Out of the blue I got a message from somebody called tobes09 .  It went something like, 'Hi, how are you, I just discovered your website, thank you for making me the fighter I am, Mark.'  And I was like, 'Mark?  Mark who?'  So I looked back at the address and it hit me.  Tobes?  Mark Tobin.

I got to admit, I choked up a bit when I realised who it was.  And the reason is that not only was Mark a great fighter, but also a great friend.  It's been nearly 30 years since he moved to Australia with his wife. 

Mark is one of the few guys I've ever had who I would truly call a student.  Like Vincent Jauncey and Tom O'Shaughnessy, he trained serious with me for a number of years when I had my gym.  Mark tells me he ran a kickboxing club for a while in Australia but couldn't keep it up while working full-time.  He trained a number of fighters, including one who won the Western Australia boxing title.

If you see the clip, Mark was not only a big guy, but he could move.  And he had a serious left hand (which apparently is still doing a lot of damage even though he's around my age).  He could also wrestle, so he was well covered in the standup and the ground.  At the time I tried to encourage him to go professional, but he didn't want to.  I didn't press it, because I am the same way.  Like me, he just loved to train and loved to fight. 

Back in the day, challengers would come up to Earlham Street and sometimes I used to enjoy standing back and watching Mark put them away.  Although he didn't turn professional, he was every bit as good as any professional I've ever seen. 

I saw Andy Dunne yesterday and told him about Mark making contact and he got a bit choked up, too.  Vince and Tom, if you're reading this, you can get in touch with Mark through his account here, I think. 

Here's a clip I've put up before to show how we used to work a partner exchange drill; this is Mark and I having a workout that focuses on my defence.  You can get an idea of his ability in this clip.