Q is associated to Boxing Evolution because he played a big part in mentoring and inspiring the creator of Boxing Evolution, Flavell Flave.

Flavell Flave and Q met during their time together at Portsmouth University when Q was helping Flavell Flave with his personal project of starting the Portsmouth University boxing club, which is now the biggest and most successful university boxing club in the country and competes all over the world.

Flavell Flave learned a tremendous amount about motivational coaching which is what Q is renowned for. He also learned a great deal simply from observing Q and seeing how confidence can enable you to do anything you set your mind to.

Q then recruited Flavell Flave to help him run the pilot project of the ABA boxing awards in Portsmouth and Matthew was officially Britain’s first ever boxing tutor.

Below is a brief biography of Q’s history and how he came to be where he is now.

Quinton Shillingford was born in 1967 in St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, London. He spent his infant years on the Island of Dominica in the West Indies. He returned to England in 1975, his family finally settled in Andover, Hampshire. He enjoyed all sports at school and at the age of 10 he joined Andover Boxing Club. A year later Q was stepping into the ring for his first amateur bout, he went on to win his next I2 bouts in a row, it was then he realised he has found a sport he could dedicate and commit himself too.

Q went onto win 2 NABC Title’s and reached the finals of the Schoolboy Championships. It was then that the Navy Boxing Coach WOPT ‘Micky’ Shone spotted Q whilst at a boxing evening. He invited him to train with the Navy Squad in a bid to build up his already successful Navy Boxing Team. Q enjoyed his training weekend with the Navy Team and signed up straight away. He joined the Navy Sep 85 and was in action straight away, boxing for the NABC Class C Senior Title, which he won in the final in Jan 86. Now at the age of 18, Q moved up to the senior ranks. He became Navy Boxing Champion after knocking out Scottish International Dave Robb in the second round of their contest. Q reigned as Navy Champion for 5 years and Combined Service Champion for 3 years. During this period he was ranked Great Britain No 4 and was on the England squad Q has represented the Combined Services both home and abroad. Coached by Mr Billy Pike, CPOPT Tony Beval, CPOPT Micky Garrity and CSGT Leo Toms.

Following completion of the Leading Physical Trainer Course (Royal Navy PTI) at HMS Temeraire, Portsmouth, he retired from competitive boxing at the age of 22, switching his focus to coaching. Working his way through the ABA National Coaching Courses and setting up Boxing Clubs at every Naval Establishment or ship he was serving on. Q would also be found teaching boxing in local schools and youth groups in the city of Portsmouth.

Unfortunately at the same time Royal Navy Boxing was on a major decline. The full time Navy Boxing Coach Position had been disbanded and the sport within the Royal Navy was in a desperate state.

In July 2000 Q joined HMS NELSON in Portsmouth the Home of Navy Boxing. Q was given the opportunity to resurrect the sport of Royal Navy boxing as a part time basis around his full time job, as office Manager of the Physical Training & Recreational Office. For three years Q trained the boxing team on a part time basis training the Royal Navy Boxers before work at 6am, Lunch time 12pm and after work at 5pm.

In 2003 Q was voted the Royal Navy and Combined Services Sports Official of the Year, due to the success of the boxers in his charge many of them gaining International recognition, winning National Championships and high rankings in the British ratings.

Q also passed his ABA Advanced Coaching Course and straight away was involved in the England team and International tournaments. Q combined his service boxing with the local community bringing in young people from many youth groups and organizations from all backgrounds from all over the country to use the Royal Naval Boxing facilities and train with the Royal Navy Boxing Team.

He has spent years contributing to a number of youth projects in the local community, the most significant being the Youth Inclusion Project (YIP), a charity that works with young Underprivileged people, helping them to enjoy life and increase their future prospects.

