FELLOW passengers waiting on Birmingham New Street station’s Platform 4B this Sunday afternoon will encounter a large group of supporters, large banner in tow.
Before attempting to match the fans’ colours with a local team, they should be made aware the band are not on a football jolly.
They are boxer Oscar “De La Lawyer” McCracken’s barmy army on their way to watch the wildly popular welterweight do battle in Cannock.
In the opposite corner on promoter Scott Murray’s Premier Suite show will be Stefan “The Wasp” Vincent, an ideal test for a Birmingham fighter seeking his fourth straight win.
Vincent is seasoned, knows how to survive but lacks the sting to upset the applecart.
And when it comes to a man with the volume of support 26-year-old McCracken enjoys, upsetting the applecart would be very bad for business.
That support has been swelled by the national headlines McCracken received when turning pro, headlines generated by his day job.
He is a lawyer, the only lawyer with a professional boxing licence, albeit a trainee lawyer with MFG Solicitors.
Without casting aspersions, during my 50 years covering the sport I’ve encountered a number of boxers who have been involved with the legal profession. That involvement usually starts with a meeting with a police station’s duty solicitor following arrest.
Oscar – part of a very famous Birmingham boxing family – is the only one to make law his business.
He has done so because dad Spencer Snr – Oscar’s trainer, manager and a mighty fine fighter back in the day – demanded his son had a solid “Plan B” before becoming a boxer.
The Plan B is so solid – and potentially lucrative – that anyone not associated with the game would consider it a Plan A.
And that is the conundrum I face when considering Oscar’s ring career. Why would a young man who has recently become a father choose to punch for pay, with the risks, sacrifices and sweat that entails, while creating such a comfortable family future away from the ropes? He is currently getting his teeth stuck into corporate law: corporate cash is a lot of cash.
Yet he has become a boxing professional without an amateur bout.
Oscar’s answer is simple. He is a McCracken and McCrackens were born to box.
“It’s in the blood,” he told me, “it runs like DNA through my family. When it bites you, it bites you proper. Being a professional boxer was always on the cards.
“People are always surprised a lawyer has become a boxer, but it should be the other way round. I don’t understand why they’re not surprised a boxer has become a lawyer.
“I’ve always been in gyms and sparred pros, I didn’t want to regret not doing it. I’ve been around fighters all my life and now I know first-hand what they go through.
“I could’ve been someone who didn’t box and became a manager and trainer, but I have too much respect for boxers to do that.
“And what I’m doing hasn’t been done before – what more motivation do you need?”
But Oscar admits juggling the two very different worlds is no easy feat. “It’s just been absolutely manic,” he said. “Up at six, do my running, go to work, back in the gym. It’s been a crazy, busy year – broke my hand, became a father and still got four fights in.
“I’ll take it one step at a time and, touch wood, everything is going well – my dad is happy with my training, sparring and dedication.”
In boxing, a working father-son relationship is sometimes frowned on. Oscar insists it’s the right fit for him.
“The most important thing for a boxer is having a trainer and manager who cares about your welfare,” he explained. “When that person is your own dad, that is in his mind even more. I don’t have to worry about that, I know that 100 per cent.
“I’ll be honest, if it wasn’t for the fact I’m his son he probably wouldn’t train me. He lives next door to me, he’s on runs with me…I’m utilising it, he’s going to be a bit more ‘on’ with me.”
Oscar added: “I’m training to be a good boxer and good solicitor. I’m supervised 24/7 – it’s non-stop.”
