BOXING IS A COMMUNITY ISSUE IN SHEFFIELD

Picture courtesy of British Boxing.Net

The ESF went to visit the Fight Academy in Sheffield and to meet trainer Richard Poxon, trainer to Clinton Woods, IBF Light Heavyweight Champion and BBBC, English Super Featherweight, Femi Fehintola. Alan Irwin, ESF Chief Executive was impressed with the set-up and spoke highly about the ’relaxed’ trainer Richard Poxon. ’Essentially, this gym has so much to offer the kids of that immediate catchment area. It has all the vital ingredients to draw in the local community and more importantly the kids. Clinton Woods is the perfect role model for kids to think about a positive future and with Richard’s relaxed, focused and dedicated approach to having the gym as a focal point of the community, it should get the recognition it deserves and we are equally determined to support the team in breaking into new innovative initiatives around learning. I was particularly impressed to see two local Councillors there supporting the Academy and to hear their views about introducing learning opportunities into the gym and to get people to think about giving themselves and their families a better chance to get on in life. Cllr Terry Fox said, ’This gym can offer so much to the people of Sheffield and we are intent on giving Richard and the team all the support we can to broaden its appeal and what better way to do that than having a designated area within the gym allocated to learning’. Our project workers left membership forms at the gym to promote and encourage recruitment, which is a priority in 2008. Alan went on to say. ’It’s important that we make recruitment a priority and the support of high profile boxers, promoters and trainers will help to secure their future, to enable them to work more actively within the boxing community. They have made a great start which we hope to promote with high profile fighters as perfect role models for any community’.

As it was put recently at an event at Charlton Athletic FC. ’We are out of the blocks and we’re not looking back’.

Published 09/01/2009 | Ref: ALAN IRWIN

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