Greenock's boxing club has celebrated a landmark milestone after being a central fixture in the town's east end for a quarter of a century.
Greenock Boxing Club marked its long and successful history with a special end-of-year awards ceremony and anniversary event.
During its 25 years in Inverclyde, the club has produced countless talented athletes, including dozens of Scottish champions.
There are currently around 80 members who train regularly at the gym on Bauerley Road.
(Image: George Munro)
Manager Danny Lee, who has been with the club since its inception, Remote He never imagined the club would become so big.
He said: “When the club first started we moved around to a few different locations.
“All of a sudden Sandy Burke and his son asked me if I wanted the place and I couldn’t believe our good fortune.
“They gave us rent free. Even now they haven't taken any money from us. We just pay our bills.”
“That’s when it all came together, we had a bunch of boys and coaches with all the qualifications.
“At first, there were just a few boys taking lessons, but the number of boys boxing has grown to dozens.
“The kids really started to get into it, I think one year we had 12 kids taking part and we won 11 Scottish championships.
“We have gotten to the point where we are producing Scottish champions every year at junior, schoolboy and youth level.”
(Image: George Munro)
Danny has coached at the highest levels of the sport, winning three senior national titles himself and competing in almost 20 professional matches.
He said his proudest moments at the club have been watching the young members develop into upstanding citizens.
He said: “As an amateur boxing club we've won a lot of championships but just bringing kids from across the city and watching them perform is something special.”
“It’s incredible to see them win and see the joy on their parents’ faces.
“It's great to see them grow up. We're not trying to make them saints, but we want to raise them to be good kids that the community can be proud of.”
“Seeing the joy on the faces of the children and their parents makes it all worth it.
“Covid has completely disrupted all sports clubs but we are still back competing and kids have had some great boxing victories over the last few weeks and months.
“The club is starting to pick up steam again and when Sandy Burke gave us this site his wish was to have the club on the east end of town.
“We now have an incredible number of young men and women boxing at the club, and we're reaching our limits.”
Danny says despite his own incredible efforts over the years, the club would not have grown and thrived as much as it has without the help of many key people.
He added: “The coaching staff, committee and matchmaker Jerry Shields are a big part of our success.”
“We get so much support, sometimes even people who don’t boxing come and help out.
“We have received great support over the years from former dean Michael McCormick.
“Our sponsors have also really helped us out, without their support we would have struggled.
“We try to teach kids how to be good young men and good young girls, and you can see that in the number of people who have graduated from here and become great people.
“I'd like to thank everyone who has supported the club so far – our sponsors, the committee, our coaches and all the boys and girls who have boxed with us.”
