TWO broken ribs and a ruptured spleen were the trials TV’s Secret Millionaire Rob Lloyd had to endure to raise money for a boxing club.
The Tarporley-based businessman, who gave £40,000 to a Belfast boxing club on the Channel 4 show in 2009, faced former Olympic boxer Courtney Fry in the ring at a charity match at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Chester last week to raise even more funds for the Cairn Lodge club.
Sporting names including ex-England striker John Barnes and boxer Robin Reid, as well as stars of Hollyoaks and Big Brother, turned out for the black tie event, which saw boxers from clubs in Belfast and Liverpool take each other on in numerous amateur fights.
Mr Lloyd, of Halkyn, North Wales, who organised the evening to raise funds for Cairn Lodge to build a new state of the art gym, said the evening was ‘fantastic’, despite his painful injuries.
“I have cracked ribs and a damaged spleen and will be sticking to the day job from now on,” said the property developer.
“I’m just glad it’s over now. Courtney is a pretty handy guy in the ring and I won’t be doing that again in a hurry.
“But apart from that, everyone had a fantastic time and the place was packed.
“We have yet to confirm exactly how much we raised but I think it’s quite a bit,” he added.
Mr Lloyd’s training process, which resulted in him losing more than two stone in weight in the past six months, has been filmed for a documentary, the details of which are due to be released in the next few weeks.
Tom Dunn, secretary of Cairn Lodge, who attended the match, said: “We are very grateful to Rob for all he has done for us and the club will use the money to build a brand new state of the art gym for the club.
“I spoke to Rob before we came back on Saturday and he could hardly move, he is in a lot of pain. But we all had a great night, it was very enjoyable.”
