The amateur boxing club where world champion Ricky Hatton learned his trade could soon be left without a home after its site was sold by the local council.
“It’s a disaster,” said Hyde & District Amateur Boxing Club’s head coach Steve Strong.
“I don’t want this place to shut,” he added. “The boxers won’t hang about, they’ll go elsewhere and the youngsters won’t have anywhere to go.”
A Tameside Borough Council spokesperson said: “We are working with the boxing club to support them to find suitable alternative accommodation.”
‘For everyone’
Officials at the Ward Street gym said they did not know either when they would have to close or where they could move to.
Strong, whose links with the boxing club in Greater Manchester go back 50 years, said: “It’s for everybody – not just boxers on a Tuesday and Thursday.
“It’s for keep-fit, boys, girls, ladies. It would be a massive, massive loss.”
Hyde & District Amateur Boxing Club has been running since the 1970s and is used by hundreds of people, of all ages, every week.
The club’s building is owned by Tameside Council.
While the land has been deemed surplus to requirements by the local authority, there are no immediate redevelopment plans.
A spokesperson said the club’s current building was “not fit for purpose”.
The BBC understands the council has not served notice on the building.
Coach Paul McIlvenny said the boxing club brought local families together [BBC]
Paul McIlvenny, 44, trains young boxers, including his own children, at the club.
He explained it brought families together in the area.
“It’s a network in here – the mums and dads – we’re in a WhatsApp group. We share text messages if one of the kids isn’t turning up.
“We’d be so sad to lose it.”
McIlvenny grew up with Hatton and sometimes visited his home on the nearby Hattersley estate.
He said they attended the gym in their pre-teenage years.
Hatton, who died in September, remains an inspiration for many people in Hyde, said McIlvenny.
“His roots are here – he was born and bred here and he started his amateur career here..
“You ask the kids – that’s why they love coming to this gym.”
One of them, 16-year-old Oscar, said going to the gym was his main hobby.
“I spend all my time in the week here,” he told the BBC. “It keeps me out of trouble, as well as fit and happy.”
Tyler Daulby, 23, added: “If you’re struggling with your mental health or struggling at home, you’ve got this place to come to. It helps massively.”
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