The former world super-middleweight champion is now both a Eurosport pundit and a hypnotherapist, helping young people back into work. After dinner he talks about coming face to face with a man who wants to render you unconscious. He also explains why he failed to hypnotise himself.
Glenn Catley was the WBC World Super-middleweight Champion. By his own admission, never the best fighter technically, Glenn got to the very top of his sport with determination and confidence. As a qualified psychotherapist he now understands the value of belief in your own abilities and how to handle the pressure of expectation.
Rising through the amateur ranks of boxing, Glenn’s professional career started with a win in his home town of Bristol. He went on a run of nine successive wins and a rapid climb up the British middleweight rankings. Building a reputation as a charismatic and popular fighter, Glenn finally got his chance at the British title in which he beat the long-standing title holder Neville Brown in what was marked as one of the best British fights ever.
His elevation to British Champion brought him a sudden opportunity to fight for the world super-middleweight title at just 11 days notice. The title fight against Richie Woodhall went the distance, but in one of the most controversial decisions in professional boxing, the fight was given to Woodall. Richie himself admitted Glenn should have won. Six months later he was given another shot at the title in the notoriously hostile European boxing heartland of Germany. This time, nothing was left to chance and Glenn beat Marcus Bayer by a knockout.
Since retiring three years later, Glenn has gone on to study the psychology and clinical hypnotherapy that helped him succeed in the ring. How did he overcome the odds, face up to the pressure, and maintain focus? In a sport so heavily dependant on confidence, he considers how anyone can achieve whatever they set out to do if they can control the inevitable negative thoughts. Glenn now runs a consultancy and lectures in performance psychology and hypnotherapy and is a keen advocate for awareness of and treatment for work-related stress and anxiety.
In additional to conferences, the warm, ebullient Glenn is an accomplished after dinner speaker with anecdotes from the ring and the dressing room.