D’Animal announces his retirement with ‘I’m done’ message
Andrew Robinson…one of game’s true warriors. Pic: Manjit Narotra/BCB
MARAUDING, menacing middleweight Andrew Robinson has announced his retirement.
Today (Thursday), he made the news public with a simple “I’m done” call.
“I’ve had enough of the game and all the politics,” he told me. He gave a “lack of opportunities” as one of the main reasons for his decision.
“Some of the fighters who were calling me out at the end…it was ridiculous, laughable,” Robinson shrugged. “I didn’t even have the drive to answer them.”
So ends a career pitted with dramatic, savage battles and memorable moments. A career that came within touching distance of the very top.
And one performance stands head and shoulders above the rest. In 2019, Robinson travelled to Poland as a no hoper to face Damian Jonak, the local hero who was unbeaten in 43 contests. He gave Jonak a boxing lesson on the way to points victory.
To some degree, today’s announcement has caught me off-guard. At the age of 40, I didn’t really expect Robinson, from Birmingham, now living in Redditch, to box again. But I believed Andrew, like so many others, would never bring himself to publicly acknowledge it was over. A born warrior, I suspected he’d want the comfort of leaving the door open.
After his last contest, a win over Robbie Chapman in Birmingham almost 12 months ago, the former British title challenger stated that his 40th bout was the last in front of home fans.
Back then, Robinson stressed he was not done. He wanted one more good pay day on the road.
With no big fight on the horizon, Andrew, a deeply religious father of three, has decided he can wait no longer.
“I hit 40 and realised a lot of life has passed me by,” he said. “Twenty-three years of my life. I made a lot of sacrifices, as every fighter who wants to reach the top does.
“Do I carry on or devote my life to my kids? My oldest is 18 and, if I’m honest, I don’t really know him well enough.
“Last year on holiday, it hit me like a shot, it really made me realise. I saw things I hadn’t seen before and I want to do that while I can. I’ve missed out on so much, I’ve missed funerals.”
The Midlands game has lost a boxer who always gave value for money, always left everything in the ring. Courageous and tough as boot leather, Robinson lived up to his “D’Animal” ring tag. Some boxers are prepared to take two to land one, Robinson was prepared to take three. At his peak, he represented a tough night for the very best.
Andrew’s 13 year career began with veteran manager PJ Rowson and he later switched to Black Country Boxing. The list of trainers included John Costello and Malcolm Melvin.
Robinson established himself as a force on the domestic scene in 2014 by giving future British champ Frank Buglioni a real battle for the WBO European super-middleweight belt.
He went on to claim the Midlands 12st title and IBO Continental crown at middleweight.
Robinson endured more than his share of bad breaks. His stoppage defeat at the hands of Mark Heffron for the WBC international title appeared to have been paved by punches well below the picket-line.
And many felt he was woefully unlucky to be adjudged a points loser to English champ Lee Markham.
Sadly, the British title fight he had earned through so many wars ended in disappointment. Liam Williams took only a round to defend his belt.
Robinson said: “I’m very proud of what I’ve achieved. I achieved more than I thought I would, I’ve been there, done it, worn the t-shirt. It’s going to be hard because boxing’s all I’ve done, when you’re in it, it’s all you do.
“But I’m always in the gym, always helping others. I put some boxing money aside, trained to be an electrician and have my own business, which is successful.
“I’ve had an amazing time and I’ve come out with all my faculties. The world is my oyster.”