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Clearly, much has changed.

Gavin infamously failed to keep his date with Olympic destiny ().

Shorn of its best medal hope, the team looked wobbly for the first few days in Beijing before gathering itself and landing this country's finest haul in the ring for years.

The good vibes didn't last long, though, and soon all three Beijing medallists - , and - and bright prospect had joined "Funtime" Frankie in the pro ranks.

The changing of the guard in terms of talent was matched by a revolution in leadership. Tired of refereeing fights outside the ring, UK Sport decided enough was enough.

No longer could a situation be tolerated that saw the sport's elite at war with its grass-roots. But that is exactly the scenario in which Gavin & co were operating.

At the centre of all this - although not necessarily the cause of it - was Terry Edwards, the inspirational head coach of the Olympic boxing programme.

Edwards was a GB coach when , and he was in Amir Khan's corner when .

Superb results at the were followed by a . Gavin's gold was the pick of three medals won in Chicago. But behind the scenes things were going from bad to worse.

Edwards' strained relationship with the , which provided the lion's share of Team GB's boxers and coaches, was now past repairing, and matters weren't much better with the Scots and Welsh.

As rows about , local coaches' access to their boxers and escalated, just about the only consolation for UK Sport, which was bankrolling Edwards' programme, was at least they didn't have to deal with the too.

The rights, wrongs and causes of these disputes aren't that important now - some are probably already forgotten - but there was little doubt as to what had to happen: a fresh start.

That came about in October when former Sport England chairman was invited to bring his no-nonsense businessman's brain to the task of organising an elite British set-up which could co-exist with robust national structures.

The was the result and within a few months the sport had a new constitution, a new performance director in the shape of the hugely experienced Kevin Hickey and a raft of new coaches.

All that remained to be settled was Edwards' future. Could a solution be found that would keep him on board, in a role that reflected BABA's more collegiate approach, whilst drawing a line under what went before?

. Efforts were made on both sides to patch something together but there was just too much scar tissue.

Which brings me back to Sunday and the opening of Team GB's fantastic new home, because while the search for green shoots goes on elsewhere they are there for all to see at the .

As moves go this wasn't that big in terms of distance: they have moved from one end of the corridor to another. But as an upgrade this is bungalow to mansion territory.

Whereas Edwards had to operate in a cramped gym shared with (among others), new head coach and his team have a place twice as big - filled with three Olympic-sized rings, three smaller rings with sprung floors, a dozen of the latest punch bags and every piece of training equipment imaginable - all to themselves.

And nobody will accuse the GB boxing team of not looking the part again. Whenever the squad and its support staff assemble they will look resplendent in red, white and blue.

But there is more to a great gym than equipment and kit. There needs to be something less tangible, a feeling that you are part of something bigger, something special.

To foster this Hickey and Mapp plan to cover the walls with photos of British Olympians and mementos of triumphs. There are already two pictures of up high on the wall to inspire those with golden dreams.

The sense of belonging to a tradition of excellence will be reinforced by an induction ceremony for every new squad member. Just as Australia and England cricketers know where they stand in the list of capped players, GB boxers will also be given a number that is theirs for keeps.

was at the launch and he was impressed to see how his agency's cash had been invested. Keen, of course, knows a thing or two about the impact new premises can have, at their new home in Manchester.

And it's not too far-fetched to say British boxing could be on the verge of cycling-style success.

With US amateur boxing in disarray, the main challenge in London will come from the east - China, Russia and the former Soviet republics - and that traditional powerhouse, Cuba.

But British results have been improving at every age-group level, and there can no more excuses about a lack of resources.

Medals mean money in the virtuous circle that is British Olympic sport and those Beijing prizes (which came on cost-per-medal basis second only to cycling) brought the sport for London.

And let's be honest about this, host nations do well in Olympic boxing competitions. There's nothing like a home crowd to help point out scoring punches to uncertain judges.

On the downside, however, is the fact the current squad is a little light on experience, which is hardly surprising given the post-Beijing exodus, and this will be hard work.

But time is on their side and any assessment of the new regime's progress should be reserved until the and 2011 Worlds.

Another variable is the recent change from four two-minute rounds to three three-minute rounds. It might not sound like a big change but one GB coach described this as the difference between a 200m sprint and an 800m middle-distance race. He also predicted there would be a lot more knockouts as power became more of a factor.

So that is why the final plank of the BABA package makes such good sense. After years of almost no contact with the pros, apart from the one-way transfer of talent, amateur boxing is talking to the professional game again.

A key part of this dialogue is the use of "consultant" coaches and the first two to sign up are Carl Froch's trainer and former world champion .

The involvement of coaches of this calibre is significant for lots of reasons - they will definitely help GB's amateurs improve their stamina and power - but perhaps the most significant contribution they can make is providing a link between the two factions of the sport.

A man like Woodhall, who won and would have stayed on for a crack at gold in 1992 if he had been as well looked after as today's amateurs, will be able to spell out the risks and benefits of turning pro far better than a coach who has knows nothing of the prize-fighting game.

It makes me wonder what would have been if he had known about the changes that were coming. He will be 26 when London 2012 comes about but he will never know quite how much an Olympic gold can put on your first pro contract.

What is certain, however, is that those following Gavin in the Olympic team will never again wonder if the grass is greener in Albania.