads of weight off; it was a nightmare - you have got to stay in the gym and be professional and be ready for opportunities because when they come you take them or somebody else will.

"As good a fighter as John Ryder was, if I was going to do in boxing what I thought I could, I should have beaten him.

"The loss would have taken me two or three years to get back, I'd have had to take big pay cuts and realised wasn't going to reach my goal of world champion. So I retired.

"There are two sides to my career, I was happy with what I achieved and financially, where the sport has taken me and the people I met, and the opportunities in life.

"The flipside is that I should have had a little more discipline towards the end of my career. If I'd made a few wiser decisions, I would have done better, probably.

"But hindsight is wonderful thing. Generally, I could have done better; I could have done worse."