READY TO RUMBLE?

Disney's new knockout show A Thousand Blows is a brutal exposé of the criminal underbelly of Victorian England, with illegal boxing at its heart. We spoke to boxing coach Jamal Akay about his role in getting the show's stars boxing clever

- Jamal Akay

When Stephen Graham, one of the stars of Disney’s new show A Thousand Blows, comes swaggering into the ring for an illegal boxing bout, you’re immediately convinced he’s going to deliver a knockout performance. Although he’d ‘done a bit of boxing’ beforehand, hours of work in the ring with boxing coach Jamal Akay has honed Graham’s skills as the excellently-named Sugar Goodson) to perfection. Co-star Malachi Kirby, on the other hand, had never stepped in to a ring so Jamal had his work cut out for him turning the BAFTA award-winning actor into a hardened ring-ready puncher.

The results? Well, you’ll just have to watch the show to find out. But we were given an insight into the training regime for both actors in the show developed by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, which revolves around the Forty Elephants, a 19th to 20th century all-female London crime syndicate which specialised in shoplifting.

MEN’S FITNESS (MF): It would be fair to say that boxing is in your blood. Can you give us a brief resumé of your career?

JAMAL AKAY (JA): My father was a Ghanaian boxing champion and started a gym in London in 1974. My eldest brother became a British champion, so it’s fair to say that boxing’s always been in my household. 'Jab' was probably my first word! I started in the amateur ranks, where I had about 30 fights, and ended up representing England. I fought some international tournaments and then turned professional at light heavyweight.

MF: How did you get in to coaching, and specifically, A Thousand Blows?