TYSON Fury’s promoter Frank Warren says violent crime on Britain’s streets could change his life – so he is spending £1million to stop it.
Frank’s Queensberry team are donating a large sum of money to a charity called Boxwise, which gets youngsters into the ring to keep them out of trouble.
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The donation will allow the organisation to increase the number of places in its ten-week programme from 1,500 to 3,000.
Renowned promoter Frank announced the charity at Islington Boxing Club – just a few blocks from the street where he grew up.
In an exclusive chat at the boxing club, Frank told The Sun: “I remember growing up on the streets of north London.
“It was really tough and life could have been different for me.
“With the background that I have, and a lot of these kids have, there’s a lot of peer pressure on you to be a tough guy.
“You want to do this, you want to be that. That’s what you have to embrace — that’s not what it’s all about.”
“I’ll tell you what boxing is. When I was a kid in Islington there was no golf club or tennis club.
“All the kids from working class backgrounds could only play football or boxing. Those were the only two sports really.”
“These weren’t expensive sports – football was played on the grass or in the street, for boxing you went to the local gym. It was all easy to do.
“It’s not about being rude, it’s about respect. It’s not about respecting someone if he’s a rude person on the street.
“It’s about respecting each other. That’s what boxing is all about. We’ll have a fight this weekend.”
“After that fight they must have broken each other’s seven bells.
“But they’ll have their arms around each other – it’s respect. That respect comes from working in the gym.”
The son of a bookmaker, Frank grew up in Islington and started out as an unlicensed fixer promoting his second cousin Lenny McLean.
Since then, he has managed or promoted people such as Prince Naseem, Frank Bruno, Tyson Fury, Chris Eubank, Amir Khan and Ricky Hatton.
He said: “Professional boxers are very important as role models. Children idolise them and aspire to their success.”
“The thing with boxers is that most of them are friendly.
“Unfortunately, these days, you have to go through God knows how many people to talk to football players.
“When I was a kid, you’d stand outside Arsenal and get autographs. That doesn’t happen anymore.
“But boxers are easier to approach. They come from the local area, so they know people and people can see them and support them.”
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Queensberry is donating £1 million to Boxwise to boost efforts to tackle gangs and knife crime in some of Britain’s poorest areas.
The charity enrolls disadvantaged young people in a 10-week boxing programme at gyms across the country.
Queensberry’s donation will allow Boxwise to double the number of places in the programme to 3,000.
Frank will also join the charity’s new Development Board as Chair.
“We have terrible knife crime and other problems because of people’s lack of respect for each other,” he said.
“We’re obviously in the boxing business and Boxwise does a lot of great things for the community and boxing.
“These kids have either been taken out of school by the police or their teachers or they’ve been sent to another school. If they weren’t here, they’d be on the streets.”
“They have put him on a programme that has changed his lifestyle, his behaviour and the way he interacts.
“The way they interact with people, the way they work as a team, their attitude towards their own bodies, towards obesity and staying fit.
“Working together from different ethnic backgrounds. All these things – these are all huge plus points. It’s all ticking, ticking, ticking.”
“Why wouldn’t anyone want to be involved in that? We’re blessed and privileged to be able to do that at Queensberry.”
The thing is that most boxers are very friendly.
Frank Warren
Frank said: “The fact that we’re launching it in Islington, where I come from, adds a bit of spice to it.
“But it is being rolled out across the country. Boxwise may double its space for children in the future.
“People are giving up their time to do this. The adults, the coaches, it’s amazing what they do.
“Boxing clubs are part of the community and they deserve the support of the community.
“If you want to talk about crime and related activities, start at the bottom.
“What Boxwise does is a revelation – for these kids it’s a revelation.
“We will double the number of locations to 3,000. We will do it, it’s a fact of life.”
“And then we want to take it from 3,000 to 30,000. That’s really the goal.”
“Children across the UK should have opportunities – if you want better citizens, raise them to be better citizens.”
Frank joked that if any of the youngsters at Islington Boxing Club want the chance to become a professional boxer they now know where to come.
But he added: “The boxer of the future could still be out there, and if so, God bless him.”
“But for me it’s not about becoming a boxer, it’s about training. It’s about learning about your body.
“Obesity is a huge problem in this country — they’ll learn about nutrition. The whole program is great.”
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Boxwise’s Rick Ogden said Frank’s donation would make a “huge difference” to thousands of young people.
Rick told The Sun: “It’s amazing. We’ve actually secured £3 million in funding
“Queensberry has pledged £1 million, and his donation has been matched.
“With this additional funding, we will be able to double that to over 3,000 young people.
“It’s not just about the money, it’s about the influence that Queensberry brings.
“Everything from ambassadors to annual fundraising events to raise more money.
“It’s a really powerful thing for any charity to be able to access that huge level of expertise.
“What’s special about Boxwise is that we offer opportunities at the end of the ten-week programme.
“We pay for young people to take further education or employment courses.
“For any young person the outcome will be known after ten weeks, but what will the long-term outcome be?
“They will change a lot, but even after ten weeks they will still need that support.”
Rick said: “I really hope that one of the things that Frank brings is that he opens some doors for the whole sport.
“Whether they want to continue youth boxing, get into coaching or volunteer in their local communities.
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“If we’re bringing thousands of young people through this programme each year, there’s some serious undiscovered talent.
“Could the boxer of the future be here? Never say never. It’s absolutely possible.”
