World champion boxer Josh Warrington thrilled members of a boxing club in Harrogate last night when he dropped in on a training session.
Warrington, the IBF featherweight king, was accompanied by IBO lightweight world champion Maxi Hughes at H Hour Boxing Gym on Skipton Road.
Rob Smith, head coach at the club, has known the fighters for years and invited them down.
They brought their world title belts and posed for pictures first with junior members and then with the seniors.
Maxi Hughes (left) and Josh Warrington with juniors Eduardo Pereira (front left) and Jeno Laki.
Warrington told the Stray Ferret he often visited Harrogate with his wife and daughters and found it peaceful compared to his home city of Leeds.
He has visited H Hour Boxing previously and said he particularly liked having the opportunity to inspire kids.
“It’s easy for them to go down the wrong path. I like to talk to them and say ‘life is hard, boxing is hard but stick at it because it’s worthwhile.
“I started at seven or eight and never thought I had the natural ability to succeed. It was my mindset that did it and now I like to instil that in other kids.”
Some fans brought memorabilia for Warrington and Hughes to sign and were clearly thrilled to meet them.
Dane Hall poses with the champs.
Dane Hall, 22, who has been training at the club for just under a year, got the fighters to sign his gloves. He said:
“Josh is bloody brilliant. He’s one of the boys. My dad is also a massive fan.”
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Rob Smith, who puts on training sessions three times a week at the club, is well connected in boxing. He is chairman of the central area of the British Boxing Board of Control and has brought the fighters to the gym on previous occasions. He said:
“Harrogate is perceived as an affluent area but boxing is a working class sport.
“Some of our members are not from the wealthiest families and they look at Josh and Maxi and see guys from similar working class backgrounds who have done the business at world level so it inspires them.”
Training at the gym last night.
A father to autistic children in the Harrogate district has started boxing lessons for people with the condition.
Dean Lund from Knaresborough has two young children who have been diagnosed with autism. He decided he wanted to teach boxing to both children and adults with autism while studying Sport Coaching and Development at Harrogate College.
Mr Lund called his weekly classes ‘The Zone’ and feels that boxing is a great sport for autistic people to focus on as it helps develop fitness and confidence.
Autism is a disability that affects around 700,000 people in the UK.
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Mr Lund has a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) certified course in Autism, Sport and Physical Activity.
Dean said a qualification from the National Autistic Society was important:
“I needed to know the parameters of autism, how my own boys fall within that, and what to expect when it comes to teaching boxing outside of college.”
“I really want to expand the autism sessions. As its an area that isn’t provided enough, considering how many people have autism”
The Zone provides a safe spaces for people to take a break if their autism is triggered and also teaches boxing in lanes, allowing participants to have their own space.
Parents can come along to do the session with their autistic child.
For more information about ‘The Zone’ click here or email deano@fighting-fit-coaching.co.uk.
Harrogate army sergeant’s desperate bid to help Afghan family leave KabulA former British army sergeant major from Harrogate has spoken of his fears for the future of an Afghan family he has been trying to help leave Kabul.
Rob Smith taught locals boxing during a six-month tour of duty at Camp Souter military base in Kabul in 2010. Mr Smith is now head coach at H Hour Amateur Boxing Gym on Harrogate’s Skipton Road.
One Afghan man he coached called Omar died in a car accident last year, leaving a young wife and daughter, two sisters and parents.
Mr Smith says the family are at risk from the Taliban and he has been trying to get then out of Kabul. He said:
“I am very worried for them. I don’t know what to do now or tell the family, as there are no flights out of Kabul.”
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Mr Smith has written letters of recommendation to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Home Secretary Priti Patel, former veterans minister Johnny Mercer and his successor Leo Docherty, and Andrew Jones, the Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough.
He said only Mr Mercer and Mr Jones had replied expressing interest to help.
But with the paperwork incomplete before the British and American departure from Kabul, the situation is now desperate.
Mr Smith coaching in Afghanistan.
Mr Smith said:
Harrogate boxing and martial arts gym fighting for survival“I realise the top tier are under immense pressure to deliver many things. Johnny Mercer and Andrew Jones MPs responded, but my request for help went in too late for assistance.
“No one thought the Taliban would be able to seize control of Afghanistan in such a short period of time, I’m sure evacuation plans for at risk people were in place but in slow time to ensure vetting and other checks took place.
“What many people forget is the percentage of Afghans that can’t read or write Dari/Pashtun, let alone read English and be expected to fill out forms.
“I am just gutted that my friends are not safe, I hope measures are being planned to assist the people at risk left in the country.”
A Harrogate boxing and martial arts gym is fighting for its survival after months of enforced closure as a result of coronavirus.
H Hour Boxing and Kao Loi, based on Skipton Road, has seen its funding dry up over the last year as it continues to pay the bills without any income.
The gym has received some government funding but the owners claim that it often misses out because it is based in an expensive area.
Despite its ongoing closure the gym owners still have to pay £1,000 a month for rent plus utility bills on top. All the coaches are volunteers.
To try and build up its finances again the head coach, Rob Smith, has decided to do a skydive to try and raise £5,000 for the gym.
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Mr Smith, who used to work in the army and is also the chair at the British Boxing Board of Control for the central area, told the Stray Ferret:
Harrogate boxers get ready to fight back“If we go down, then the Kao Loi side of the gym would also go down. We do not want that to happen.
“We have got some money left to see us into the next month but beyond that we need to be open again and get the revenue coming in.
“To try and bring some money in, I am going to do a skydive for my 50th birthday. I have asked for £5,000 but that’s a dream really.
“We need some money to keep going. We are fighting for survival. A lot of clubs have closed. We do not want to close, it’s a lifeline for so many.”
A Harrogate based community boxing club says it is excited to get back in the ring after over three months out.
Harrogate Amateur Boxing Club is a voluntary group which caters for all ages and abilities. In the last year the team of boxers has won 8 out of 11 of its fights until lockdown cut the season short.
Since then, the boxers have kept their fitness up by doing home workouts and have recently moved training outdoors in small groups. However, on July 25 the club will be able to open its gym doors again.
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Jacob Millar boxes for the club and won the Youth Yorkshire Challenge back in November. He told The Stray Ferret that he is looking forward to getting back into training.
He said:
“Training during lockdown has been okay, it’s more the motivation that has been lacking because there’s so little to look forward to. It will be great to get back to the gym and continue training.”
Ben Smith and Jacob Millar pictured with winning belt.
Normally the club runs sessions on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from beginners to ‘active boxers.’ Head coach Ben Smith told The Stray Ferret:
“Our aim is to incorporate discipline in a fun learning environment where young people can enjoy themselves and learn how to take care of themselves in and out of the ring.”