terry coulter v dexter casey mixed martial arts fighter interview

Terry: I started boxing at the age of 9, my dad was a professional boxer, had 52 fights only losing 4, when he was a boxer it was hard times, were talking 25 30 quid a fight. If he was alive today he’d be a champion. I just followed in his footsteps really. I retired from boxing when I was 28, after a year I missed it so much I went back into coaching up at the Fisher. After about a year I met Mark Roe and we opened our own club. From there I went with the pros. I started off with a fighter named Mickey Cantwell; he went on to fight for 4 world titles. Nice fellow Mickey, unfortunately he got beat in his last fight against Baby Jake Matlala, we threw the towel in he was getting a bit of a pounding. He just wasn’t at the races that night. I have been around some good fighters. I trained a good light middleweight Paul Carr. I trained Frank Harding a good middleweight.

Interviewer: Losing to Baby Jake is no shame.

Terry: No not at all the man is a legend.

Interviewer: How did you go from serious pro boxing to becoming involved with Lee Murray and MMA?

Terry: Well that was a strange one. A very good friend of mine Steve Dillon phoned me. He told me about this kid he knew who was doing this cage shit I know he’d be a good boxer, after quite a long while missing appointments we met. From speaking to Lee on the phone and thinking I am speaking to a dopey seventeen year old kid I met this guy who was very level headed, very positive, knew what he wanted, just not very good on the phone, that’s what I put that down to. We met over the Peacock gym in canning town and I said to Lee I don’t know what you know I know what I know, were going to go in the ring in a minute, don’t try and impress me because I am sure as hell not going to try and impress you. Just be yourself, he got in the ring and the shots were coming from everywhere, you could tell he was a brawler, but Christ the talent stood out. I spotted the talent straight away. I knew this kid had something. We had a good training session actually. He was quite cheerful after. I told him I thought he had a talent and a future and we’ve been together two years now and we haven’t looked back. He’s come on a bundle. People say he’s thrown lucky punches this and lucky punches that but you got to work with this guy to know what he’s capable of. He’s a throwback.

Interviewer: A Throwback?

Terry: Listen you get so many people walk in the gym in a week, don’t matter if they’ve got the arsehole they just don’t have the talent to be a boxer and you have to tell them. People like Lee are one in a million, He‘s a survivor, that kid can fight, he can fight. He’s got natural ability in buckets and that puts Lee a cut above the rest.

Interviewer: Estimate Lee’s potential as a boxer when he finishes with the UFC?

Terry: I have had this conversation with Lee, I feel if he went into Pro Boxing, he would have a belt in 18 month and he could earn far more than he could earn in the UFC. As long as he don’t destroy himself. That’s the thing with Lee. I see him as another Mike Tyson. Mike Tyson in the early days that man was unbeatable but he got with the wrong people and they destroyed him. Lee could go all the way as long as he stays professional.

Interviewer: You have been with Lee 2 years and you have followed him to Iowa and Holland to keep him in shape when he goes to train his grappling. You’ve seen some great trainers, what makes a great trainer?

Terry: Someone who cares, you have to care for what you’ve got. You’ve got to be a father to that fighter, his best friend, you have to see when something’s wrong, it’s not always about getting in the gym you have to have the social side as well. I’ve got to know Pat Miletich; I have a lot of respect for Pat as a fighter and as a trainer, very talented guy. I like him, I can I have a lot of respect for him I could see that guy knows his stuff, another guy Remco Pardoel know his stuff knows his wrestling. I’d love for Lee to go to America and train with Pat because I know Pat could help him a lot more on his ground game that would be something.

Interviewer: What’s Lee’s greatest asset as a fighter?

Terry: Himself, himself. He’s a good striker, he’s good on the ground but his self belief and will to win is phenomenal. I’ve had fighters in the dressing room and they can fall apart but Lee’s knows how to channel those nerves into aggression. He gets nervous like anybody else but he can control it and perform under pressure. As a trainer you must notice little things with fighters, when we were getting ready for the Jorge Rivera fight we were in the changing room and there was something wrong, something was missing. I took him aside and I had words with him. Then I took him on the pads again, after that session I had to walk outside a put my left arm in a pitcher full of ice Lee hit the pad that hard with a perfect left hook. So I noticed there was something wrong and we fixed it. That is all part and parcel of knowing your fighter. Lee is Confident, fearless. You cant really tell if you have hurt Lee because he doesn’t react on his face when he is hurt, however if he does feel a shot you can hear him say in a high pitched voice "Yeah!" when you hear that your in trouble because you just woke the devil and HELLS coming!

Interviewer: You recently asked me to reach out to Wes Sims, What do you see in Wes Sims because he doesn’t have a great record?

Terry: No well, I spoke to Wes Sims manager Chris at the UFC, we just met briefly obviously, I didn’t see his fight that night because I was concentrating on Lee. And I was excited at the time; you have to be excited to watch your fighter fight because they feed off of that. Well with Wes Sims I watched the fight 4 or 5 times and I thought cor this kids got something, I can do something with this kid, And I wouldn’t put my balls on the line and say that if I didn’t think I could do it. If I can persuade Wes and his manager Chris to come over for a couple of weeks and work with us in the Am-Pro Gym he’d be a different fighter. Also it would let people know that the professional boxing side of things and the MMA it can mix. And it can be done properly. I think Wes I can make his punches so much faster and much harder, it’s hard to explain but I can see something in him.

