Port Vale: Gloves are off... and Bower is here to help

by Steve Shaw

PORT Vale's head physio John Bower will dash from pitchside at Darlington to ringside at the King's Hall in Stoke this weekend to indulge in his greatest passion... the noble art of boxing.

For the past two months, the 33-year-old has juggled his physio duties at Vale Park with preparing Cellarhead boxer, and Stoke City fan, Scott Lawton for his latest lightweight bout against Ali Wyatt.

And Bower is hoping to make the first bell following Vale's League Two clash against the Quakers to watch Lawton step up his bid to land an English or British title shot.

The pair have worked together in the past, but never on a regular basis. They forged closer ties when Bower began training at Lawton's Impact gym in Fenton during the summer, alongside Vale keeper Joe Anyon.

And Bower's healing powers have come to the fore in helping the brawler overcome a long-standing arm complaint.

Lawton first discovered the problem after sparring with Amir Khan before the Bolton star prepared for his clash with Willie Limond in July 2007, three months before he himself took on the Olympic silver medallist in a failed attempt to claim the Commonwealth crown.

Bower said: "The most important thing has been working alongside Impact's head coach, Lindon Newbon, and making sure I complement what he's doing.

"It's no good me going in there and acting like some big hero and doing all the stretches if it's not complementing Scott's training.

"With a boxer, you've got to hold them back because they'll train through any type of pain and just put it down to the job.

"They could have an arm hanging off and they'll still get on with it.

"A lot of my work is to do with the educational side and making sure he stretches properly.

"Scott had a problem with nerve tension in the bicep in his left arm. That's when nerves become tight and it's a case of doing tests to find out which nerves are causing the problem, which is followed by a series of nerve stretches.

"He was suffering a lot of aching in his elbow. So we gave him a week off training and treatment, which involved nerve and soft tissue stretching and acupuncture. It seemed to do the trick pretty much straight away."

Working with Lawton marks the return to the boxing game for Bower, who linked up with Vale in the summer of 2005.

Before his arrival in Burslem, he spent two years operating in Dennis Hobson's boxing stable in Sheffield.

A highlight of his time there was acting as Clinton Woods's physio when the Sheffield fighter took on Glen Johnson for the IBF Light Heavyweight title in February 2004.

But Bower walked away from the sport when his one of his boxers, and friend, Mark Brookes, almost died after being stopped in the 10th round of an English light-heavyweight title fight later that year.

The Swinton fighter collapsed a few hours after the fight and had to undergo a four-hour operation on a blood clot. The surgery saved his life, but ended his career.

A fully-recovered Brookes will take his seat alongside Bower this weekend when Lawton enters the ring.

Bower added: "I absolutely love boxing, it's a passion. To be honest, I'd love to go back into the sport.

"You've got to be in the gym and around the lads to feel the buzz. You get your moaners, like you do in football, but there's a togetherness there when everybody's building up to a fight and, obviously, it's nice when you win.

"The Impact gym is the best atmosphere I've ever been involved with when it comes to a boxing gym."

And what are the differences between preparing a footballer and boxer for battle?

"The difference is you've got to keep a footballer fit for nine months, which can be a bit of a juggling act," explained Bower.

"With a boxer, you bring them on more gradually, and Lindon will have made sure Scott is in peak condition.

"Footballers have to be peaking every single Saturday, or in some cases midweek games as well. So in that regard it's a bit harder to keep a footballer fit over a longer period.

"Common injuries in boxing are the equivalent of tennis elbow and also shoulder problems.

"Sometimes you also get neck or spinal problems that come along. But the main problems are to do with the wrist, elbow and shoulder because of the impact side of it. With a footballer, an injury can occur anywhere.

"But Impact are a really good, professional team and it's been a pleasure working with them."

Bower dabbled in the amateur ranks as a lightweight before turning to physiotherapy.

He joked: "I've told Scott I'm going to spar with him, which he's happy to do, and when it happens I'll stop him in three rounds. The plan is to keep him on the end of my jab and let him walk on to my big right hand."

Although Lawton retorted: "If John gets in the ring me he'll go as far as Joe Anyon... not very.

"I've never had a physio working with me on such a regular basis, although John has helped me out in the past.

"I don't think I would have been able to fight had it not been for John because I was really struggling with the arm. Sometimes, as a boxer, you just carry on when you get injured, but having John around has helped because he tells you when you need to rest. Like Joe Anyon, he's fitted in really well down here because they're both prepared to put the work in."