Publishing his first book at 16 gained Richard Milward a reviewing post on The Face. Today, the 24-year-old English writer is a regular contributor for Dazed and Confused. His latest column begins with these words: From a very early age, I’ve always enjoyed seeing lads thump each other in the head. Milward — who shares with Bruce Weber a passion for broken noses — recently spent a full week with the boys of Repton Amateur Boxing Club in East End London.

“People say boxers are dumb,” one of the boys told him. “But even though a lot of them might not be academic, you need to be clever to be a boxer.” Clever and fit as a fiddle, which made the photographic work of Deirdre O’Callaghan all the more easy. The walls painted in the club’s trademark yellow and green also contributed to the beauty of this portrait of Ryan Pickard, 22 (above).

Dazed and Confused
Deirdre O’Callaghan photography