Involvement in the Portsmouth community also resulted in Q being asked to run recreational boxing sessions for the University of Portsmouth students. What started out as a once a week recreational session, ended up as an ABA boxing club. The Portsmouth University students were all keen to set up a boxing club so that they could compete, so Q put together a plan and program to form a boxing club, the boxing session increased, the students were brought into and trained at the Royal Navy Boxing gym for sparring. Q then organized the University of Portsmouth first team match against a Navy Novice select side. The show was a great success and the University of Portsmouth had its own Boxing Club. Once the Boxing Club was formed and developed and running properly, Q then handed the running of the University of Portsmouth Boxing Club to now University Boxing Coach Wayne Gardiner.

In September 2004 and due to the success of the Royal Navy Boxing POPT Q Shillingford was re- instated as the Full time Royal Navy Boxing Coach. For the first time in over 15 years a Royal Navy Serviceman had been given a full time post. Q established an organizational structure from a blank sheet he quickly evaluated the resources available to him, formulated a management plan and put this to work without delay being self-motivated and innovative he updated and refurbished the training facilities, installed an IT system and embarked on a carefully formulated training and coaching programme for his new formed squad of boxers. Q then employed Royal Navy (Writer) Wayne Gardiner as an admin assistant to deal with the day to day running of the busy Royal Navy Boxing Gym, Wayne who had, had 2 amateur bouts in the Navy wanted to learn the coaching side of the sport and passed an Assistant Boxing Coaching course whilst working in the RN Boxing gymnasium.

Q was quick to grasp the importance of fostering links with the National Governing Body of the Sport and hosted several training camps which gave his Navy boxers the opportunity to benefit from International standard coaching opportunities. In his first year as a full time coach Q had six Navy Boxers reach the National Quarter Finals and four in the National Semi finals he also trained the Navy’s first Royal Navy/Combined Services Female Boxing Champion Lt Lucy Abel who was in the final of the female ABA Championships and went on to beat the England Champion. Able was then selected to box for England in the European Championships held in Poland. Q then talent spotted and prepared MEM Gareth The Stingray Smith, who reached the Semi Finals of the National CYP Boxing Championships and went on to became the first ever Royal Navy Boxer to win a Junior ABA National title.

Q instigated and organised the Clubs for Young People (CYP) Summer Boxing coaching course in Portsmouth. This is where 40 young people from all over the country attend a seven day boxing coaching course with four England Coach’s at the Royal Navy Boxing Gym, HMS NELSON, Portsmouth. Whilst being taught by top level coach’s the young people were also treated to Navy visits such as HMS Victory, Submarine Museum, Mary Rose and Action Stations.

With Q’s permanent post, more International Boxers were to follow for England, Scotland and Wales.

In the annual Combined Services Championships Q produced a team who lost by a one point margin(6-5, winning 5 of the 8 contested bouts) making it the closest the Navy Boxing Team have ever come to beating the Army in over 26 years. However revenge was sweet when The Royal Navy Boxing Team beat the Army Boxing Team 6 – 4 later in the year at the Cafe Royale, London in a team match which was televised and shown on sky sports.

The Royal Navy Recruitment team (DNR) noticed the success of the Navy Boxing Team in and out of the service and joined forces in partnership with the Amateur Boxing Association of England by sponsoring the National Youth Boxing Championships as a recruitment campaign.

Q’s past soon caught up with him and he was asked by the Island of Dominica President to train and coach their elite boxer for the 2006 Commonwealth Games, Melbourne, Australia. Three times Caribbean boxing Champion, Mervyn Lantan, was flown over to England to spend three months preparing for his Commonwealth Games bid. Q and Mervyn attended the Games and represented Dominica to a high standard. Q was then asked to train and coach two more elite Dominican Boxers to take part in the Central American and Caribbean games in Columbia later in the same year.

Due to the many years of working in schools and with youth groups teaching boxing, Q was urged to write and produce a Boxing Award program for Recreational boxing which could lead to a young person joining a local boxing club. The award is in six different stages, preliminary, standard, bronze, silver, gold and platinum. Certificates and medals are presented as the participant’s progress in the award system all the awards are opened to both male and female from the age of five years. Q also wrote a coaching guide and lesson plans for each of the awards.

Due to the success of his initiative with the boxing award booklets and his constant work with the community, Q was invited to join the Amateur Boxing Association of England Development Commission in Jan 2006.