Interviewer: Well I believe you, after the few sessions we’ve had I can feel the difference. So two I imagine would be a huge difference.

Terry: Thank you Dexter I take that as respect off you.

Interviewer: Well respect is due! Another Question for you, the gym is called Am-Pro gym, now your partners with Mark Roe, Julius Francis’s trainer. What makes you so open to MMA? Why are you open to letting your pros to MMA?

Terry: Well when I started training Lee I didn’t know anything about it, I have leant from Lee. Frank Warren did an article in the paper, well Frank Warren don’t know shit about MMA, he called them all pumped up steroid freaks, well there not, there supreme athlete’s. You’ve got to have a lot of courage to get in that cage. God their gloves are like mittens you ride a bike with, you don’t really want to be hit by them. I respect them and I’m willing to train them and to listen and learn from them. You never stop learning, any trainer that tells you he knows it, turn it in mate. I leant things from Lee.

Interviewer: When Lee fought Jorge Rivera and when he fought Amir the shots he threw were extremely fast and came from a very balanced stance, did you teach him that?

Terry: I actually leant that off lee. My actual Boxing stance isn’t far off that but we widened it just a touch so that you can sprawl. I am actually teaching my pro’s that and I’m getting a lot more power out of it. I’m getting a lot more response a lot more balance. I mean Amir Rhadvarhi, that guy thought he was going to stand up with Lee, 4 and a half seconds I think the fight lasted. Boom the guy was gone. One of the best left hooks I have ever seen thrown by any fighter pro or in the cage, he took that shot and he was gone. Pele, Pele done well he took the fight to the floor but he didn’t dominate Lee on the floor Lee has his defenses. In the Second round he tried to trade with Lee and he got caught with a short overhand right to the temple and got ko’ed. Nobody does that to Pele, give Lee his respect again. Jorge Rivera we thought he was going to try and stand with lee, he took Lee to the floor and Lee tapped him and I am glad he tapped him so easily because that will make fighters hesitate when there facing him. That second’s hesitation will open up a lot of doors for Lee. Lee’s very alert, people say he losses his temper but he’s controlled

I’m impressed with Lee Murray; I’m impressed with a lot of fighters in the UFC. I mean Wes Sims he’s another one. I think we can really help him, in turn it will help us really put us on the map, hey this is a two way street, you help us well help you.

Interviewer: Right Terry, I need to ask you about two separate drama cases Tito Ortiz and Phil Baroni. New York Bad Boy or whatever he calls himself Big Boy or whatever

Terry: I was there Lee was There Tito was there. We all know what went down. It takes two men to Tango, Tito what he did he did and Lee what he did he did. It was a fair fight you can’t blame anyone. I respect Tito as a fighter, I don’t know him as a person so I can’t comment, and he might be a right nice fellow. But as a fighter he’s a warrior and you can’t take that away from the man. He and Lee have obviously got a beef; I think it is bad that it ever happened. I also wish that Joe Rogan had not brought it up I think it put a bad taste but he did. All I would like to say to all the people that are writing on the Internet and sending in emails is this listen this is a sport lets keep it a sport. I would like to see Lee and Tito fight. Lee put some weight on Tito lose some weight and fight. Win Lose or Draw let that be the end to the matter, get up shake hands finish, leave what was on the street on the street. The sport don’t need this, at the end of the day there two warriors there proud people. Let them fight in the UFC and let that be the end of it.

As for Phil Baroni, good fighter exciting fighter, he gets in the cage and you know he’s going to fight, lets a lot of talk about Lee putting the money obstacle up, well listen, Lee Murray fought Amir for nothing, he should have gone to the UFC after that but he didn’t over the Tito incident, he’s then fought Pele for nothing, then he’s gone to the UFC and fought for nothing (after taxes and expenses Lee actually lost money). You can’t keep on fighting for nothing especially not people like Phil Baroni. If Lee was boxing now and he was going in against one of the top light heavies in the countries he’d expect to get paid and I’d get him paid for that. I spoke to Lee and he’s okay with it, what ever you get and whatever Lee gets we put it in the middle winner takes all. Lee will do that will you Phil?

Interviewer: Terry any last words?

Terry: Actually yes, I would like to take my hat off to Andy Jardine for helping Lee get into the UFC. If not for Lee’s punch up with Tito Ortiz, I think the Amir fight would have been enough to get Lee into the UFC, unfortunately after the Tito incident the UFC shied away from Lee. Jardine set it up and so he gets my thanks. He has done similar things for other fighters but you do not hear a lot said about him. Andy is from the streets with him you get what you see and you can deal with that, I like that about him.

Also any fighters out there that want to work in my gym are more than welcome. It’s in Crayford way Crayford, Kent, 01322551144 Me and my partner Mark, he’s a very experienced trainer have a good system here and we can work with all levels MMA trainers or Pro fighters

If anyone wants to know any more about it they can call us or come to you and I can answer your questions and as I always say this is what I learnt off of you Dexter OSU!

A personal greeting from all at AM-Pro boxing gym to the New York Big Mouth Phil Baroni