THE city’s only boxing club has moved to new premises.
Chester MP Stephen Mosley was at the opening of Chester Boxers and Chester Police ABC’s new multi-purpose gym on the Lightfoot Street Industrial Estate in Hoole.
The popularity of the club had led to them outgrowing their HQ at the Chester Enterprise Centre which they used before it was destroyed in the recent fire.
Club manager Mark Cunliffe said: “We had to move premises because, to put it simply, the plant had outgrown the pot. It was vital that we expanded.
“When we first opened we were averaging three new members a day. Although that steadied out a bit, we still have a large number of members and we were running out of space.”
The club’s professional arm, Chester Boxers, has four fighters, all of whom were successful at a showcase event at Chester Racecourse earlier this month.
“We have Chris Goodwin, Paul Economides, Omar Gumati and Joe Lovell, all of whom big things are expected,” said Mark.
“In order to develop talent you have to have the right equipment available.”
The club – a not-for-profit organisation – was given a helping hand to move.
Cunliffe said: “The boxing charity Fight Options donated our hexagonal fighting cage, Chester Municipal Charities donated £7,000 for flooring and Wales manager Gary Speed, whose son is a member of our club, donated money to help us purchase a new ring and equipment.
“We also sought help from local businesses and Tesco Homeplus on Sealand Road also gave us a boost by donating money.”
The club, which offers tuition in boxing, Muay Thai boxing, mixed martial arts, bodybuilding and self-defence, was co-founded by professional boxing coach Steve Goodwin.
Steve, who remains the club’s driving force, said: “We have a huge committee of volunteers, including a local police inspector, and I thank them all.
“The new gym will allow us to expand our work and improve the training programmes we already have.”
