A FORMER sparring partner of Mike Tyson ensured a Saltney boxing club’s open day went off with a bang.

Joe Egan, dubbed the ‘toughest white man of the planet’ by the legendary Tyson, was on ‘top form’ as young fighters from Deva Police ABC showed off their skills to the public.

Deva coach Tommy Dix said: “Joe was in top form and nothing was too much trouble.

“Deva Police ABC are fortunate to have such a man supporting us.”

Egan, a fighter-turned-actor who appeared alongside Jude Law in Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes, was happy to sign autographs and pose for photographs. A long-time supporter of the club, he also pledged to return to Saltney for Deva’s next show.

Joining Egan at the event was Gaelic football and hurling star Alan O’Niell as well as Gareth Cooper from the Public Safety Charitable Trust (PSCT).

So impressed was Cooper with the displays put on by coaches Alan Millett and Dave Evans, the Chester-based charity has agreed to become the club’s main sponsor.

Cooper, a trustee of PSCT, said: “We are extremely impressed by the work that the club is doing within the local community, providing young people with discipline, focus and healthy competition via the sport of boxing.”

“At a time when certain sections of the country’s youth are being reflected in a very poor light, the members of this community club provide a shining example of the other side of that coin.”

Dix added: “Needless to say in these hard times their sponsorship is greatly appreciated.”