Catching Up with the Trainer and Author
Gary Todd has worn a lot of hats in and out of the boxing ring.
He has been a boxer, trainer, writer, boxing analyst, best-selling author, construction boss and also an artist. He has a series of champ workout books and also penned the autobiography Annie’s Boy (based on his hardscrabble childhood in Dundee, Scotland). Now living in Australia with wife Jenny, Gary has been busy creating his boxing art. He paints portraits and storyboards on canvas and gifts posters to gyms and organizations to use as fundraisers.
I’ve seen his artwork and it is stunning. He likes to honor past champions and current prizefighters with these unique paintings. Some recent pieces include portraits of champs and renderings of marquee matchups such as David Benavidez vs. Zurdo Ramirez, the Fighting Harada vs. Lionel Rose, Tommy Burns vs. Jack Johnson and more.
Gary also has completed portraits showcasing Johnny Famechon, Tony Mundine, Daniel Geale, Wayne McCullough, Matthew Saad Muhammad, Yaqui Lopez, Ricky Burns, Jim Watt, etc.
“I enjoy doing storyboards for people,” he says. “It’s a bit more personal.”
He really enjoys gifting the subjects his special paintings.
“A lot of these guys are forgotten,” Gary tells me. “That’s why I paint and write.”
He likes to surprise the subjects of his paintings and has generously sent prints to people all around the world.
“I’m in the middle of finishing my gift to Yaqui Lopez, his wife and family,” Gary mentions. “It’s my tribute to him. A storybook. I hope I have done it justice. They are nice people and what a fighter he was in a tough hard era.”
The busy artist is also helping to get a Dick McTaggart statue made to honor the former amateur champ.
“I’m also on a personal quest to help get a statue bronzed for Dick McTaggart in Dundee,” he explains. “Mr. McTaggart was from my hometown. Arguably, the greatest amateur boxer to ever come out of Great Britain. I’ve been working hard behind the scenes to try and get this statue made.”
Gary remains active in the sport and just recently visited the Bondi Boxing Club in Sydney for a book signing.
“My latest book on the champions of boxing is now available on Amazon and in the UK on Amazon.co.uk,” he adds. “It’s about their workouts in the gym, unique photos in the gym and my take on their careers with untold stories.”
Some of his artwork and designs can be seen in the book. Gary is also working on getting his screenplay of Annie’s Boy to the big screen. He was nominated for an American Martial Arts Alliance Foundation Award for excellence in publishing. And the former pugilist also became a Meticulous Martial Arts Mastermind (MMAM) Ambassador for Boxing.
Gary Todd’s passion for the sweet science remains strong and he will continue writing about the champions and painting them too!