Bradford's star sportsman Bobby Vanzie took up boxing when he was ten to fight back against school bullies. Now, at the age of 26, he is Commonwealth and British lightweight title holder and a household name. But he is also a devoted family man and during the day swaps his boxing gloves for marigolds in his role as househusband. Alexandra Phillips spoke to Bobby and his wife Angela about their role reversals and the routine which leaves him at home holding the babies.

ANGELA VANZIE goes out to work each morning and waves goodbye to her two children, Lakeisha, three, and Kenya, 16 months, who will spend the day at home with their dad.

What makes this scene even more unusual is the fact that dad is the British and Commonwealth lightweight boxing champion Bobby Vanzie.

Most people would not expect the tough guy in the ring to stay at home doing the ironing and the washing but when Angela said she wanted to go out to work he agreed to look after the kids.

"It's great," said Angela, 24. "It's nice to have a bit of my own independence rather than having to ask Rob for things all of the time.

"I used to love being at home with the kids and I stayed at home for the first two years of Lakeisha's life. But Rob would train and then go to work and then train again and he would be doing everything while I spent my time at home with just baby talk. I felt like I'd got no life and the more exciting his career became the more dull I felt. I wanted more outside conversation and I wanted to show him that I could make my own living as well."

Bobby, a former fork lift truck driver and part-time employee at Next, was not keen on the idea at first but as soon as Angela explained how she felt he agreed to give it a go. And now he loves it.

"It's something I never thought I would enjoy," he laughed. "I never believed that I would ever stay at home looking after the children while my wife went out to work. I do the washing and ironing and I even find it's therapeutic because it takes my mind off boxing!

"I lead a totally different lifestyle to my friends and I know that they look up to me because of it. It is a strange set-up but it works."

Angela, a beautician who works at Elite Nail and Beauty Studio in Wibsey, does get envious sometimes when she sees the three of them in a routine without her but she gets plenty of time with the family in the evenings and at weekends.

"I started working part-time for a start to ease us into the situation but Rob took to it straight away and had his own routine after just a few days.

"I still get my time with the kids and take over when I get home from work because Rob goes out training."

Bobby's training consists of early morning runs at 6am before the family get up and sessions at the gym in the evening. But when there is a fight looming the training becomes intensive and he has to spend more time away from the home.

His next challenge is to claim the European and World lightweight titles so there is still a lot of training ahead.

"Things do change a bit nearer to a fight because I don't like to be around the children when I'm tense. Our families pull together and both of our mums do a lot of babysitting. It really is a team effort. Angela gets the brunt of my tensions and bad moods but she knows how to handle me when I'm stressed and we get through it. She has a lot to put up with and it can be a very difficult situation but we are very strong. I'm very lucky."

The couple met through a mutual friend nearly six years ago. At that time Bobby was not boxing on a regular basis and had not turned professional. Angela had no idea that his hobby would turn out how it has, while Bobby always knew he would make it big.

"Even when I first started boxing at the age of ten I knew that I would be a winner. My mum can vouch for that because she would see me interviewing myself with a hairbrush for a microphone about winning world championships!"

But Angela never expected things to go this far and does admit that it puts a strain on the relationship.

"It's quite hard to cope with but it's all about compromise. I know it's what Rob wants to do even though I'd prefer it if he didn't. I know he would not be happy doing anything else and that is why I stand by him, because I love him.

"He hasn't changed in the slightest and we live a normal family life. It's the outside world which has changed towards him.

"I'm very proud but I'll be very relieved the day he hangs up his gloves."

Despite all of her misgivings Angela is a very loyal wife and supports her husband from the ring-side at his fights.

"I'll always go and watch him fight even though it's awful. I remember the bigger his fights got the more scared I became. I get hot sweats and I often cover my face with my hands so that I can't see what's happening. I get very frightened but I will always support him."

Bobby knows the situation is very difficult for everybody to cope with but his family always comes first.

"My fighting schedule is hard to cope with sometimes and I'm surprised me and Angela have stayed together for so long. That shows how strong our relationship is. Angela is always there to support me through everything. She knows that the highs are very high and the lows very low and she is the only one who has never let me down. Without her there's no way I would have been able to achieve what I have."

Despite the build-up and excitement to his title glories, Bobby still claims that the most memorable moment in his life is his marriage.

"The day I got married was amazing. My family will always be there for me but the boxing will not go on forever.

"I want to finish on top but I still want to stay in the business. I'm thinking of moving into the media side and commentating when I finish fighting.

"That should be a lot less stressful for us all."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.