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''Don't think you can, know you can.''
QUINTON SHILLINGFORD MBE
Boxing lessons and courses OFFERED NATIONWIDE
Based in Southsea, Portsmouth, Boxing Awards provides boxing school lessons and courses to help mentors, coaches, youth workers, teachers and professionals learn how to properly coach boxing for students of all ages with lesson plans and coaching guides. Providing quality training for students in Southsea, Portsmouth, the East end of London, Leeds, Yorkshire and Staffordshire, our courses are available nationwide.
Early boxing years
Quinton Shillingford MBE
Quinton Shillingford, ‘Q’, was born in 1967 in London and spent his infant years in the West Indies. Returning to England in 1975, he enjoyed sports and athletics at school. At the age of 10, he joined Andover Boxing Club and a year later stepped into the ring for his first amateur bout. He went on to win his next 12 and realised a passion for the sport.
Q won two NABC Titles and was spotted by Navy Boxing Coach WOPT ‘Micky’ Shone. He was then invited to train in the Navy Squad. He joined the Navy in 1985 and won the NABC Class C Senior Title in 1986. At the age of 18, he moved up to the senior ranks and became Navy Boxing Champion for five years. During this period, he was ranked fourth in Great Britain and was in the England Squad. He has represented the Combined Services both at home and abroad and was coached by Mr Billy Pile, CPOPT Tony Beval, CPOPT Micky Garrity and CSGT Leo Toms.
Early coaching years
Boxing lessons and boxing drills
Following the completion of the Leading Physical Trainer Course at HMS Temeraire, Q retired from competitive boxing at 22 and switched to coaching. He began to set up boxing clubs at every Naval establishment or ship he served on. He also taught boxing in local schools and youth groups.
2000
Navy boxing
In 2000, Q joined HMS Nelson at the Home of Navy Boxing to resurrect the sport of Royal Navy Boxing, training the team part time between work. In 2003, he was voted the Royal Navy and Combined Services Sports Official of the Year, due to the success of the boxers in his charge.
Q passed his England Boxing Advanced Coaching Course and was involved with the England team and international tournaments. He combined his service boxing with the local community, bringing youth from all backgrounds to use the Navy's facilities and train with the team.
He has spent years contributing to a number of projects, including the Youth Inclusion Project, to enhance the lives of youth and the community.
Q’s community involvement lead to him running recreational boxing lessons and boxing drills for University of Portsmouth students. What began as a once-a-week session soon turned into an England Boxing club. Q organised the University’s first team match, which was a great success. Once the club was formed and running properly, Q handed over the responsibility to coach Wayne Gardiner.
Later years
Ongoing success and boxing schools
Q organised the CYP Summer Boxing coaching course, where students were taught by prominent England coaches and treated to Navy visits. In the annual Combined Services Championships, ‘Q’ produced a team that lost by a one point margin (6-5, winning 5 of the 8 contested bouts) making it the closest the Navy Boxing Team has ever come to beating the Army in over 26 years.
The Royal Navy Recruitment team (DNR) noticed the success of the Navy Boxing Team in and out of the service and joined forces in partnership with the Amateur Boxing Association of England by sponsoring the National Youth Boxing Championships as a recruitment campaign.
2004
Full time boxing coach
In 2004, Q was reinstated as the full time boxing coach - the first time a serviceman had been given a full time post in over 15 years. He established an organisational structure, formulated a management plan, refurbished the facilities, installed an IT system and began a formulated training and coaching programme for his boxers. He employed Wayne Gardiner, who wanted to learn the coaching side of the sport, as an assistant.
Q grasped the importance of fostering links with the National Governing Body of Sport and hosted training camps for boxers to benefit from coaching opportunities. He had six boxers reach National quarter finals and four in semi finals. He also trained the Navy’s first Royal Navy/Combined Services female boxing champion Lt Lucy Able. Able was then selected to box for England in the European Championships. Q talent spotted MEM Gareth ‘The Stingray’ Smith, who reached semi finals of the National CYP Boxing Championships and went on to become the first ever Royal Navy Boxer to win a Junior ABA National Title.
Training elite boxers
Q was asked to train and coach the Island of Dominica’s elite boxer for the 2006 Commonwealth Games. Mervyn Lantan went on to represent the Island to a high standard. He then trained two more elite boxers to take part in the Central American and Caribbean games in the same year.
With success in schools and working with youth, he produced a Boxing Awards programme based in Southsea, Portsmouth. With six different stages, mentors, coaches, youth workers, teachers and professionals learn how to teach boxing to youth.
Due to the success of his Boxing Awards, Q joined the Amateur Boxing Association of England Development Commission in 2006.
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