Most don't even have passport, but fight is on to get young Middlesbrough boxers to America

A fighting fund has been launched to get 15 young boxers from deprived parts of Teesside on a dream trip to America.

Wellington Amateur Boxing Club in Middlesbrough regularly has 70 boxers attend sessions at the club, which is based above Flares nightclub on Albert Road, Middlesbrough. But next April, it’s hoped they’ll swap Flares for Florida in what coach Michael Debnath hopes will be “the trip of a lifetime.”

The plan is to take up to 15 club members, aged 10-24, to Orlando, where they’ll spar and fight at the Downtown Orlando Boxing Club. It’s likely to cost at least £16,000, so a fundraising campaign is underway.

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The fund has already been boosted by £2,500 from the Teesside Family Foundation, but there’s still a long way to go. But it’ll be a price worth paying, says Michael.

He said: “Most of our kids are from deprived homes around Teesside - Gresham ward etcetera. They haven't got a great deal. For a lot of them, the furthest they’ve been out of Middlesbrough is where we take them to box up and down the country. The majority haven't even got a passport.

“This is their world title – it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. A lot of them might not even get out of England again, never mind get to America. A lot of the kids don’t have much but this will be all their Christmases rolled into one – they’ll be doing something they love on the biggest stage.

“Watching those kids’ faces light up when they walk into that gym in America, wearing Wellington ABC vests we’ll get made for them, will be priceless. When they put those vests on in America, you’ll just see the biggest smiles on their faces.”

Michael, 42, has regularly trained in Orlando since initially going there on family holidays. And he says there’s a special magic to training and boxing in the US.

“If you’re a boxer, the biggest thing is to go and box in America. I’ve been going to Orlando since I was a kid. When I was boxing for the Welly, I used to train at a few gyms over there if I had tournaments coming up and since then, I’ve just struck up a friendship with people over there.

“There are some different methods and styles in America, which is good for our kids to see. We’ll see what we can raise and I’ve got a couple of travel agents onboard who might be able to help us out. I hope that next week, we can put a deposit down and keep chipping away at it.”

A not-for-profit club that started out in North Ormesby, Wellington ABC – which stands above what used to be the Wellington Hotel – is run by Michael, a builder, and John Pearce, who has a window fabrication company and won gold at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur.

John’s daughter Jade has signed as a professional and will join the US trip in a coaching capacity while it’s hoped Michael’s daughter Bella Rose, nine, will have her first competitive action stateside. And, says Michael, it’s a trip that will enhance the life lessons boxing brings.

He said: “Some of the kids enjoy the discipline and learning new skills. I’ve got a 17-year-old who came to us two years ago and was one of those kids with a face where you think ‘he might be trouble’. I asked him what he wanted out of boxing and he said he wanted it to help change his life. He said he’d been in and out of trouble all his life.

“I took my hat off to him because it takes a brave lad to tell us the truth. And since then, he’s never missed a gym session. At our show in October, his sister came up to me, gave me the biggest cuddle ever and said ‘thank you so much for changing his life’. That’s more important to me than all the titles.”

Visit www. facebook.com/wellingtonboxing to find out more, and you can donate to the fundraising appeal HERE.

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