Tony Bates - Mi Vida Loca - Part 1

Tony Bates is a professional boxer from Dublin. Unbeaten since his debut in 2011, he last fought in 2018. Nicknamed ‘Irish Psycho’, he could just as easily have borrowed the moniker ‘Mi Vida Loca’ from the legendary hellraiser Johnny Tapia, because life’s been crazy up to this point. Growing up in Clondalkin, he gained a fondness for gambling, alcohol and drugs at an early age – ‘the party life’ – and somehow found a way to work his excesses around his burgeoning football and boxing careers. In 2008, with the recession starting to bite back home, he headed Down Under where he was called to the ring. Bates sparred every big name in Australia boxing – from Michael Katsidis to Tim Tszyu, Anthony Mundine to Jeff Horn – and started making waves as one of several Irish up-and-comers on the pro scene. But outside the gym, his addictions were always in his ear, coaxing him towards trouble. Gambling was the big one as his life started to spiral out of control. Eventually, Bates was locked up, deemed a violent offender and stuck in a maximum security facility. After serving his sentence, he was due to be deported back to Ireland but then Covid hit and the Aussies decided to dump him on Christmas Island, an external territory mainly used as a refugee and immigration detention centre. Hundreds of miles from the mainland, with no set date for release, no wifi and no visitors, the detainees rioted - with Bates witnessing it all unfold. He contacted The Rocky Road to tell of his plight, trying to find a way out, and believes that going to the media – and informing the authorities – helped him find his way home. And now he’s back in Ireland, back in boxing and looking to get back in a professional ring at the age of 35. He’s survived shootings (of the tasering variety), stabbings (giving as good as he got) and hundreds of street fights, but is now living a peaceful life of prayer (he is a devout Muslim) and preparation (under the watchful eye of new coach Phil Sutcliffe). It’s an unbelievable story and this is the first time he’s told it. 

In Part 1, Tony talks about growing up in the toughest area of Dublin, early days in football, finding gambling, drink and drugs, the party scene in the capital, becoming a fighter to battle the bullies (and getting a taste for it), horses, hellraising and converting to Islam.

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