Couple bring punchy story to the screen

FORMER boxer Eddie Copeland, second left, with, from left, Rasing (director/producer), Stacey Copeland, Paul Jones (editor/producer) and Gaynor Jones (writer). Picture courtesy of Nigel Maitland

1 More Image(s) In Gallery

A FAILSWORTH couple have helped bring to screen the life of former Manchester-based boxer Eddie Copeland.

One Punch: The Eddie Copeland Story is about Manchester boxer Eddie Copeland and his daughter Stacey. As a rising star in the late 1970s, Eddie took the boxing world by storm. Proving himself fight after fight, many predicted a bright future ahead. But in 1981 - at the age of just 24 - he stepped into the ring and four fateful rounds later was carried out a broken man.

But Eddie didn't give up on life or sport. In One Punch, the former boxer bravely looks back on the fight that ended his career and nearly his life ­- and the people that saved him.

The documentary features stars of the boxing community as they reflect on the sport's legacy and Eddie's place within it.

His daughter Stacey followed in his footsteps and is now a professional boxer. She first pursued a successful career in football, representing England as well as playing abroad in America and Sweden. But at the age of 29, after suffering numerous injuries in football, Stacey decided to dedicate herself to boxing.

She asked her dad to be her coach and the pair began a remarkable journey. She has won a European silver medal, Nation's cup gold medal, and is a three-time national champion. Her national title in 2015 meant that she and her dad made history in becoming the first ever father and daughter to both win elite national titles. Paul Jones, who lives with wife Gaynor in Hulmes Road, Failsworth, co-produced and edited it, along with Simon Rasing, an international documentary maker. Gaynor wrote the script.

The documentary was made on a low budget and was started in late 2013. The film has already been premiered in Manchester and is now available to buy on DVD.

Paul said: "The amount of time it's taken surprised me. I've been working as a video editor for 15 years so I've been doing this in my spare time. And then my wife and I had our daughter two-and-a-half years ago. It has been a team effort ­- everybody has chipped in.

"It's a really nice family motivational story. When we originally started filming Stacey wasn't interested in turning professional. She's not doing it for the money but for the chance to be a female role model in a male-dominated sport. She's trying to blaze a trail for girls. It was a lovely story, I thought it needed to be told."

Gaynor added: "We were really pleased with the premier, it was brilliant. I don't know much about boxing, it wasn't something that was familiar to me. I had to research and read up on the fights. Eddie and Stacey are so lovely. Eddie is one of the nicest people I have ever met. It was interesting to learn about how someone's life turned around versus how it could have been."

To buy or rent the DVD, visit https://onepunchdoc.com/.