Henry Wharton gives something back to boxing

Former British, Commonwealth and European super-middleweight champion Henry Wharton has returned to the sport - by helping to set up a gym in his home city of York.

The iron-jawed traveller has bought the lease on the top floor of a former cinema and is currently helping a team of volunteers - including family and friends - to change the 10,000 sq ft into what is thought to be the city's biggest ever boxing gym.  

Wharton, who only ever lost to Nigel Benn, Chris Eubank and Robin Reid and was never stopped in a high-class 31-fight career, told the York Evening Press: “It’s time for me to give back to the sport which made me a champion.

“It’s time for me to give something back to the city which always backed me with fanatical and fantastic support during my career.

 “I aim to promote self-fitness, good discipline and hopefully future champions in the sport of boxing.

“I intend to give this project 100 per cent of my time, effort and experience to inspire others to give their all and, through their determination and hard work, to hopefully take individuals to the heights I was able to achieve during my career.”

Wharton, who has been involved with the training of some boxers in nearby Ripon and Thirsk over the past couple of years, wants to make the development into a community centre and general gym which would be able to host its own boxing shows and other events.

“I started in all the small gyms, the church halls, the cramped places where you could train but there was nowhere to stage boxing, nowhere to hold amateur or professional bills,” he said. “That’s not to disrespect those places. The sport has an unbelievable following in the city, but York needs a proper and sizeable boxing centre like this.

“The generosity of people in York, of firms in and around the city, has been absolutely magnificent. There’s still a hell of a lot of work to do, but I am so excited about this project.”