“A MAN who chases two chickens will catch none”. If Charlie Doig proves to be as quick with his fists as he is with a turn of phrase then a long and successful boxing career may yet lie ahead of him.
The 25 year-old has aspirations to one day set up his own engineering maintenance company but having recently signed with the St Andrew’s Sporting Club after teaming up with Ricky Burns then that will all need to wait. Boxing has dealt him a fair hand and Doig wants to make the most of it.
Turning over after a successful amateur career, the Dundonian reckons he has the best part of a decade to achieve whatever he wants in the fight game. And he has landed on his feet on two counts, both with the St Andrew’s deal and by becoming the first professional to be taken under Burns’ wing.
The former three-weight world champion’s pedigree speaks for itself. Burns is on the cusp of retirement but still sharp enough to be able to teach through actions as well as words. Their arrangement is a tricky one given Doig still lives in Dundee and Burns’ gym is near Coatbridge, plus all the 12-hour shifts Doig has to put in as a technical contractor. But the southpaw believes it will all be worthwhile to learn from one of Britain’s finest.
“It’s a bit of a pain to arrange everything but it’s definitely worth it,” he says. “My gran lives in Dalmuir so I stayed with her for the six weeks leading up to my first fight. Now I’m doing a lot of overtime at work to make up for the time I took off so I won’t see Ricky for a few weeks now.
“So it’s just about trying to juggle everything and working around my days off, although I’ve also got the keys to St Francis’ Boxing Club in Dundee so I can go in there sometimes to work out as well.
“But Ricky has been brilliant. He wouldn’t ask you to do anything that he wouldn’t do himself. He’ll always show you what he wants you to learn. It’s a new experience for him too but he’s enjoying it and we’re building a good relationship. I’m learning from one of the best.”
Doig served his time as an apprentice with the Michelin tyre company and now works two jobs as an engineering contractor alongside his boxing commitments. Like any aspiring athlete, there is always the dilemma of whether and when to sacrifice a steady income for chasing a dream but Doig is happy to allow boxing to take precedence.
“I was actually thinking of starting my own company but that’s going to be my plan for after boxing,” he reveals. “If I did it now it would take up too much time. I have to focus just on boxing for now. Even if I started my company and it did well and I was making money I’d still kick myself when I was older for not giving this a proper go. So I’ll just be skint for a few years and see where I can go in boxing. And then maybe when I’m 35 I can go back to my business idea.”
Doig, a lapsed Dundee fan, reckons he could have been a footballer rather than a boxer if he had stuck in at that instead.
“I was alright at football but I was really unfit when I was younger,” he admits. “So my mate asked if I wanted to go to the boxing, to work on my fitness as much as anything. And I just caught the bug and got really into it.
“I still think I could make it as a footballer now. Although I played a wee while back and was trying to slide tackle and kept completely missing boys. My timing was terrible! But a few months back I'm sure I would be decent again.”
Doig made his pro boxing debut at the recent St Andrew’s dinner event, stopping Jaroslav Kocha in the second of six planned rounds. Having savoured that occasion he is eagerly relishing a second outing early in the new year.
“That was a brilliant experience,” he reflected. “It’s a really good set-up that Iain Wilson’s got at St Andrew’s so I was just trying to soak up as much of it as I could. All my mates said they thoroughly enjoyed themselves. They said my fight was the best atmosphere – mainly because they were a bit rowdy!
“I think I’m going to be well suited to the professional game. Technically I’m not the best boxer out there. But I’m resilient and having more rounds to get into a contest is going to suit me better. Three rounds in the amateurs wasn’t usually enough. I maybe just need a bit longer to figure boys out.”
