Brendan Ingle (left) is well known for his self-deprecating humour and idiosyncratic way of coaching young boxers. In his gym in the Wincobank area of Sheffield, Ingle regularly calls his fighters `Packies' and `Paddys' in order to inure them against similar taunts they may experience outside the gym. His theory is that if they can laugh about it in the gym, they won't become involved in fights outside on the streets when they are racially abused.

No surprise then that when the former coach of `Prince' Naseem Hamed was congratulated on winning his MBE award, he said: "Can you believe it? What's a thick Paddy like me doing up in the (Buckingham) Palace."