Brought to you by Alistair Hendrie
What are the key ingredients for a successful fight promotion? Determination? Thick skin? Sheer bloody mindedness? Thankfully, Contender Promotions president Garry Bell has all three in abundance. “The difference with me is that I’m willing to do what others aren’t,” says Bell, discussing his burgeoning K-1 rules kickboxing promotion – set for its seventh show since 2012 on February 15th.
“I’m always working 24/7. I’m always on it. Of an evening I’ll be lying in bed with my partner on my phone or laptop, building relationships and networking. It’s not easy; I work hard but when I’m talking to any sponsors or trying to garner interest and support for the brand, I speak with passion and believe in my ideas and I think that comes off.”
2014 should be a big year for Contender, with a couple of MMA veterans, Paul Daley and Shaun Lomas, headlining the company’s upcoming card at the Eston Sports Academy in Middlesbrough. But Bell hasn’t stopped there. Alongside director Neil Peacock, he has secured a broadcast deal with Fight Now TV’s magazine show, MMA: Inside The Cage, while his emerging Contender stars will also compete in Superkombat’s worldwide tryouts.
In that case, Bell clearly knows what he’s doing. The affable entrepreneur understands the financial side of the game and as such, he has grafted hard to win the sponsorship of local businesses such as a nearby Renault garage in Cannon Park. “I basically do the rounds every day,” he says, “visiting local businesses and trying to spread the word.
“I get a lot of people saying “no” but then again I do get some interest. From then on it’s a case of building a relationship. I think there’s a bit of a secret to it and I’ve always been good at doing business this way. I think I’m successful because I have a vision and convey where I want my brand to go.”
Well, he convinced Daley and Superkombat president Eduard Irimia, after all. From a young age Bell was always fascinated by hand-to-hand combat. He studied action films, immersed himself in boxing and recreated fight scenes with his two brothers, learning techniques as he progressed.
“We used to sneak into classes at the community centre for free,” Bell chuckles. “We were from a really poor area in Stockton-on-Tees, Middlesbrough and so we couldn’t afford to pay for sessions. At the time I attended any classes I could – judo, karate, kung-fu – and fighting was the only thing to do around the area. My upbringing was pretty hard, really rough, and many of the people I knew grew up to become involved in drugs. But my brothers and I all have businesses now, so we emerged the better for it.”
Indeed, with supplemented income from his Contender Gym and fightwear store in Stockton-on-Tees, Bell hopes to create a worldwide stage for his fighters. Last year “after about ten months of negotiations,” he met Irimia in Romania, sealing a deal for his Contender hopefuls to appear on Superkombat’s New Heroes tryouts series.
As such, Bell and Irimia will hold sessions – or auditions so to speak – at a Middlesbrough casino in April, judging fighters on sparring, padwork, shadow boxing and more. The few who progress will then battle for a Superkombat contract against current Superkombat stars, at a New Heroes tournament later this year – potentially hosted in the UK.
Bell claims the agreement is “a chance to give fighters a mainstream platform they haven’t had before. It’s endless what could happen. Obviously the winner will advance to fight for Superkombat but it’s a good chance to source talent for Contender as well. By hosting it in a casino, the fighters already get a glimpse of the glitz, the bright lights and the glamour. They’ll think, yeah, I want that. By doing it this way it makes Contender a little bit different which is what I like; I always aim to work differently from the rest – I don’t like to follow others.”
Bell’s gung-ho approach is another one of his unorthodox methods. Daley is impressed too after meeting him through a mutual friend. As their relationship grew the Nottingham striker taught a seminar at Bell’s gym, attended a Contender event last November, and thereafter agreed to tackle Lomas on the upcoming show.
“Garry’s a really cool guy with a lot of passion for kickboxing,” says Daley. “When I met him, he spoke very passionately about where he wants to take the sport and once I saw his show for real, I was so impressed by not only what he was doing, but also what he was trying to do. He wants to improve the stature of kickboxing and so do I. With the Superkombat deal, I truly believe there’s so much potential there.”
The 30-year-old rightly mentions the scope for progression. Aside from well-known names such as Daley and Lomas, another interesting fight on February 15th will be 170lbs wildchild Anas Mounir against Alan Willis – look out for Mounir’s Matrix-esque kicks, if you’re quick enough. There’s also an intriguing four-man heavyweight tournament; not forgetting a light-heavyweight rematch between in-form Thomas Daniel and ex-paratropper Jamie Wheldon.
In the long run though, Bell wants to do big things for kickboxing “on a national and international front.” Although Glory came to the Excel Arena in London in March 2013, putting on an exciting show, kickboxing still lacks the interest levels of mixed martial arts around Britain. Big London heavyweight Daniel Sam and kick-happy Yorkshireman Jordan Watson have found success at international level but are far from household names. Daley reckons it’s a case of building the next generation on Contender Promotions.
“I’d like them to do what BAMMA are doing: promote young, domestic talent so they can progress to the next level. It’s like in MMA you can’t have just the UFC, you’ve got other shows like BAMMA in the UK and KSW in Poland. The trouble is although we’ve got good fighters they’re never in the media. We have no real stars. In Holland you see big shows selling out football stadiums but it’s different over here.”
And Bell too aims to guide the sport – along with his promotion – to the top. “We’re only getting bigger, growing further and people are starting to notice us,” he says. “I have drive and passion and while we’re not at the level of Superkombat just yet – I know that – eventually we’ll get there and it’s a case of overcoming these stepping stones. People say to me we’ve made it because we’ve got Semtex – and yeah, Semtex is great and everything but this is just the start.”
